LaplandUK

FC CONTROLLER - £14.50/h, plus £50 per working day subsidy - MANCHESTER

ABOUT LAPLANDUK

LaplandUK is based on two Original Stories Written by Mike & Alison Battle 'The Untold Story of Father Christmas' & 'The Secrets of the Christmas Elves'.

LaplandUK is an immersive, theatrical experience based on an original adaptation, centred around a child’s fleeting belief in Father Christmas. Putting families at the centre of the storyline, the 4/4.5-hour experience allows families to explore an ancient Elven civilisation through a magical world of storytelling that fuses the spectacle of a filmset with the performance of theatre.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The small team of FC Controllers manage the guest flow of ‘FC Land’, an area of Lapland where guests journey through a magical Woodland Walk, encounter reindeers and characters. This part of the experience culminates in a personalised audience with Father Christmas.

The Controllers are the driving force behind an efficient operation, using our bespoke system to allocate guests to available Father Christmas visit slots and ensure that team members are working effectively and efficiently to ensure that guest throughput targets are met.

Your role is to ensure families pass through the meetings across different cabins in both a timely and positive manner. The FC Controller will be responsible for increasing throughput using CCTV, for a number of cabins which simultaneously see thousands of guests pass through every season.

This role would be a great fit for individuals with 2+ years experience in operations/visitor attractions/control centres/dispatch where they have managed capacity and crowd flows. The ideal candidate will have worked in an operations control background, and be familiar with understanding graphs and data for throughput.

This role must have good availability throughout the live shows and is happy working 12hr shifts.

RESPONSIBILITIES

OPERATIONS

• Manage a safe and best-in-class ‘FC Land’ operation strictly in-line with approved policy, processes and instruction. Ensure a complete and up-to-date working knowledge of procedures, consulting with Head Office on any required review or revision, ensuring a consistent and efficient operation.
• Monitor CCTV to ensure that guest flow, staff movements and allocation of guests to available Father Christmas visit slots are efficient and in-line with pre-determined throughput and capacity targets.
• Use our bespoke system ‘Harmony’ to monitor visit statistics and manage the allocation of guests to available visit slots. Drive and improve efficiency when ‘completed visit’ statistics fall behind targets
• Work under pressure within the Operations Control hub of the area, ensuring that any risks to the operational delivery of the area are managed effectively. Maintain consistent communication with relevant stakeholders, including; Event Managers, Area Operations Manager, Photos Duty Manager and Guest Relations Duty Manager
• Have a thorough working knowledge of the ‘FC Land’ operation in order to effectively troubleshoot and problem solve.
• Ensure consistent and accurate daily reporting of operational ‘FC Land’ KPI’s to Head Office and the wider Lapland operations teams.
• Act as a champion for the ‘Lapland Accessibility and Inclusion’ policies, working with colleagues and direct reports to ensure all are trained and working in accordance with the relevant processes.
• Deliver daily briefings to teams, communicating key safety, operational, experiential and departmental information in a timely manner.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Work closely with FC Land Management team to ensure that the staffing of ‘FC Land’ is consistently at the right level. Pro-actively address and resolve instances where staffing levels fall below the required matrix for operation.
• Establish, lead and maintain a professional and positive working culture within the ‘FC Land’ teams, acting as a role model. Provide support and guidance for direct and indirect reports at all times.
• Ensure a high level of morale across all teams within the ‘FC Land’ operation.
• Recognise and promote good performance and attendance.

VIP & PR GUESTS

• Support the communication and requests of all VIP and PR guests as determined by the VIP manager / team.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Essential Experience:

• Minimum one year working in live entertainment, event operations, visitor attraction operations or control centre operations.
• Working knowledge of best Health and Safety practices.
• Experience using radio communications

Desirable Experience:

• An understanding of back of house ticketing systems.
• Experience working in a control room environment 
• A basic knowledge of KPI and customer insight data (e.g. dashboards, surveying and mystery shoppers).

SKILLS

• Excellent communication, interpersonal and diplomacy skills.
• A keen eye for operational efficiencies, with the confidence to challenge and drive standards.
• Flexibility of approach to working environment needs.

Where is Lapland?

Lapland Manchester is based at Congleton Road, Siddington, Macclesfield, SK11 9JY

Key Dates:

• PAID TRAINING: Your training plan will vary depending on your role. Training will take place on select dates between the end of October 2025 and the beginning of November 2025.
• LIVE EVENT: In 2025 Lapland Manchester will run from Sunday 9th November – Wednesday 24th December.

Benefits

• Hourly pay of £14.50 per hour, plus holiday pay paid at the end of contract
• £50 per working day subsidy
• Free hot meal per day
• Free unlimited coffee, tea and soft drinks
• 20% discount in LaplandUK retail shops on selected dates
• Complimentary staff shuttle bus from local train station direct to site