Manager, Guest Experience

This is a Full Time Job

Over the last three years, the leadership of the Hawks and Philips Arena have lead a dynamic turnaround of the franchise, on and off the court. Building on the 60-win season and Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2015, the Hawks have relaunched the brand, increased sponsorship by 50% and doubled the season-ticket holder base.  Ownership is committed to bringing a championship to Atlanta and recruited one of the architects of the Miami Heat's and Golden State's recent success as our new general manager.  

At the same time, the ownership group led by Tony Ressler and Grant Hill set the focus on four key real estate development initiatives:  build a new practice facility; acquire a G-League franchise; renovate Philips Arena; and redevelop downtown surrounding the Arena.  The Atlanta Hawks have made real progress on each of these four initiatives – entitling, breaking ground or completing each one.  The franchise now has the physical assets to grow over the next several years and pivot from being a developer to an operator of these expanded enterprises. 

As an operator, the team and arena encompass a broad range of individual businesses that need to work together to create an unparalleled guest experience – property manager, restauranteur, event promoter, parking operator, traffic coordinator, security provider, marketing partner, ticket seller, etc.  Every year, the Arena hosts 1.5 million visitors, serves enough food and drink to be one of the biggest restaurants in Atlanta, manages five separate parking lots across downtown, and produces a range of events from basketball, concerts, family shows to corporate conferences.    

Guest Experience will play a significant role in delivering a world class, end-to-end guest experience.

Key Responsibilities
Reporting to the Vice President of Guest Experience, the Manager of Guest Experience (MGE) will be a key member of the Hawks organization responsible for collaborating across the organization to ensure our guests receive a seamless experience. The MGE must be able to work across disciplines (ticketing, marketing, service, food & beverage, parking, transportation, digital, etc.) and drive positive change through influence. The MGE must represent the voice of the fan within the organization, always striving to continuously improve the Guest Experience.

Specifically, the MGE will be responsible for the following: 
• Partner with the analytics team on the execution of post event surveys, leveraging the data to run after action meetings and identify improvement areas across the guest experience.
• Evaluate, identify, and implement improvements to operational processes such as gate entry, food & beverage queuing, fan flow, premium access control, and more.
• Partner with Security, GWWC, and City of Atlanta to build the traffic management plan, addressing a key pain point in the guest journey
• Partner with marketing and IT to develop the Atlanta Hawks & Philips Arena mobile app, building out functionality to improve the end-to-end arena event experience.
• Lead the strategy and development of an artificial intelligence chat bot, which can be leveraged for service across a variety of digital channels. 
• Partner with departments across the organization to develop the strategy for personalized fan experiences, building out the use cases that will drive data strategy, scoring model development, and meaningful fan interactions.
• Ensure event and arena information is consistently and accurately communicated across various channels (website, apps, email, etc.). Drive real time communication to enhance guest experience
• Stay abreast of industry products and trends, identifying opportunities for inclusion into the Philips Arena experience

Professional Experience, Qualifications and Education
The ideal candidate will possess:
• A Bachelor's degree in Business, Industrial Engineering, Sports Management, Hospitality or related field; a graduate degree is preferred.
• Work experience in industrial engineering, consulting, or product management, with the ability to work across multiple disciplines.
• A strong foundation of analytical skills, with the ability to use data to identify problems and solutions in the guest experience
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence others to drive change

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. 

Job Questions:
• How did you hear about this job?
• Did a Hawk's employee refer you? If so, who?