Visitor Services Team Leader

Join our team at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo as a Visitor Services Team Leader, where you’ll play a key role in delivering exceptional customer service across Admissions, Retail, and our vibrant Hullabazoo play area.

As a visible and hands-on leader, you’ll support and motivate the Visitor Services team to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere and ensure every guest enjoys a seamless, safe, and memorable experience. This is a fantastic opportunity to lead in a unique working environment and contribute directly to ZSL’s global mission to promote and achieve the conservation of animals and their habitats.

As our zoos are open seven days a week, your schedule will follow a rota which includes weekends, school holidays and bank holidays. We aim to balance business needs with personal flexibility, so you’ll have advance notice of your shifts to help plan your time. 

Key responsibilities:  

• Visitor Support: Act as a key point of contact for visitor enquiries and complaints, resolving issues promptly and escalating to line management when required.
• Customer Service: Take an active role in maintaining consistently high standards of service across all Visitor Services functions. 
• Team Leadership: Support team recruitment, training, and daily performance management, providing coaching and feedback to ensure high performance and adherence to ZSL policies, including conduct and capability procedures.
• Financial Compliance: Maintain full compliance with all on-site cash handling policies and procedures across Visitor Services operations.
• Clear Communication: Promote effective communication within the team and across departments to support smooth daily operations and an excellent visitor experience.

This role is subject to standard pre-employment checks, including the candidate's right to work in the UK.

We strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds and celebrate the value of having a team of employees with diverse skills, experiences, and heritage. We are committed to ensuring our teams can bring their authentic selves to work without fear of discrimination. ZSL has active equality networks for our staff with lived experience and those who provide active allyship in Race and Culture, Team Pride, Disability Network, and Menopause Network, complemented by our strategic EDI Steering Group.  

About Us:  

We’re ZSL, an international conservation charity. Through our unrivalled animal experts in our two zoos (London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo), the work of our pioneering scientists, our dedicated conservationists, our purpose is to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals going extinct. Our vision is a world where wildlife thrives and we’re working every day to achieve this. From investigating the health threats facing animals, to helping people and wildlife live alongside each other, we are committed to bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction.  

What do we offer?  

At ZSL, we are proud of our approach to employee benefits. Our benefits include:  

• Our vision and purpose - you’ll work alongside colleagues who are passionate about science-led conservation, knowing that you will help us to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wildlife going extinct  
• Pension scheme - we offer a generous pension scheme with up to 12% contributory pension
• Flexible working – talk to us about your flexible working requirements and we will do everything we can to make sure you work in a way that suits you  
• Holidays – 25 days annual leave allowance, plus UK bank holidays  
• Wellbeing – access to a blended programme of wellbeing initiatives, including confidential access to our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme  
• Life assurance – eligible employees will be enrolled in ZSL’s life assurance scheme from their first day 
• Complimentary tickets – annual allocation of Whipsnade Zoo and London Zoo tickets, with a 30% discount in online and retail shops  
• Family friendly policies – we offer enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption packages