About us
The National Railway Museum is home to some of the most significant railway collections in the world, welcoming visitors from across the UK and beyond. From iconic locomotives and engineering achievements to the people and stories that shaped our railways, we help audiences explore how innovation has changed lives and continues to shape our future.
Our Visitor Experience team plays a vital role in bringing the museum to life. Whether welcoming visitors, supporting commercial experiences, facilitating hands-on engagement or helping families discover something new together, they create the experiences that make a visit memorable.
We are now recruiting for two Visitor Experience Assistant opportunities at the National Railway Museum, York:
Visitor Experience Assistant – Wonderlab (Permanent, 35 hours per week)- Visitor Experience Assistant (Fixed-Term until March 2028, 21 hours per week)
Both roles are based on-site at the National Railway Museum and involve weekend working as part of a rota.
About the roles
While both positions sit within our Visitor Experience team, they offer different opportunities to engage visitors and contribute to the museum's day-to-day operation.
Our 21-hour Visitor Experience Assistant role is a varied, customer-facing position supporting activity across the museum. You'll work in a range of visitor-facing locations, helping to deliver excellent customer service, support fundraising and commercial experiences, provide visitor information and help ensure the museum runs smoothly day-to-day.
Our 35-hour Visitor Experience Assistant – Wonderlab role is primarily based within Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery, our interactive science gallery. You'll engage visitors through hands-on experiences, demonstrations, workshops and conversations that bring science and engineering to life for audiences of all ages.
Both roles involve working closely with colleagues across the museum, engaging with diverse audiences, supporting inclusive visitor experiences and helping people discover the stories, collections and innovations that make the National Railway Museum unique.
No two days are quite the same, and both roles offer the opportunity to develop new skills whilst helping create welcoming, inspiring and memorable experiences for visitors.
About you
You'll enjoy working with people and will be motivated by creating positive experiences for visitors. You'll be an excellent communicator who can adapt your approach to different audiences and situations, whether helping a visitor find their way, delivering information clearly or answering questions with confidence and professionalism.
You'll be proactive, approachable and able to use your judgement when responding to challenges and changing priorities. You'll also be comfortable working as part of a team whilst taking ownership of your individual responsibilities.
For the Wonderlab role in particular, you'll enjoy engaging people through demonstrations, activities and discussion, helping visitors explore science and engineering concepts in accessible and engaging ways.
Above all, you'll share our commitment to creating welcoming, inclusive experiences and helping people connect with the stories we tell.
Don't feel you meet all the criteria? We welcome you to apply even if your experience doesn't match directly. With your transferable skills, you could be the right candidate for this, or other opportunities that we have.
Applying
View the Vacancy Information Packs listed under 'Attachments' on the vacancy listing on our website for more details about each role and the application process, or click 'Apply Online' to submit an application.
What we offer
Working with a world-leading museum group that offers access to truly unique environments and collections, you'll benefit from the perks listed below, as well as full support for life events such as parental and adoption leave, sickness, and career breaks.
Meaningful work. We're a mission-led organisation where the work you do supports us in Inspiring Futures.- Career growth. We offer enhanced support with personal and professional development.
- Work/life balance. We offer 27 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays, along with flexible policies which support you and your home life.
- All our colleagues can access an employee assistance programme, and other wellbeing support.
- Colleague networks. Our colleague-led networks are an informal forum for colleagues to come together to discuss topics of shared interest and lived experience. They create a space for people to exchange ideas, discuss best practice, socialise and build a sense of community.
- Enhanced contributory pension. To support you in saving for the future.
- Interest-free loans. When you need a little extra cash for life events or home improvements.
- Great discounts. Free entry to exhibitions, discounts in our shops, cafes, and access to other museums in the NMDC network.
Open for All is one of the Science Museum Group's five core values and sets out our important aspiration to be a place for everyone. We are working hard to understand our organisation better and to develop a culture that recognises and values different backgrounds, mindsets, skills, experience, knowledge, and expertise. By having greater diversity, we believe that we will be a stronger and better organisation, capable to continue to Inspire Futures.
