Director of Guest Engagement (Apple Valley)

The Zoo encompasses a 485-acre campus and is home to nearly 5,000 animals with about 1.5 million guests visiting annually. The Zoo is a coordinator of international conservation and breeding programs and is the States largest environmental educator. The Zoos conservation programs protect endangered species and preserve critical ecosystems and its education programs engage audiences at the Zoo, throughout our region, and around the world.

Job Details

Working Title: Director of Guest Engagement
Job Class: State Program Administrator, Manager Senior
Agency: Minnesota Zoological Garden

• Job ID : 96263
• Location : Apple Valley
• Telework Eligible : No
• Full/Part Time : Full-Time
• Regular/Temporary : Unlimited
• Who May Apply : Open to all qualified job seekers
• Date Posted : 08/21/2026
• Closing Date : 09/10/2026
• Hiring Agency/Seniority Unit : Minnesota Zoological Garden / Zoo Gardens-Managerial
• Division/Unit : Strategy & Engagement
• Work Shift/Work Hours : Day Shift; 8:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
• Days of Work : Typically Tuesday - Saturday. May vary based on business needs. Schedule determined upon hire.
• Travel Required : Yes - up to 25% of time
• Salary Range: $44.80 - $64.46 / hourly; $93,542 - $134,592 / annually
• Classified Status : Classified
• Bargaining Unit/Union : 220 - Manager/Unrep
• FLSA Status : Exempt - Executive
• Designated in Connect 700 Program for Applicants with Disabilities : Yes

The work you'll do is more than just a job.

At the State of Minnesota, employees play a critical role in developing policies, providing essential services, and working to improve the well-being and quality of life for all Minnesotans. The State of Minnesota is committed to equity and inclusion, and invests in employees by providing benefits, support resources, and training and development opportunities.

Job Summary

This position is responsible for leading and optimizing the guest journey at the Minnesota Zoo, ensuring every guest interactionfrom ticket purchase through departurereflects service excellence, operational efficiency, and mission connection. Leads and directs the guest engagement department, which includes the guest services, box office, and call center teams as well as governance of ticketing and customer relationship management systems and related data/reporting. Obtains and manages the resources needed and directs the evaluation of current and new programs to ensure a cohesive, data-informed engagement model that strengthens satisfaction, drives repeat visitation, and maximizes per cap revenue. Involves significant discretion and substantial involvement in the development and interpretation of agency-wide strategy and policies related to guest-facing systems and service culture, ensuring that guest engagement practices support revenue growth, brand affinity, accessibility, and public accountability standards.

This position supports operations across a large campus environment and requires the employee to travel between multiple buildings and work sites located throughout the campus to perform assigned duties and respond to operational needs. The incumbent must be able to travel between campus locations in a timely and reliable manner to carry out essential job functions. When job duties require the operation of a motor vehicle to access work sites, transport equipment, or respond to service needs, the employee must be able to safely operate a vehicle and possess a valid and unrestricted drivers license.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Exercise supervisor authority in the direction and management of the departments staffing to ensure a high-performing team to ensure required resources are available and invested to most effectively support the Zoos mission.
• Manage the implementation and ongoing improvement of the Zoos guest engagement strategy in alignment with agency-wide revenue and mission goals.
• Direct all guest engagement operations including call center, box office, group sales support, and front gate to optimize revenue and minimize risk while balancing service excellence with operational efficiency.
• Manage all ticketing, point-of-sale, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to improve guest engagement and ensure data integrity, legal compliance, and actionable analytics to inform sound decision-making.
• Serve as a key member of the division management team ensuring development and accomplishment of the Zoos mission and strategy.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

The following qualifications are required of all applicants seeking consideration for this position. Only applicants whose application materials clearly demonstrate fulfillment of each of these minimum qualifications will be considered for the position. To ensure accurate evaluation, your resume must clearly describe your experience in the required areas. For each job, include whether it was full-time, part-time, or intermittent/on-call; how many hours per week you worked; and the month and year you started and ended.

• Seven (7) years of strategic leadership experience for guest experience teams in hospitality operations, attractions management, retail or a related field in a high-volume, public-facing environment, including experience leading and developing leaders, fostering accountability and collaboration, and translating organizational strategy into measurable results.
• Demonstrated leadership experience may include experience as a manager, supervisor, or team/project lead.
• *Masters degree may substitute for 18 months of experience; Bachelors degree may substitute for one year of experience; Associates degree may substitute for six months of experience.
• Experience managing ticketing platforms, customer relationship management systems, and data governance practices.
• Demonstrated ability to improve revenue performance through pricing execution, conversion strategies, and service design.
• Strong financial skills, including budgeting, forecasting, and revenue reconciliation.
• Experience implementing service excellence frameworks and performance metrics, including demonstrated ability to influence others and/or compel change throughout an organization
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal leadership skills, including demonstrated emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and the ability to build trust and engagement across diverse teams.
• Valid drivers license.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a zoo, aquarium, museum, theme park, large cultural attraction or retail.
• Experience with dynamic pricing models and advanced ticketing ecosystems.
• Familiarity with public-sector or highly regulated environments.
• Bachelors degree in hospitality, business, marketing, communications, or related field.
• Bilingual or multilingual capability (Spanish, Hmong, ASL preferred).
• Experience supervising employees in a unionized environment while fostering positive employee relations.
• Experience building collaborative partnerships with vendors, community partners, or cross-functional teams to achieve shared organizational goals.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Ability to work both indoors and outdoors in varying weather conditions.
• Periodic standing and walking throughout Zoo grounds.

Additional Requirements

Applicants must have the ability to meet the physical requirements and work in the environmental conditions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodations.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

It is policy of the Minnesota Zoo that all candidates submit to a background check prior to employment. The background check may consist of the following components:

• Conflict of Interest Review
• Criminal History Check including fingerprinting
• Education Verification
• Employment Reference / Records Check
• License / Certification Verification

Application Details

How to Apply

Applicants must apply to the MN Careers website Job ID 96263. If you have questions about applying for jobs, contact the Careers Help Desk at View phone number on apply.placed-app.com or email View email address on apply.placed-app.com . For additional information about the application process, go to

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