Tourism Operations and Marketing Specialist

City of Cape Girardeau•Cape Girardeau, MO

6d•Onsite

About The Position

This position independently coordinates the administrative, operational, visitor-service, and routine marketing functions that support Visit Cape. The employee exercises discretion and independent judgement in resolving routine-to-moderately complex operational matters, administering established processes, prioritizing competing demands, coordinating volunteers, and partners, and implementing approved programs and procedures. The position also develops original promotional materials within the established brand standards and works closely with the Visit Cape Team, City Finance, other City departments, community partners, vendors, and volunteers to ensure Visit Cape operates in an organized, responsive, creative, and financially accountable manner.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent required.
Progressively responsible administrative, operations, marketing, accounting-support, hospitality, tourism, municipal, customer-service, office-management, or closely related experience sufficient to perform the major duties and exercise the independent judgment required by the position.
Valid driver’s license required.
Knowledge of professional office-management, records-management, and administrative practices and procedures.
Working knowledge of accounts payable, accounts receivable, budget tracking, purchasing documentation, and general accounting support.
Knowledge of customer-service and visitor-services practices and the ability to learn and communicate accurate destination information.
Knowledge of municipal procedures, confidentiality requirements, records requirements, and financial controls relevant to assigned duties.
Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, managing multiple deadlines, maintaining accurate records, and following assignments through completion with limited direction.
Skill in Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, spreadsheet applications, databases, and standard office equipment.
Skill in writing and verbal communication, interpersonal relations, volunteer coordination, and professional problem solving.
Skill in graphic design, visual communication, typography, image selection, page layout, and creation of audience-appropriate materials for social media, web, and print using commonly adopted design software.
Ability to work collaboratively with visitors, tourism partners, vendors, volunteers, City employees, and community organizations.
Ability to analyze administrative, financial-support, partner volunteer, and operational issues; exercise discretion and independent judgment; determine appropriate action within delegated authority; and recognize matters that require escalation under City policy or law.
Ability to develop original promotional concepts, independently evaluate and revise creative work, maintain brand consistency, and translate destination information into clear visual communications for varied tourism audiences.

Nice To Haves

Associate or bachelor’s degree in business administration, hospitality, tourism, accounting, communications, or a related field.
Experience working with invoices, budgets, spreadsheets, databases, purchasing records, and financial documentation.
Experience coordinating volunteers, visitor activities, events, or multiple community partners.
Experience independently creating brochures, advertisements, social media graphics, web content, visitor guides, or comparable promotional materials.
Experience with municipal financial systems and procedures, including Munis or a comparable enterprise resource-planning system.

Responsibilities

Receives, organizes, and routes invoices for appropriate approval and payment.
Maintains accounts payable and accounts receivable documentation in accordance with City procedures; tracks outstanding invoices and receivables; and prepares documentation required for payment processing.
Maintains vendor records, W-9 forms, contracts, sponsorship agreements, reimbursements, advertising commitments, and other supporting documentation and financial obligations.
Assists with purchase orders, purchasing documentation, vendor communications, tourism incentive-program documentation, and payment tracking.
Tracks expenditures and commitments against Visit Cape’s approved budget and maintains supporting budget worksheets.
Coordinates with City Finance regarding Munis transactions, account coding, payment status, and financial questions.
Prepares routine financial information and reports; evaluates discrepancies, missing documentation, unusual expenditures, and budget concerns, and determines appropriate corrective action within established policies, approved budgets, and delegated authority.
Determines how assigned Visit Cape administrative processes will be carried out; maintains project, administrative, calendar, deadline, and recurring-requirement tracking systems; and independently prioritizes competing operational demands.
Assists with annual budget preparation, tracks project budgets and commitments, and makes recommendations that materially improve Visit Cape’s operations, internal controls, workflow, service delivery, or use of resources.
Prepares materials for board meetings and coordinates meeting logistics.
Maintains organizational records, contracts, agreements, reports, and other official documentation.
Develops, documents, and implements approved administrative procedures and operational practices and recommends revisions when processes affect service quality, financial accountability, compliance, or organizational efficiency.
Assists with grant, sponsorship, funding, and related reporting documentation.
Monitors office equipment and supplies; exercises delegated purchasing authority within specified limits; and coordinates service, replenishment, or replacement in accordance with City purchasing requirements.
Serves as a welcoming and knowledgeable resource for visitors and responds to inquiries by phone, email, mail, and in person.
Independently resolves routine-to-moderately complex visitor-service and scheduling issues, balancing visitor needs, available resources, operational requirements, and established policies.
Provides accurate information about attractions, events, restaurants, lodging, shopping, recreation, and other visitor services.
Assists visitor with trip planning and itinerary development and distributes visitor guides, maps, and promotional materials.
Maintains current visitor-information resources and coordinates visitor welcome materials and group welcome packets.
Collects visitor questions and feedback, identifies recurring needs, and communicates relevant trends to Visit Cape leadership.
Serves as Visit Cape’s primary day-to-day coordinator for riverboat dockings and associated visitor-welcome activities.
Maintains current contact information and communicates with designated riverboat, shore-excursion, transportation, attraction, City department, and site contacts.
Coordinates Visit Cape volunteers for scheduled riverboat dockings and other designated visitor activities and special events.
Recruits, schedules, confirms, and communicates with volunteers; provides assignments and relevant docking, arrival, visitor-expectation, and site information.
Maintains volunteer contact information, schedules, and participation records.
Coordinates visitor materials, supplies, and other Visit Cape resources needed for riverboat welcomes and designated visitor activities.
Determines appropriate volunteer coverage, assignments, and operational responses for assigned activities; serves as the operational point of contact; and independently resolves routine-to-moderately complex coverage and site issues within established policies.
Coordinates with City departments and community partners when their participation is required, while recognizing that each department or organization remains responsible for its own operational functions.
Maintains documentation related to riverboat dockings, volunteer participation, and assigned visitor-service activities.
Serves as a primary day-to-day contact for Visit Cape’s tourism partners and maintains an accurate tourism-partner database.
Collects current event, attraction, business, lodging, restaurant, venue, and visitor-service information for Visit Cape materials and communications.
Assists partners with Visit Cape submissions, listings, promotional opportunities, meetings, and routine communications.
Coordinates distribution of Visit Cape materials to tourism businesses and independently resolves routine-to-moderately complex partner or vendor issues within established policies, referring only matters outside delegated authority to the Visit Cape Manager or appropriate City department.
Coordinates with Visit Cape’s contracted marketing partner and independently develops routine promotional materials that complement contracted campaigns and support approved destination priorities.
Develops original visual concepts and creates graphics, brochures, advertisements, visitor resources, social media content, web content, and print materials rather than solely assembling information supplied by others.
Determines the appropriate visual presentation for different tourism audiences; selects typography, imagery, layout, and other design elements within approved brand standards; and independently evaluates and revises designs for clarity, accuracy, accessibility, and audience appeal.
Implements approved promotional campaigns, content calendars, visitor-resource updates, and operational marketing practices without obtaining approval for each routine design or production decision; maintains brand consistency and tracks distribution of printed visitor materials.
Assists the Tourism Development and Sales Manager with conference, trade-show- sales-trip, site-visit, and group-planning preparation and logistics.
Assembles destination materials, collateral, and meeting supplies and assists with registration, shipping, and scheduling.
Maintains documentation relayed to sales travel and industry events and assists with post-conference lead documentation when requested.
Provides administrative and logistical support for sales activities; regular travel for conferences, trade shows, sales missions, and industry presentation is primarily the responsibility of the Tourism Development and Sales Manager.
Tracks visitor inquiries, common visitor requests, office traffic, and visitor-service statistics.
Assists with room-night, group, event, and tourism-business documentation.
Maintains accurate partner, volunteer, visitor, and tourism-business databases.
Assists with monthly and annual Visit Cape reporting and provides accurate administrative and operational data to the Visit Cape Manager.
Performs other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

Thirteen paid holidays per year.
96 hours of vacation – accrued throughout the year.
96 hours of sick leave – accrued throughout the year.
2 days of personal leave per fiscal year.
City paid monthly premiums for health and dental insurance – Employee only.
City paid monthly life insurance for employee only (1 times annual salary up to $50,000).
Optional group term life insurance purchased at employee’s expense.
Optional vision insurance purchased at employee’s expense.
Voluntary deferred compensation plan – not matched by the City.
Retirement (LAGERS) paid by the City.