Visitor Services

JOB PURPOSE

This is a fantastic opportunity to work as part of our leadership team at the iconic Glencoe National Nature Reserve and its Visitor Centre, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people from across the globe every year.

You will be responsible for the day-to-day catering operations at our popular Highland Coo Cafe. You will deliver our quality standards and performance targets, ensuring we offer customers a fantastic Food & Beverage experience.
You will be an enthusiastic team player who can lead by example to supervise, coach and motivate your team. You will also be part of a broader duty management team responsible for promoting good communication across the site and a joined-up visitor services provision.
As a charity, every penny we raise goes back into the National Trust for Scotland’s conservation work, caring for this special place.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Catering operation
• Contribute to menu development, preparation, cooking and presentation of a high quality food and drink offer.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety, food hygiene and environmental health standards and appropriate record-keeping
• Accountable for cost-effective stock management, ordering, storage and wastage control.
Visitor experience
• Offer excellent customer service and ensure all members of the catering team do the same.
• Support property-wide targets for completion of visitor surveys to understand more about our visitors.
• Act as one of our duty manager team, responsible for ensuring a safe and smooth visitor operation, addressing issues, and opening/closing up the visitor centre.

People management
• Supervise the activities of a team of permanent and seasonal Visitor Service Assistants (VSAs), kitchen porters and cooks, achieving excellent staff performance and motivation through effective induction, training, task-setting and coaching on front and back-of-house routines.
• Prepare catering rotas and holiday allocation to meet business needs.
• Work closely with specialist advisory colleagues, i.e. our Trust-wide Catering Development Manager.

Finance Management
• Share responsibility for achieving an F&B budget of around £450,000 a year.
• Monitor commercial performance and adjust activities to capitalize on sales opportunities and run a cost-effective catering operation.
• Supervise daily café till operations and perform end-of-day income reconciliation as a duty manager.
• Assist the Catering Manager with menu costing, ordering and stock-taking.

Performance indicators and targets
• Weekly, monthly and annual sales and cost of sales targets
• Food compliance standards and record-keeping
• Visitor enjoyment reviews and ratings from visitor surveys and visitor feedback
• Staff satisfaction from staff surveys

Tools / equipment / systems
• Access to desktop PC and relevant online people management, training, financial monitoring and stock ordering systems, including NTS intranet and Microsoft 365.
• EPOS tills and chip and pin machines
• Fully equipped commercial catering kitchen

JOB PURPOSE

This role exists to ensure a best-in-class visitor experience that compliments the unique nature of one of Scotland’s most spectacular natural features, significant for its natural beauty, geology, SSI, NNR, and Gaelic culture leading all staff to contribute fully to the operations overall commercial and conservation success.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Create a culture of ‘exceptional service, every time’, delivering high standards of customer experience and a consistently warm welcome to everyone.
• Motivation of all Staff and volunteers through exceptional recruitment, induction, development, motivation, and performance management to such a level that they are fully equipped and motivated to undertake their duties to the required Trust standards and that staffing budgets are adhered to
• Responsible for the catering, car parking and travel trade income departments to achieve their financial targets, maximizing income and profitability, using the Trust’s procedures and instructions. You will strive to be efficient and ensure cost effectiveness in all the work you do.
• Ensure high standards of presentation across the site You may have delegated tasks within other departments, and you will understand and help deliver the overall property business plan.
• Instill a Health & Safety culture across the property, ensuring the teamwork within the property’s ‘Safe System of Work’ to reduce risk of incidents and accidents to volunteers, employees and visitors.
• Ensure that all compliance KPI’s are delivered
• Responsible for purchase order control, raising and discrepancies
• Taking responsibility for opening and closing and security of buildings as well as emergency procedure implementation, duty management, providing relief cover as required and responding to out of hours duty manager call outs.
• Collaborate successfully with VSS estate Corrieshalloch/Inverewe, VSM’s Inverewe, VSM maintenance Inverewe and Inverewe Administrator to ensure successful multi site operational cross party working
• Collaborate successfully with VSS estate and site rangers to achieve Corrieshallochs NNR and SSSI objectives along with the NTS plan for nature strategy
• To ensure the successful running of all the other customer touch points of path networks, bridges and viewing platform.
• Demonstrating and ensuring high standards of presentation across the property. You may have delegated tasks within other departments, and you will understand and help deliver the overall property business plan.
• This role is one for which the duties/responsibilities/accountabilities of the role require you to become a member of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, which replaces the ‘Enhanced Disclosure’ check and is administered by Disclosure Scotland.
• Manage as required in conjunction with other VSM’s based at Inverewe and Corrieshalloch VSS/ranger on site all formal and informal learning programmes across the operation, developing and delivering curriculum linked learning programmes for schools to include both indoor and outdoor learning.
• Assist the operations manager with the recruitment, training, and performance of all Corrieshalloch ambassadors and other volunteer roles as and when the need arises.
• Work closely with other VSM’s based at Inverewe to design and deliver a programme of visitor events, which increase visitor numbers, drive secondary spend and support overall operation targets.
• As business dictates you may be asked to work at Inverewe Garden in a VSM capacity

CONTEXT

The Food & Beverage Manager is responsible for the full catering operation within Brodie Castle & Estate. This is currently 2 distinct catering outlets, one located in the Castle serving a traditional café menu, with c50 covers indoor seating and c60 covers of outside seating. The other catering outlet is located within Playful Garden with a distinct family aimed, sweet treats offer. This outlet has c60 covers indoor and currently c30 outside covers, although this has potential to be much larger. There are also 2 mobile catering units on site, these provide catering for larger events and again have potential for further use. The Catering Manager will be expected to develop the offers of all outlets to best suit the audience, maximise income potential and visitor experience within these settings. The Estate also hosts corporate events and weddings and contains 4 holiday cottages. The role can develop offers around these areas to further deliver income and experience.

Brodie Castle is set within a 75 acre “policies” estate, it is the ancestral home of the Brodies of Brodie and consists of a number of listed buildings including the main 16th century Z plan Castle, stables, walled garden, gate houses and gardeners bothy, as well as a number of estate houses currently used as holiday lets. The Castle consists of dressed rooms used as a guided tour visitor experience and houses a collection worth over £6m. Within the Castle is the main catering outlet and retail facility as well as housing the main estate offices. There is also the Lairds wing, a luxury 7-bedroom holiday let within the Castle.

The wider estate consists of a nationally significant designed landscape with Victorian Shrubbery, tree lined avenues, commercial forestry, agricultural land, and mature mixed woodlands surrounding a manmade lake. Within the old walled garden is a Playful Garden, consisting of imaginative play area, formal gardens, and the national daffodil collection.

KEY PURPOSE

The purpose of the role is to support the conservation of Brodie Castle & Estate by generating income through food and beverage operations whilst delivering the highest standard of visitor experience for all visitors and guests. This will be achieved by maintaining the highest standards of conservation and adhering to regional and national strategies, policies, and procedures.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Visitor Catering Experience
• Overall responsibility for the management and delivery of the catering facilities at Brodie Castle & Estate. This includes, but is not limited to, the Castle Café, Playful Garden Pavilion and 2 mobile catering units.
• Ensuring innovative ideas and current trends in catering are constantly being delivered in all outlets on site
• Setting objectives and being responsible for the overall, day-to-day running of the catering operations
• Leading and managing a team of staff; managing performance, recognising training needs and potential as appropriate
• Managing budgets – ensuring that, as a minimum, the financial targets agreed with, in line with the budget are met
• Devising, costing and sourcing menu items and consistently looking at ways of maximising income through effective purchasing and creative merchandising
• Adhering to the sale of alcohol legislation, being a Premises Manager
• Regularly monitoring customer feedback, Mystery Visitor and Visit Scotland Audits and develop suitable action plans based on the results
• Being visitor/customer focused by being visible, approachable, and quick to exceed expectations in fulfilling customer needs

Health & Safety, Food Safety, the Environment
• Ensuring that the operation meets statutory requirements of Health and Safety, Food Safety and Environmental legislations and procedures
• Conducting Food Safety and Health and Safety Risk Assessments and ensuring that all standards and procedures with regards to Hygiene and Safety are established and
• Recording and reporting all accidents within the location, adhering to location and company procedures
• Ensuring all equipment is well maintained and is in good working order
• Making recommendations for renewal and replacement of equipment when required.
• Establishing and maintaining location cleaning schedules
• Ensuring that all Trust procedures and work instructions are fully understood and practiced by all employees
• Promoting and encouraging environmental improvement initiatives as appropriate within the business

JOB PURPOSE
To assist the Head Chef in the day to day management of the food services to ensure that all targets are met and all visitors receive the highest level of visitor experience standards.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
• Assist the Head Chef with the development of the Menu Cycle/Specification
• Contribute to food production as per the Menu Cycle/Specification and event Food Production (corporate, hospitality, meetings etc)
• Keeping up to date HACCP, COSHH checklists and temperature sheets.
• Ensure high Standards of Kitchen Hygiene, Cleanliness, Tidiness and related Schedules
• Use fresh Produce and Ingredients whenever and wherever is possible and minimise wastage.
• Maintain a high standard of Food Presentation to the Customer
• Share in the common responsibility of implementing the Trust’s “Health & Safety Policy”, being mindful at all times of the health and safety of self, staff, volunteers, and visitors.
• Share in the common responsibility of working in a manner mindful of the Trust’s obligations to minimise impact on the environment, through e.g. efficient use of water/heat/light, recycling and the disposal of waste, considered use of transport
• Help to reduce occurrences where Health or Safety of yourself and other employees may be put in jeopardy
• Adherence to the COSHH Training provided and control of substances covered by COSHH
• Involvement in the upkeep and maintenance of both the entire department site and, specifically, the Catering Outlets
• Involvement in assessing and preserving the safety of utensils and equipment used within the Catering Outlets

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE
Qualifications
• Intermediate Food Hygiene Certificate
• Preferably a recognised formal qualification in culinary arts

Skills, experience & knowledge
Essential
The above outlines the key skills the job holder will need to possess and exercise. In addition, either knowledge of or experience in the following is required:
• Highly developed organisational skills, deployable in a multi-tasking environment;
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral), including influencing/persuasion;
• Ability to work as part of a team and the ability to foster and motivate a team;
• An understanding and commitment to the aims and objectives of the National Trust for Scotland.
• Living the values of the National Trust for Scotland and encourage colleagues to do the same
o The ability and willingness to understand others’ perspectives and to consider the impact of your actions on them and to adapt your actions as necessary.
o The ability and willingness to learn and try new things, to be flexible and step outside of your comfort zone.
o An open and honest way of communicating, ready to ask others for their ideas and to be open to hear and consider different points of view.
o A pro-active approach to taking initiative and to driving forward ideas and projects designed to improve daily operations and deliver an exceptional visitor experience.
The normal day-to-day duties of this role are such that a criminal record check or membership of the PVG scheme is not required.

You will be responsible for the operational delivery of the café, ice cream, retail and visitor services at Gladstone’s Land. Delivering performance standards and targets to ensure enjoyment of the property by visitors and members is maximised and key commercial, financial and development objectives are achieved to make the property fully sustainable. You will be part of a broader management team responsible for delivering an overall visitor service strategy, promoting good communication across the site and a joined-up service provision.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
Supervising/undertaking the day-to-day operation of the property and environs to ensure an excellent customer/visitor experience. This includes supervision of:
• Responsibility for the supervision and delivery of the catering facilities at Gladstone’s Land.
• Being visitor/customer focused by being visible, approachable, and quick to exceed expectations in fulfilling customer needs.
• Line management of Visitor Services Assistants and volunteers
• Duty management and oversight/maintenance of the property
• Recording and reporting all accidents within the location, adhering to location and company procedures
• Ensuring all equipment is well maintained and is in good working order
• Maintaining location cleaning schedules
• Adhering to the sale of alcohol legislation
• Retail, Ticketing & Membership sales (to targets) and general customer service (individuals, education visits, other groups);
• Security of the Property;
• Ensuring Apartements are up to our standards.
• Health & Safety procedures, emergency procedures, and environmental procedures;
• Deputising for the Visitor Services Manager / Operations Manager on-site and off-site as required

Responsible for day to day financial administration at the property, including
• Ensuring the completion of Cash/till reconciliation;
• Week-end reports and reconciliation;
• Completion of the banking and all cash handling processes

Supporting the Visitor Services / Operations Manager with
• recruitment; induction; development; and management of all visitor services employees and volunteers such that they understand and are equipped to fulfill their roles to the standards required and that they feel valued, respected and supported.

JOB PURPOSE
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.

To maintain excellent standards of site and personal presentation at all times
• The general ongoing operational cleaning of all areas as necessary, toilet cleaning, emptying waste bins and as appropriate vacuum cleaning, mopping, sweeping, dusting and polishing when required;
• Ensuring site is ready to open and welcome visitors by the set opening time;
• Wearing correct uniform, name badges, or PPE as required.
• Reporting all instances of damage and wear and tear issues promptly to your line manager;
• Working in harmony with other departments; housekeeping, gardening, grounds maintenance and site repair employees/contractors.

Financial Responsibilities (where applicable)
• To adhere to all financial procedures to include till operation and banking and safeguarding of monies: to implement amendments to standard procedure as instructions may dictate.

Retail/Catering/Events/Cashier duties (where applicable)
• To ensure good housekeeping of catering kitchens, serveries and back of house areas.
• To ensure that retail merchandising is in accordance with NTS policy.
• To assist in achieving site retail/catering/events targets and KPI’s.
• To actively upsell products and services to facilitate the visitor’s enjoyment.
• To actively feedback visitor comments to line managers to develop and improve offer, service, operations.
• To work flexibly across departments and sites as needed.
• To assist with the set-up, stewarding and break-down of events in liaison with the events coordinator.
• To assist with Heritage Hospitality events. Staff may be asked to work through into the night hours.

JOB PURPOSE
To provide operational coordination and supervision of retail, visitor services, functions and events, in line with the Trust’s policies, priorities, performance standards and targets to contribute to the enjoyment of the property by visitors and members, and help ensure commercial, financial, and conservation objectives are achieved. The Visitor Services Supervisor will also provide administrative support in the running of the property and share Duty Manager shifts.
The Visitor Services Supervisor at a Trust property plays a pivotal role ensuring that the management objectives are achieved through excellent customer service, and, with delegated responsibility for retail, events and duty management is very often the “face” of the Trust to visitors and suppliers. As such, s/he directly influences public perceptions of the Trust and is crucial to developing and maintaining the property’s local/national reputation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
Supervising/undertaking the day-to-day operation of the property and environs to ensure an excellent customer/visitor experience. This includes supervision of:
• Visitor services, events and retail offer (including ordering, merchandising, sales targets)
• Supervision of Visitor Services Assistants and volunteers
• Duty management and oversight/maintenance of the property
• Ensure the property social media is managed to generate interest, engagement and help drive visitors
• Help deliver the schools programme to meet the targets for number of visits, revenue generated
• Support the informal learning and community engagement / outreach activity
• Ticketing & Membership sales (to targets) and general customer service (individuals, education visits, other groups)
• Security of the Property
• Health & Safety procedures, emergency procedures, and environmental procedures
• Deputising for the Visitor Services Manager on-site and off-site as required
• In conjunction with the Visitor Services Manager supervise, and personally participate in the staffing of corporate/private hire functions
• In conjunction with the Visitor Services Manager expand, promote and supervise the events and arts/exhibitions programme

Responsible for day-to-day financial administration at the property, including
• Ensuring the completion of Cash/till reconciliation
• Week-end reports and reconciliation
• Completion of the banking and all cash handling processes

Brand Home Lead Guide

Cardhu/Cragganmore Visitor Centre

Full Time (Annualised Hours)

 

About Us 

This is a chance to be involved in an ambitious and truly one-of-a-kind team where our aim is to create remarkable and unforgettable experiences across each and every one of our venues across Scotland. Our Malt Brand Homes will take visitors on an immersive, multi-sensory journey through the flavours of Scotland, sharing our love for Scotch with a new generation of whisky drinkers. Visitors will lose themselves in the journey whisky-making in our experiences and make purchases from our fantastic retail offerings. We want our guests to embrace every minute with us and feel the same way we do about our heritage. Being part of Diageo means being a torchbearer for our brands and making them even better for the next generation. It’s a career-defining responsibility. If you have a genuine passion for our craft, our character and our products, help us continue the story and build a great career in the process. 

Feel inspired? Then we may have the opportunity for you. 

 
About the Role 

We have an outstanding opportunity to join our dedicated team at our Cardhu Visitor Center as a Brand Home Lead Guide.

As a Brand Home Lead Guide, you’ll be vital to the day-to-day management of the Brand Home, organising tours and allocating them to your team. You’ll provide vital support to the Management team with all operational activities relating to the experiential, bar and retail offerings.

Our Brand Homes showcase to the public who we are and what we do. You’ll be responsible for driving the performance of the Brand Home and ensure that the team deliver extraordinary standards of customer service and outstanding and memorable visitor experiences.

You’ll provide daily support and supervision of the Brand Home Guides and agency staff, including scheduling, monitoring and recording of working hours, supporting new and ongoing training to the team as well as ensuring ongoing personal development and the reporting of team performance and targets.

Our retail area holds our impressive range of Scotch and you’ll play a key role in supporting the Management team with retail strategy and visual merchandising management. You’ll also help with the planning and the implementation of special events throughout the year. Not only will you support the Regional Brand Home Manager in event strategy, but you will be vital in building community engagement and the delivery of the Brand Home sustainability ambition.

In return, we offer a great reward & benefits package which includes a competitive salary, company shares, product allowance, pension programme, retail discounts, annual bonus and so much more! We’ll also provide you with excellent training and career development opportunities, setting you up for a fantastic career at Diageo.

We have a range of full time and part time positions available. If you are looking for either permanent or temporary, then get in touch!

If this sounds like your dream location to start an outstanding career, then register your interest today, and we will keep you updated on future vacancies.

About You

We’re looking for people with character: driven, resilient and open-minded. Are you passionate about customer service and driving excellence within your team? We certainly hope so!

We’re looking for someone with experience leading elite teams whilst ensuring excellent customer service standards are adhered to at all times. You’ll value the importance of working in a team and demonstrate the ability to build strong working relationships with customers as well as key partners.

You’ll be eager to lead projects and put forward your own ideas to sustain and improve the business ensuring direct contribution to the performance of the Brand Home.

You’ll be experienced working towards targets and have the strive to achieve vital targets whilst subsequently leading the team every day to work towards these targets.

You’ll be flexible as the role requires both evening and weekend work throughout the year and this will be planned in advance. It’d be excellent if you had an understanding of Microsoft office or similar applications however this is not crucial

Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo’s purpose of “celebrating life every day everywhere”. This purpose is, in itself, inclusive in nature, as it values everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity. We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realize its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the 180 countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. We view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps our business to grow and our values, purpose and standards set the conditions for us to respect the outstanding contribution each person brings.

Flexibility is key to success in our business and many of our staff work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time, compressed hours, flexible location. Please talk to us about what flexibility means to you and don’t let anything stop you from applying.

CHARACTER IS EVERYTHING