Casual Visitor Experience Team Member

**The Auckland Project**

At the heart of our sites is St Peter’s Chapel, in Auckland Castle: the home of the Prince Bishops, and the historic seat of faith and power in the North of England. The experience across our sites is deeply linked to those two themes of faith and power - they are repeated throughout the Castle and Faith Museum, the Mining Art Gallery and the Spanish Gallery. The collection of our venues, spaces and places invite conversations about belonging, faith, loss, sacrifice, community, love and creativity. We would like our guests to explore: to discover things about our town, our country and their own lives. We want to create memorable and transformative encounters - and need your help to do so.

**The role purpose**

We’re looking for people with a can-do attitude to be the face of The Auckland Project in each of our venues. Welcoming visitors to our sites, members of the Visitor Experience team will need to deal with day-to-day visitor operations across different venues, galleries and sites. Forming part of our predominantly volunteer delivered operation, this role requires flexibility, and people who can adapt to working in different areas of the operation at short notice.

We’re looking for people who are friendly and welcoming, who demonstrate positive body language and tone of voice and who have excellent listening skills. We’re looking for versatile people who can work across our sites and support different areas of our operation, from welcoming visitors to admin work in our central offices, to events, cleaning, catering and retail.

**Key Responsibilities**

The post-holder is responsible for the following key deliverables and accountabilities:

- Forming a culture of exceptional customer service by creating an environment that’s friendly, informative and fun.
- Welcome visitors and support your Team Leader in dealing with customer enquiries and complaints.
- Invigilate Gallery spaces and engage with visitors, interpreting our stories, history and collections.
- Above all, it is essential that you can work flexibly across the seven days of the week including weekends, evenings and Bank Holidays and that you have a flexible attitude to supporting our operation and working in different areas of it at short notice.

**Internal and External Relationships**
- Working collaboratively with colleagues across departments to achieve TAP’s organisational objectives
- Maintain excellent relationships with your team, including a large team of volunteers and with our visitors

**Health & Safety**

Be committed to good health and safety and access practice, ensuring familiarity and compliance with TAP policies, procedures and guidelines and the health and safety of visitors, staff, volunteers and contractors at all times.
- Working with H&S team, report risks and hazards in the workplace
- Lead evacuations and emergency procedures

**Person Specification**

**Experience**
- An understanding and commitment to the Auckland Project and its core purpose / mission
- Experience of relating to members of the public with strong customer service skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
- Ability to deal with complaints and enquiries in a friendly, warm and professional manner
- Actively promote Bishop's Key and Bishop's Key Plus products to all visitors. Ensure all visitors have a memorable and positive experience while also raising awareness of available products and events.
- Physically able to use an evacuation chair in the event of an emergency (full training will be given)
- Experience of a similar role in a visitor attraction / museum / gallery or customer care environment with a culture of exceptional customer service
- Experience of working with volunteers
- Experience of using till systems and EPOS software
- A demonstrable interest in history, the arts, culture or heritage.

**Skills**
- Brilliant communicator and team player
- Enthusiastic, motivated and friendly
- Flexible and quick to adapt to different working environments/tasks
- Resilient and responds positively to change

**The Auckland Project focus**

The Auckland Project works hard to create a positive change for those living, working and visiting Bishop Auckland. We have created a visitor destination in Bishop Auckland, incorporating Auckland Castle (once home to the Prince Bishops of Durham), a Spanish Art Gallery, Faith Museum, Walled Garden, Deer Park, Mining Art Gallery, Auckland Tower visitor centre and Weardale Railway.

Our visitor destination and community development programme broadly fits into three areas:

- The **social environment**: we help individuals and communities by creating a sense of curiosity, hope and faith in themselves and the world around them. We provide opportunities for skills development and partnerships, building a year-round tourist market and supporting small creative industries to thrive
- The **natural environment**: we protect, sustain and enhance the world around us
- The **built envir