Cultural visitor services manager to cultural centre director
A cultural visitor services manager already meets 23% of what the cultural centre director role asks for. The move turns on 22 required skills not yet in the profile.
80.5/ 100
1 How much of what a cultural centre director is expected to do is already part of a cultural visitor services manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the cultural centre director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A cultural centre director role treats 8 of its required skills as things a cultural visitor services manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- approve reports for artistic project
- assemble health and safety resources in cultural venues
- create cultural venue learning strategies
- create cultural venue outreach policies
- evaluate cultural venue programmes
- evaluate cultural venue visitor needs
What stands in the way is 22 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A cultural centre director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a cultural visitor services manager background worth leading with.
- already held promote cultural venue in schools communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create cultural venue learning strategies management skills
- already held create cultural venue outreach policies communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assemble health and safety resources in cultural venues assisting and caring
- already held evaluate cultural venue programmes information skills
- already held evaluate cultural venue visitor needs management skills
All 9 carried skills, including the 8 the cultural centre director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 41 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn develop cultural policies required
- still to learn organise cultural events required
- still to learn develop cultural activities required
- still to learn establish daily priorities required
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn manage logistics required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn manage supplies required
- still to learn strive for company growth required
- still to learn supervise daily information operations required
- still to learn work within communities required
- optional, not held coordinate community arts activities optional
- optional, not held manage cultural facility optional
- optional, not held supervise event staff optional
- optional, not held apply strategic thinking optional
- optional, not held coordinate events optional
- optional, not held fix meetings optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- optional, not held set organisational policies optional
- still to learn liaise with cultural partners required
- still to learn liaise with event sponsors required
- still to learn build community relations required
- still to learn develop promotional tools required
- still to learn liaise with local authorities required
- optional, not held maintain relations with local representatives optional
- optional, not held develop inclusive communication material optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with government agencies optional
- optional, not held represent the organisation optional
- still to learn follow company standards required
- still to learn manage health and safety standards required
- still to learn promote inclusion required
- still to learn budgetary principles required
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- optional, not held project management principles optional
- still to learn cultural projects required
- optional, not held assess data collected to improve community arts programme optional
- optional, not held evaluate events optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a cultural centre director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 budgetary principles study this
- 02 corporate social responsibility study this
- 03 cultural projects study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held approve reports for artistic project skill
- already held assemble health and safety resources in cultural venues skill
- already held create cultural venue learning strategies skill
- already held create cultural venue outreach policies skill
- already held evaluate cultural venue programmes skill
- already held evaluate cultural venue visitor needs skill
- already held promote cultural venue events skill
- already held work with cultural venue specialists skill
- already held promote cultural venue in schools skill
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assess data collected to improve community arts programme optional
- optional, not held coordinate community arts activities optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with local representatives optional
- optional, not held manage cultural facility optional
- optional, not held supervise event staff optional
- optional, not held apply strategic thinking optional
- optional, not held coordinate events optional
- optional, not held develop inclusive communication material optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
- optional, not held evaluate events optional
- optional, not held fix meetings optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with government agencies optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- optional, not held project management principles optional
- optional, not held represent the organisation optional
- optional, not held set organisational policies optional
9 held skills the cultural centre director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role consult exhibition organisers skill
- not needed by the target role develop artistic educational activities skill
- not needed by the target role develop educational resources skill
- not needed by the target role develop outreach training plans skill
- not needed by the target role ensure infrastructure accessibility skill
- not needed by the target role establish educational network skill
- not needed by the target role manage art facilities staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage volunteers skill
- not needed by the target role plan art educational activities skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn budgetary principles required
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- still to learn cultural projects required
- optional, not held project management principles optional
Other moves recorded from cultural visitor services manager
Common questions about this move
Can a cultural visitor services manager become a cultural centre director?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A cultural visitor services manager already covers 23% of what a cultural centre director is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 8 of which the cultural centre director role treats as required.
What skills does a cultural visitor services manager need to become a cultural centre director?
22 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is budgetary principles.
How hard is the move from cultural visitor services manager to cultural centre director?
Its learning distance is 80.5 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.