Group Tour Sales Manager

SUMMARY

The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, located on historic Independence Mall in Philadelphia, brings to life the 360‐year history of Jews in America. Tracing the stories of how Jewish immigrants became Jewish Americans, the Museum invites visitors of all heritages to share their own stories and reflect on how their histories and identities shape and are shaped by the American experience. An open door for all, the Weitzman Museum honors the past and contributes to a better future by sharing the power of imagination and ideas, culture and community, leadership and service, in ways that turn inspiration into action.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Manager of Group Sales is the primary person responsible for securing group visits to the Museum, playing a critical role in increasing the Museum’s attendance and education goals through proactive sales, outreach, product development, customer service, booking, and stewardship of groups.  Close collaboration with the Director of Visitor and Group Experience and with Education staff is critical.

This role is responsible for helping to re-establish the group tour operation at the Museum and performs a range of duties including developing new group tour options and packages in coordination with education and other staff, generating and following up on leads, selling group visits, processing and coordinating all requests for groups, handling all group customer inquiries, welcoming and stewarding groups on site, producing status reports, and generating sales data. The core focus of this position is the development of sustained group attendance that meets established annual revenue and visitation goals. Additional duties include working with the local and national tourism and group organizations to build the group sales program and further establish the Museum’s reputation in the industry to maximize prospective group attendance, and working closely with the Visitor Experience team to ensure a seamless onsite experience for visiting groups.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Sales and Outreach

• Develop and implement strategies to generate group sales from Jewish and non-Jewish adult and youth groups locally, regionally, and nationally. Will include adult leisure groups, religious organizations, camps, tourism groups, and other segments, and especially previous customers and securing repeat visitation.
• Proactive sales through multiple channels to pursue prospects and leads and convert to booking.
• Cultivate relationships with travel, tourism, convention, and meeting partners with a focus on tour operators and related associations; attend related industry events and represent the Museum and its group offerings—locally and occasionally in other markets or national conventions. 
• Work closely with Communications & Public Engagement team on print and digital marketing materials.
• Serve as Museum expert and ambassador—authentically demonstrate enthusiasm for the Museum’s offerings to excite prospective groups
• Develop creative recommendations for strategies and partnerships and packages to drive interest and bookings.

Customer Service and Bookings

• Provide outstanding customer service and demonstrate comfort and deep familiarity with entire booking process, providing desired level of detail to customer, from answering preliminary questions about pricing to details about tours, booking, and invoicing. 
• Respond daily to phone and email inquiries, and electronic form submissions regarding group visits, providing answers and materials as requested in a timely fashion
• Handle customer complaints and resolve issues courteously, involving colleagues and senior managers when necessary.
• Manage the opening and closing out of group orders, including invoicing and payment collection, with fastidious care and ensuring the utmost accuracy in a responsible and PCI-compliant manner.
• Pay careful attention to internal calendars and updating meticulously, while keeping other Museum staff apprised of additions and changes
• Ensure senior management team and appropriate colleagues are apprised of visiting groups who may require special attention

Group Tours        

• Scheduling visits, tours, and other offerings in the Galaxy ticketing system as well as Outlook calendars.
• Arrange rooms and other logistics for Group visits to ensure excellent pre-visit and visit experiences for all groups.
• Maintaining contact with groups throughout the booking process.
• Ensuring confirmation letters, invoices, and other pertinent materials are sent out in a timely manner, and that necessary pre-visit information is conveyed to clients.
• Scheduling appropriate docents for group tours and visits, including daily drop-in tours. Direct communication with docents in the lead-up to tours to ensure docents have all relevant and up- to-date information.
• Supervising docents and volunteers when working directly with groups.
• Handling customer complaints and resolving issues courteously.
• Welcoming and orienting groups on day of visit, and arranging other on-site aspects, as needed.  For weekend groups, ensuring that the Director of Visitor and Group Experience is briefed to handle these responsibilities.

New Product Development

• Expand the options available to visiting groups by developing new products and packages, potentially including lectures, meals, performances, collaborations with neighboring institutions, and other enhancements that might make the visit a richer experience, expand the market, and increase net revenues.
• Collaborating closely with Education, Public Programs, and other departments in the creation and execution of the new product offerings.

Data and Reporting

• Maintain and query group visits database and generate outreach solicitation lists and to report on visitation.
• Tracking docent hours and generating reports as requested.
• Rresearch prospective customers.
• Track and cull a variety of group information, and generate reports as requested by the department Director or other teams for needs such as grant reports.

Other

• Generally assisting in such other tasks as required from time to time.

SCHEDULING:  This is a Monday-Friday position, with the expectation of flexibility around Museum activities (e.g., evening tours, special events, weekend groups that may require special handling).

QUALIFICATIONS:  To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Strong sales orientation, i.e., highly motivated to book groups and achieve performance goals established in consultation with Museum senior staff.
• Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills, with an engaging phone manner and the ability to remain poised, professional, and courteous with all customers.
• Solid professional writing skills, with the ability to respond quickly and carefully to customer emails.
• Comfort speaking with people of all ages and backgrounds, individually or in large groups.
• High level of organization and attention to detail.
• Flexibility, and willingness to work in fast-paced environment.
• Ability to handle confidential information responsibly.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to work flexible hours and regular weekends as needed.
• Extremely competitive fringe benefits package
•  
• EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: 
• Minimum of 5 years experience in sales-related roles; tourism-specific sales a definite plus
• Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred, but significantly more relevant experience will be considered.
• Knowledge of Philadelphia and tourism industry ideal. Interest in Museums, cultural institutions, arts, and humanities a plus.

COMPUTER SKILLS: 

• Experience with Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Outlook). 
• Ease in learning new computer programs required.
• Experience with a computerized ticketing/POS system environment or other reservation software ideal.
• Knowledge of Adobe, Constant Contact, and photo editing software a bonus.