Visitor Assistant English Heritage Orpington BR6

Would you like to work for the leading Charity in the heritage sector? If so, we would love to hear from you and you to join us at English Heritage. We are looking for a Visitor Assistant to join us at Down House- The Home of Charles Darwin working 15 hours per week in the Summer season, April to October, and then zero hours in the Winter season, November to March.

No history background? No problem. What is important to us is a passion for people and excellent customer service. We want our staff to enjoy working with others as part of a team and understand what makes excellent customer service to deliver an engaging visitor experience to a diverse audience.

We are the organisation that looks after England’s most important buildings and monuments, making sure our country’s amazing history is available for everyone to enjoy. From world-famous prehistoric sites to grand medieval castles, Roman forts to a Cold War bunker, we bring the history of England to life.

As a Down House Visitor Assistant, you will join an amazing team of employees and volunteers, making sure visitors have a great time from the moment they arrive until they say goodbye.

Down House belonged to the great scientist Charles Darwin, who lived here for 40 years until his death in 1882. After moving to the house in 1842, Darwin and his wife, Emma, remodelled the house and its extensive gardens, which Darwin used as an open-air laboratory. It was here that Darwin developed his theory of evolution by natural selection and wrote his groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859)

If you would like to talk to us about this role before you apply, e.g. regarding workplace adjustments, working patterns, please contact Sophie Levett, Down House Manager, at sophie.levett@english-heritage.org.uk No agencies please.

By joining us as a Down House Visitor Assistant, you will join an amazing team of employees and volunteers, making sure visitors have a great time from the moment they arrive until they say goodbye. Working as part of a team, you will deliver a warm welcome to everyone and by connecting with our visitors, you will help to personalise their visit through your recommendations. This could include raising awareness of the benefits of membership options or recommending things to see and do on site. You will ensure your site is accessible, safe and well presented at all times. It is a varied role and some days will be busy from start to finish, whereas others may be quieter especially on the wetter days! No two days are the same.

Training and support will be provided as part of your induction to the role, but some paid or voluntary experience working with the public may be beneficial. There will be requirement to work weekends and Bank Holidays, more information will be provided at interview.

You will enjoy the rewards of a great team environment in inspiring locations, helping to make our sites a wonderful place to visit. You’ll also be joining our charity, which through our 400+ historic monuments, buildings and sites, brings the story of England to life for over 10 million visitors each year.

Benefits include:

• Comprehensive training
• The opportunity to progress your career within the heritage sector, in retail, food and beverage or general management
• Apprenticeship opportunities
• Opportunities to go to some of our great live music or history events
• Free access to all English Heritage sites for you, another adult and up to 6 children
• 25% discount in our shops and cafes
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/Shared Parental leave
• 25 days’ holiday plus Bank Holidays pro rata rising to 28 days after 3 years
• Options to buy additional leave
• Matched pension contributions up to a maximum of 10%

Everyone is welcome at English Heritage. We are always looking for people who reflect the diversity of the country today, to help us make it more relevant to the diversity of the people, communities and places we serve. From remote sites to inner city monuments, from regional teams to our Head Office, the diversity of our teams is critical to making sure our heritage is inclusive, exciting and accessible. We continually look for new ways to promote the past in a way that is inclusive to all and that celebrates the cultural diversity of England’s heritage. By joining us, you will be part of a charity that is already on an exciting journey to tell everyone’s story with an inclusive working atmosphere where everyone from all backgrounds, religions and with different needs will be supported. To support this work, we have a number of EDI networks that you can join as either a member or ally. These networks include Ethnic Diversity, Faith & Belief, Social Mobility, LGBTQ+, Neurodivergence and Gender Specific Issues

Interviews will be held on the week commencing 15th April 2024 at Down House.