Visitor Services Assistant

Job Description

Job Title: Visitor Services Assistant

Reports To: FOH Supervisor / Visitor Services Manager

Salary : £11.18 ph

Start Date : ASAP

Contract Type : Zero hours

Hours: Casual, including: weekends, school holidays, weekdays, some evenings

Based at : Discover Bucks Museum at 9 Church Street in Aylesbury

Purpose of this role:

Working as part of our Visitor Services team you will provide exceptional customer service, bringing a touch of magic to everything you do. You will be proactively engaging with our visitors about our museum history and exhibits, bringing them to life and encouraging exploration. We have an exciting programme of events and this role will be pivotal in the set up and delivery of these including family holiday activities. While working in the shop and the café you will exceed our charitable sales targets, while also ensuring the day-to-day safety and security of our exhibits and our visitors.

Duties:

• Engaging visitors on our history and exhibits.

• Selling tickets and retail items on our admissions desk – encouraging donations & gift aid to meet our charitable targets.

• Selling food and beverages to our visitors, you will ensure that all hygiene standards are met.

• Set up and take down of events.

• Running family and holiday activities and preparation of resources for these.

• Being on a daily rota of tasks, working flexibly across the museum.

Our Expectations

Customer Experience: To deliver an exceptional level of customer service and a smooth visitor experience across the museum. Making sure that the highest levels of customer service are met by actively anticipating and responding to visitor needs quickly and flexibly.

Brand Ambassador: To be a voice for our brand by encouraging visitors to explore and engage with our history and exhibits. To bring a touch of magic to each interaction.

Knowledge: To gain a good knowledge and understanding of the museum’s history and exhibits. To familiarise yourself with upcoming and new exhibitions and events. To communicate well with all departments to ensure information is accurate. To gain a good knowledge of our ticket options, retail and café offer.

Teamwork: To support all colleagues and work as a joined-up museum team. To support your Supervisors, Visitor Services Manager and Head of Learning & Events by being flexible and positive.

Income Generation: To contribute to the museum’s income generation by proactively chatting with visitors about our offer. Consistently offering donation, gift aid and membership while selling tickets, and upselling all items where possible. Understanding that we are a charity that needs income to thrive.

Security: To ensure the security and safety of the museum, its exhibits, and our visitors, through up-to-date knowledge and understanding of our fire safety and evacuation procedures, our cash handling procedures, and our food hygiene policies. To have a good awareness and attention to detail.

Safeguarding: To ensure all children, young people and vulnerable adults are safe while at the museum. To be aware of our safeguarding procedures and to follow them if needed to.

Health & Safety: To be aware of, and adhere to, all the museum’s policies & procedures.

Undertake any other relevant activities which fall under the general scope of this role as directed by your line manager.

Person Specification:

Essential-

• Previous experience of working with people and engaging with adults and/or children

• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment, such as retail or other customer service focused role

• Demonstrable teamwork skills with the ability to work with others under direction but also take initiative during quieter periods

General:

• Demonstrable understanding and experience of the key elements of excellent customer service.

• Basic understanding or willingness to learn food hygiene procedure against required standards

Cash Handling:

• Demonstrable understanding of basic cash handling, card payments and till use

Health, Safety and Wellbeing:

• Understanding and ability to demonstrate the importance of health & safety and security in keeping our staff and visitors safe

• Ability to carry out manual handling for set up and take down of events

• Ability to take on a physically demanding job that requires a high level of energy

• Organised approach and readiness to think ahead to avoid issues, such as restocking empty shelves, avoidance of accidents etc

• Confidence to upsell tickets, products, café offers, future events

• Good timekeeping to arrive on time and have everything prepared for when visitors arrive

• Be a point of contact for visitors

• Put the museum’s best interest at heart- keeping the museum presentable, assisting other staff where needed, and generally showing enthusiasm and motivation in times of event set up deadlines.

• Enthusiasm for self-development & learning

• Genuine job satisfaction and enjoyment from being in a front of house role.

• Warm and friendly disposition.

• Professional outlook and attitude to maintain the reputation of the organisation

• Understanding the importance of working as part of a team, being flexible, sharing responsibilities and supporting each other.

Desirable-

• Previous experience in a customer service or Front of House role

• Experience of working with children or young people is desirable but not essential

• Experience of event running or set up

• Interest in museum history & exhibits/local area

• Food hygiene certification

• Retail/Hospitality experience

• Experience of using EPOS till system

• Some basic understanding of children and young people safeguarding

• First Aid trained/ experience

• You may have other skills and talents that you can share with us in your application

• Creativity around new products and ideas that may assist with increased visitor numbers and income

• Passion for working in the heritage or arts & culture sector

Job Type: Zero hours contract

Salary: £11.18 per hour

Schedule:

• Holidays
• Monday to Friday
• Overtime
• Weekend availability

Work Location: In person