Head of Commercial Operations

The Charterhouse is one of London's most historic and atmospheric sites. Tucked away in Clerkenwell, the estate has been an important Carthusian monastery, a grand Tudor mansion, and home to a pioneering charity established in 1611. For over 400 years, we have served as an almshouse, providing a home and community for our residents who are aged 60 and over with a housing, financial or social need.

Today, the Charterhouse is a thriving charity that balances provision of a home and care for our residents with a vibrant public engagement programme including tours, lectures and open garden evenings, and commercial venue hire offer hosting conferences, receptions, photoshoots and location filming. It is a friendly, interesting and unique place to work. We are custodians of a Grade I and II listed buildings, including some of the most important Tudor buildings in London, and we are entering an exciting phase of development to secure the fabric of these buildings for future generations.

Please apply with your CV and a covering letter explaining how you meet each of the criteria in the person specification. Applications without a cover letter will not be reviewed.

Background:

The Head of Commercial Operations will lead and manage the Carthusia Operations team, ensuring the effective delivery of the Charterhouse visitor attraction. This includes overseeing daily public opening and all commercial activity, encompassing retail, public engagement, venue hire, bookings, sales, and events.

The postholder will be responsible for ensuring Front of House teams deliver consistently high standards of customer care, placing visitors at the heart of everything we do while maximising income to support the financial sustainability of the charity.

Reporting to the Director of Estates & Operations, the Head of Commercial Operations will raise standards across the visitor offer, facilities, commercial activities, and customer service, strengthening the Charterhouse's reputation as a world-class heritage attraction and event destination.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and Strategy:

• Lead, inspire, and develop all Front of House and visitor-facing teams.
• Support the Senior Management Team and the Carthusia Board, providing insight and advice on the development of the visitor offer.
• Ensure the organisation remains commercially minded, visitor-focused, and responsive to changing audience needs.
• Work closely with Communications and Development teams to embed the Charterhouse's vision and strategy across all outward-facing activity.

Visitor Experience and Operations:

• Ensure the efficient operational management of the Charterhouse attraction, with capacity and staffing levels sufficient to meet demand.
• Deliver a consistently excellent visitor experience across all areas, including:
  • Front of House welcome
  • Visitor Centre operations (Admissions, Retail, Groups)
  • Customer service standards and satisfaction, including systematic monitoring of visitor feedback
  • Bookings and sales administration
  • Venue hire and corporate, private, and VIP events
  • Internal events and development initiatives

Commercial Performance:

• Maximise income generation across all revenue streams, including ticketing, Gift Aid, retail, catering, venue hire, and events.
• Identify and develop new commercial and e-commerce opportunities in collaboration with internal teams.
• Monitor performance against targets and drive continuous improvement.
• Deliver the "Charterhouse" brand and values across the commercial operations
• Accountable for risk and compliance of events and retail operations

Financial and Operational Management:

• Manage operational budgets, maximising revenue while achieving cost efficiencies.
• Regularly review and improve operational procedures and policies to ensure compliance, efficiency, and best practice.
• Ensure high standards of welcome, facilities, safety, and presentation throughout the site.
• Maximise the profitability, sustainability, and quality of event and retail operations, developing sales and marketing strategies and delivering strong budget management.

Experience

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• A natural, confident, and inspiring leadership style
• Strong commercial and business acumen
• Energy, initiative, and a self-starting approach
• Excellent people management and interpersonal skills
• An outgoing, approachable manner and strong customer focus
• A hands-on, collaborative approach with flexibility and resilience
• Strong time management skills and the ability to perform under pressure
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills
• High levels of numeracy with strong monitoring and reporting capability
• Strong IT skills, including MS Office applications and CRM systems
• Creativity, innovation, and a willingness to try new approaches

Skills:

• Demonstrable senior leadership experience managing commercial operations (e.g. retail, catering, events, venue hire)
• Proven experience managing and motivating large teams
• Experience working within a heritage, visitor attraction, cultural, or comparable environment

Qualifications

The successful candidate will have substantial senior-level experience managing commercial operations in a visitor-facing environment.

A degree-level qualification in business, hospitality, tourism, heritage, or a related discipline is desirable, as is professional training in leadership or management.

Relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of formal qualifications.

The Charterhouse is a 7 day a week operation and it regularly hosts events outside of its core hours; flexibility to work occasional weekends and out-of-hours is therefore a requirement of the role.

Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

This position requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check which will reveal any unspent convictions. A criminal record may not necessarily be a bar to employment, as any decision will be treated on its merits and individual circumstances subject to the Charterhouse's overriding obligations to protect the children and vulnerable adults in its charge, members of the public, the safety of the Charterhouse's staff and collections.

Equal Opportunities Employer

We are an equal opportunities employer. We respect and appreciate people of all ethnicities, generations, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities and more which we support by our approach to EDI recognising the importance of diversity and of promoting an inclusive culture, and we are committed to equity in all our activities. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know and we will be happy to support you.