Visitor Services

JOB PURPOSE
This is an exciting and varied role within the Visitor Services Team, primarily based at the Tenement House as part of the Tenement House, Holmwood and Weaver’s Cottage cluster. We are looking for energetic, cheerful, and talkative individuals to join our team this season.
Working at all 3 sites will be required on a rota basis, but the role will be primarily based at The Tenement House. Through engaging and informative interactions, you’ll help share stories about these iconic sites and build support and understanding for the National Trust for Scotland.

• You’ll help welcome visitors from across the globe and ensure they have an enjoyable and memorable experience here from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

• You’ll work flexibly and with an eye for detail, ensuring the smooth and safe operations in Admissions, Retail, Catering and Events activities whilst making the property the best possible place to visit and work.

• By maintaining excellent standards of service, optimising opportunities to generate income, and ensuring that the site and its assets are safe and secure you will be a vital part of furthering the valuable work of the National Trust for Scotland.

• You will contribute to the team property targets and work well within a team, by maintaining and exceeding your own targets.

Our ideal candidate will have a passion for customer service, is able to thrive on a fast paced environment, with excellent presentation skills and be able to communicate the importance of Scottish heritage and its preservation. Catering, housekeeping, admissions, membership sales and retail are all part of a normal operating day in our cluster.
Someone who wants to help us generate the income and recruit the members that enable us to care for all the unique and valuable properties within the Glasgow cluster. They will enjoy the variety and exciting challenges that come with working across several different sites and areas. A Visitor Services Assistant is crucial to visitors’ understanding of the property and in establishing and maintaining the Trust’s reputation as a guardian of Scotland’s heritage, and as the organisation that actively wants people to engage with and enjoy the properties it cares for.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
Provide a consistently high standard of visitor care
• Engage with and make our visitors feel welcome at all times, exploring the unique exhibitions and experiences each site has to offer.
• Be responsible and proactive. Ensuring all day-to-day tasks and housekeeping are completed as instructed.
• Provide a responsive, friendly and efficient service tailored to the needs of both individual visitors and tour groups.
• Be passionate about our sites. Develop a thorough understanding of the sites within the Glasgow Cluster, enabling you to share stories with visitors, offer ideas to help them enjoy their visit and answer common questions. Training of each property will be provided.
• Have a flexible approach to working hours and days including working weekend and Bank Holidays as appropriate.
• To work across departments when necessary, supporting the wider Holmwood and Weaver’s Cottage teams.
• Promote other local properties and the work of the Trust.
• Focus on the details. Ensure retail or catering displays remain stocked, tidy, and enticing throughout the day.
• Assist with the set-up, running and clean-up of functions and events.
• Work flexibly and in harmony with your colleagues across sites and departments, supporting each other to make best use of team resources, especially at busy times.
• Take the initiative and address problems or deal with tasks as they arise working with the rest of the property team.
• Listen and respond open to visitor comments to ensure that visitors leave happy and looking forward to their next visit. Feedback any issues as they arise to ensure the smooth running of the site.
• Help gather photos/videos for social media to promote our activities and encourage visits.
• Be able to take responsibility for your own development and learning.
• Be able to communicate accurately with the VSS and VSM team.
• Support our volunteers teams across all sites.

JOB PURPOSE
This is an exciting and varied role within the Visitor Services Team at Holmwood House as part of the Tenement House, Holmwood and Weaver’s Cottage cluster. We are looking for energetic, cheerful, and talkative individuals to join our team this season.
Working at all 3 sites will be required on a rota basis, but this role will be based primarily at Holmwood House. Through engaging and informative interactions, you’ll help share stories about these iconic sites and build support and understanding for the National Trust for Scotland.

• You’ll help welcome visitors from across the globe and ensure they have an enjoyable and memorable experience here from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

• You’ll work flexibly and with an eye for detail, ensuring the smooth and safe operations in Admissions, Retail, Catering and Events activities whilst making the property the best possible place to visit and work.

• By maintaining excellent standards of service, optimising opportunities to generate income, and ensuring that the site and its assets are safe and secure you will be a vital part of furthering the valuable work of the National Trust for Scotland.

• You will contribute to the team property targets and work well within a team.

• You will deliver 30 min guided tours of the property to visitors, understanding of the property establishing and maintaining the Trust’s reputation as a guardian of Scotland’s heritage, and as the organisation that actively wants people to engage with and enjoy the properties it cares for. Training will be provided.

Our ideal candidate you should be an excellent storyteller with a knack for customer service. An outstanding tour guide will perform minor alterations to each itinerary to suit the unique interests of each group. You will have excellent presentation skills and be able to communicate the importance of Scottish heritage and its preservation and work well within a team.
Someone who wants to help us generate the income and recruit the members that enable us to care for all the unique and valuable properties within the Glasgow cluster. They will enjoy the variety and exciting challenges that come with working across several different sites and areas.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

We are looking for enthusiastic, motivated and talented customer focused individuals to join our team.
Staff should be passionate about delivering outstanding customer experiences to our visitors and guests and able to maximise opportunities to generate income. It’s important that Visitor Service Assistants (VSA’s) ensure the property and its assets are safe and secure. Furthermore, we’re looking for team workers who are also able to use their own initiative and are driven to make a difference.
This role is about creating a 5 star visitor experience and providing outstanding customer service.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

To provide a consistently high standard of visitor care at all times when:

• Welcoming visitors and promoting the value of Trust membership
• Assisting visitors in selecting and purchasing the most appropriate ticket option
• Processing retail deliveries, ensuring that stock is displayed and that the stock is kept tidy
• Guiding visitors throughout the property and providing information on its history, its furnishings and inhabitants.
• To provide excellent customer service
• Helping conservation clean to strict rules and procedures.
• Handling cash accurately and processing sales
• To actively drive up selling opportunities on membership through strong knowledge and an excellent customer service.
• Be able to take responsibility for your own development and learning.
• Have a flexible approach to working hours and days including working weekend and Bank Holidays as appropriate.
• To work across departments when necessary supporting the wider team.
• To provide consistently excellent customer service when dealing with high volumes of customers and busy periods, including coach visits. Answering visitors’ queries about the catering offer, deals, seating, and ingredients.
• Checking on how visitors are enjoying their experience of catering and enquiring whether all their needs are met.
• Adhering to the property’s quality standards including wearing of uniform.
• Ensuring health and welfare of property staff, volunteers and visitors by adhering to the Trust’s Health, Safety and Environment policies and guidelines. This includes working within the property’s “Safe System of Work” (the system for managing Health & Safety).

We are looking for an experienced and talented customer focused supervisor to join us at our fantastic property, Haddo House.

This is an exciting opportunity within the heritage industry and the ideal candidate must be passionate about our vision for the Future and what we do every day as a business: Bringing people together and giving them the greatest visitor experience.

Situated in wonderful parklands, Haddo House is an iconic historical landmark that has been part of the National Trust for Scotland since 1979. These days, Haddo House has established itself as the flagship venue of the Aberdeenshire North region.

Spread over four floors, Haddo House boasts one of the most impressive interiors in the area, with an incredibly rich & fascinating history. The flexible interior space making it idea for weddings, corporate hospitality, and events.

The property also comprises of; a large multi-use courtyard which houses the retail and catering areas, one of the best gardens in Aberdeenshire, as well as two function / events and conference spaces and a large events lawn.

JOB PURPOSE

This is an exciting leadership role within the team that manages Haddo House & Garden. Haddo House is also part of a wider partnership, with Haddo Estate & Aberdeenshire Council and with a variety of user groups focusing mainly on the arts, including a choral society, arts festival and children theatre.

Engaging visitor experience and excellent customer service are vital to any visit to Haddo House. And as Scotland’s largest conservation membership charity, every penny we make supports our work protecting the nation’s natural and cultural heritage.

The Visitor Services Supervisor at a Trust property plays a pivotal role ensuring that the management objectives are achieved through excellent customer service and is very often the “face” of the Trust to visitors and suppliers.

As such, they directly influence public perceptions of the Trust and is crucial to developing and maintaining the property’s local/national reputation and work with stakeholders.

JOB PURPOSE

This job is necessary to help the National Trust for Scotland properly care for the cultural landscape and natural heritage of the busy Culloden Battlefield & Visitor Centre, through directly carrying out skilled estate maintenance work including path maintenance, caring for the conservation grazing herd and scrub clearance. As part of the Culloden Cluster the Estate team also supports Abertarff House and Hugh Millers Birthplace Cottage.

The Estates team play a pivotal role ensuring that the Culloden Conservation Management plan is realised and that we ensure safe access for over 300,000 visitors per year.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Ensuring a high standard of health and safety practice is followed while undertaking practical maintenance and conservation at Culloden Battlefield.
o Ensure you follow all relevant and appropriate Health and Safety Risk Assessments and activity procedures.
o Complete all relevant Health, Safety and Welfare logs relevant to your work and ensure compliance with COSHH
o Assist in delivery of all operations to ensure, where relevant and practical, the property is managed to reduce risk to the visiting public.
o Have an awareness of specific environmental risks relevant to working on the property, e.g. Lyme’s disease.
• Carry out essential estate maintenance to a high standard – this will include
o Small scale repairs to fences, benches, gates and other countryside furniture
o Using and maintaining equipment including fencing tools, brush cutters and woodchippers
• Day to day care of the conservation grazing herd including cattle, goats and horses.
• Undertaking conservation work while following guidelines and regulations around scheduled monuments and archaeological sites
• Interacting with visitors at the site to communicate key visitor safety messages and act as a positive ambassador for the site and the NTS
• Work with and supervise volunteers in a safe and responsible manner helping them to maximize their input to the work needed at the site and their enjoyment of the experience
• Work across the Culloden Cluster supporting Abertarff House and Hugh Millers as necessary
• Support community engagement projects and ecological surveys on site to improve landscape management

JOB PURPOSE

To maximise our visitors’ enjoyment of Culloden Battlefield by providing a world-class welcome to Culloden Visitor Centre, from the moment our guests arrive to when they leave; maintaining excellent standards of service, optimising opportunities to generate income and ensuring that the site and its assets are safe and secure.
Through warm, engaging, informative interactions, you’ll help share stories about Culloden and its place in world history and build support and understanding for the National Trust for Scotland. Specifically, to ensure the smooth and safe operations in Welcome, Tours, Retail, Catering, Engagement and Events activities making the property the best possible place to visit and work.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
To provide a consistently high standard of visitor care at all times
• Welcoming visitors to the site and processing their admission/retail or catering purchase in a friendly, efficient and knowledgeable manner.
• Delivering proactive customer service to our guests in all areas of Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre.
• Providing a high level of service in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act.
• Welcoming International visitors and aiding with specific needs.
• Welcoming groups in an efficient and warm manner.
• Answering visitors’ queries about the site, education facilities and the local area.
• Providing information about the site, its history, contents, offers and merchandise.
• Promoting National Trust for Scotland brand to include our Membership scheme, events, upselling other properties and any promotional campaigns, being proactive in the selling of Membership and Gift Aid.

JOB PURPOSE
Ben Lawers NNR is the most important mountain area in the UK for rare arctic-alpine plants, some of which occur in few other locations. It is also a popular recreational destination, with over 40,000 visitors a year heading for the summits.
We are looking for a part-time Visitor Services Assistant to be an enthusiastic and effective part of the team, contributing to the smooth operation and conservation of Ben Lawers NNR. You will maximise visitors’ enjoyment of the Reserve by maintaining our public facilities to excellent standards, making them feel welcome by offering information and advice, and promoting the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. You will support our rangers in ensuring the Reserve and its assets are protected, safe and secure, and assisting at events when required,
The role will be ambassadorial, building awareness and support for the National Trust for Scotland leaving those you meet with a desire to respect, protect, and enjoy the special natural environment and an understanding of how they can help to contribute their support to the property. It will require you to be outside for most of the time, to walk low level trails and carry out maintenance with hand tools. There will be a requirement for lone working, but you may also work alongside other staff and volunteers.
The ability to engage with the public in a friendly manner is vital for the role, and general knowledge of the area, hillwalking and/or natural history would be an advantage.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
To provide a consistently high standard of visitor care at all times
• Welcoming visitors to the property in a friendly, efficient and knowledgeable manner, answering queries and providing information about it, and the local area;
• Provide a positive visitor experience by assisting with car parking, property checks, events and onsite activities when required.
• Promoting National Trust for Scotland brand to include selling memberships, events, upselling other properties and any promotional campaigns;
• Welcoming visitors with special needs/impairments and providing a high level of service in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act;
• Welcoming International visitors and aiding with specific needs.

To maintain excellent standards of site and personal presentation at all times
• To assist with the general ongoing operational servicing and delivery of visitor facilities across the property, including our car park, other outlying informal parking areas and low-level trails on the property.
• Ensuring the property is clear of debris, rubbish etc and that signage is befitting of a Trust property;
• Ensuring the property is ready to accept and welcome visitors by the set operational times;
• Wearing correct uniform, name badges, as required;
• Reporting all instances of damage and wear and tear issues promptly to your line manager;
• Participate in a “Duty” rota to ensure that visitor’s needs out with normal working hours are supported.

To maximise our visitors’ enjoyment of National Trust for Scotland managed sites by maintaining excellent standards of service, optimising opportunities to generate income and ensuring that the site and its assets are safe and secure.
Specifically, to ensure the smooth and safe operations in Admissions, Tours, Retail, Catering and Events activities making the property the best possible place to visit and work.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
To provide a consistently high standard of visitor care at all times
 Welcoming visitors to the site and processing their admission/retail or catering purchase in a friendly, efficient and knowledgeable manner.
 Welcoming visitors with special needs / impairments and providing a high level of service in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act.
 Welcoming International visitors and aiding with specific needs.
 Welcoming groups in an efficient and warm manner.
 Answering visitors’ queries about the site, education facilities and the local area.
 Providing information about the site, its history, contents, offers and merchandise.
 Promoting National Trust for Scotland brand to include our Membership scheme, events, upselling other properties and any promotional campaigns, being proactive in the selling of Membership and Gift Aid.

New Year, New Job – Join our Mercat Team!

Share your passion for Scotland’s past; story by story, step by step.

Your Skills and Strengths;

– Passion for history, culture and Edinburgh!
– Excellent communication skills
– Friendly, energetic and helpful
– Responsible, reliable and trustworthy
– Thrives working in a team
– Adaptable and resourceful
– Passion for high quality product and visitor experience
– Commitment to be the best you can be
– Sense of humour!

Benefits:
Your personal development and training are core to your time with Mercat.
– £15.03 pr/hr – REAL Living Wage + for all
– Permanent, secure contracts – no fixed term or ‘zero hour’
– Guaranteed minimum hours – annualised 520hrs pr/yr (average 10 pr/wk)
– Flexible working incl WFH and jobshare options
– Fair Work Employer – championing respect with fulfilling and secure work and opportunities to grow
– Mercat holds a Home Office Sponsorship License for Skilled Worker Visa applicants
– Personal development and training plan
– Access to Bike to Work scheme
– Access to ASVA card
– Interest free loans on travel e.g. annual bus pass
– Trained Mental Health First Aiders onsite
– Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 confidential support for you and your families
– Income Protection Insurance Cover
– Three Team Action Groups to shape company direction and activity – Wellbeing, Development and Green
– Use of company holiday home in Birnam, Perthshire
– Annual profit-share bonus

A Warm Welcome for Everyone
Mercat Tours promises to provide valued Living Wage jobs and make diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do – from the team we nurture, the visitors we welcome and history we share.

We’re responsible for all the choices we make – how we run our business, spend our money and mindful that our team is representative of our visitors. We want to create a sense of belonging for everyone at Mercat and will keep working hard to review and achieve this. Thank you for wanting to be a part of our community.

Purpose and Role:
– Give history a damn good telling
– Deliver authentic, high quality walking tours for our visitors, helping to create memorable moments
– Represent Mercat Tours and our city in a positive, professional manner
– Responsible for visitor safety and security
– Work as a positive, supportive member of our great team
– Help drive the growth of Mercat in a positive, sustainable future as part of our dynamic team

Details:
– Permanent role
– Part-time, flexible hours
– Guaranteed hours
– Shifts vary in length from 2 to 7hrs per day
– Working hours 9am – 10pm
– Working week Monday to Sunday
– 3 month probationary period
– We are a Living Wage employer

Audition Process:
We want you to feel comfy, confident and at your best when we meet. Get in touch to help us understand how we can meet your needs and give you a warm welcome.

Stage 1: Successful applicants will be called by for an initial ‘meet the team’ chat by phone

Stage 2: Invitation to an interview and audition where you’ll be asked to tell a story, provided in advance

Stage 3: Successful interviewees will be called for a second audition and storytelling workshop (approximate duration 2.5 hours) date to be confirmed after audition stage.

Stage 4: Successful candidates will be offered a permanent contract with a three-month probationary period. You will receive our award-winning, accredited training to deliver our 5 star visitor experience.

Areas covered in training:

– Initial induction sessions to teach and develop guiding skills
– Storytelling practice with fellow trainees; peer to peer and online
– As skills progress, trainees share tours for the public supported by experienced Storytellers
– Full H&S, fire and first aid procedures