Manager of Visitor Experience

Manager of Visitor Experience

Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is America's first art museum and art school. With a world-class collection of American art and a vibrant community of working artists, PAFA occupies a unique place in the cultural landscape of Philadelphia and the nation. Docents help bring this legacy to life by connecting visitors to art, artists, and the creative process.

Position Summary

The Senior Manager of Visitor Experience & Operations is a key member of PAFA's Revenue & Engagement team, responsible for ensuring an exceptional, welcoming and consistent experience for everyone who engages with PAFA.

This position serves as an important connector across the institution, working closely with exhibitions, education and programs, membership and development, special events, marketing, retail, facilities and security to ensure audience needs and frontline operations are considered in the planning and execution of PAFA's work.

The Senior Manager leads PAFA's Visitor Experience team and ticketing operations while maintaining a broader view of the full visitor journey, from planning and arrival through participation, engagement and departure. This position translates plans into strong execution, anticipates visitor and operational needs, and ensures frontline teams have the information and tools necessary to deliver an exceptional PAFA experience.

Primary Responsibilities

• Visitor Experience & Operations
• Lead the day-to-day operation of PAFA's visitor experience, including admissions, gallery staffing and frontline services.
• Ensure PAFA is prepared each day to welcome visitors, with appropriate staffing, communication, signage, information and operational support.
• Maintain a visible presence throughout PAFA's public spaces and remain closely connected to the experience of visitors and frontline staff.
• Identify opportunities to improve the visitor experience based on feedback, observation and attendance patterns.
• Address visitor concerns and ensure thoughtful and consistent service recovery.

Cross-Department Coordination

• Serve as a key connector between frontline operations and exhibitions, education and programs, membership and development, special events, marketing, retail, facilities and security.
• Partner with colleagues in advance of exhibitions, programs, events and major initiatives to anticipate visitor needs and operational requirements.
• Ensure frontline teams are prepared with accurate information about exhibitions, programs, membership, events and other PAFA offerings.
• Coordinate visitor experience needs for high-attendance days, exhibition openings, public programs, special events and other significant institutional moments.
• Share frontline observations and visitor feedback with colleagues to help strengthen future planning and execution.

Team Leadership

• Recruit, lead, coach and develop an engaged, knowledgeable and hospitality-focused Visitor Experience team.
• Develop staffing plans and schedules that respond to attendance, programs, events and institutional needs.
• Establish clear service expectations and operating procedures.
• Develop onboarding, ongoing training and cross-training that strengthen institutional knowledge and service.
• Create a team culture that values hospitality, accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Ticketing, Data & Systems

• Serve as PAFA's institutional lead for the ACME ticketing platform, supporting admissions, membership, programs, events and other ticketed experiences.
• Oversee ticketing configuration, pricing, permissions, reporting, documentation and staff training.
• Partner with internal teams to build and test ticketing offers and ensure a smooth customer purchasing experience.
• Maintain accurate and timely attendance, admissions and visitation reporting.
• Serve as PAFA's primary relationship manager with ACME and coordinate troubleshooting and system enhancements.

Revenue & Operational Accountability

• Oversee admissions revenue processes and reconciliation.
• Monitor attendance and admissions trends and provide regular reporting to the Chief Revenue & Engagement Officer.
• Support attendance forecasting and earned revenue planning.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency while maintaining a high standard of visitor experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in visitor experience, hospitality, museum operations, cultural organizations or another audience-focused environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing frontline teams.
• Strong experience coordinating across departments in a complex, public-facing environment.
• Experience administering ticketing, CRM, POS or comparable customer-facing technology; ACME experience preferred.
• Excellent communication, judgment, problem-solving and organizational skills.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities while remaining highly attentive to the visitor experience.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong hospitality and audience-service mindset.
• Collaborative relationship builder who can connect people, information and priorities across departments.
• Strong operational judgment and attention to detail.
• Ability to anticipate needs, solve problems and keep multiple teams aligned.
• Comfortable working with attendance, revenue and operational data.
• Hands-on leadership style and willingness to be present and engaged in PAFA's public spaces.
• Commitment to continually improving the experience PAFA provides its audiences.

Working Conditions

This is an on-site, audience-facing leadership position. Evening, weekend and holiday work is required based on PAFA's public programs, events and operating schedule. This position's schedule will primarily mimic museum operating hours.

The position requires regular movement throughout PAFA's facilities and the ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts