We’re looking for someone dynamic and creative with great people skills who loves to inspire individuals and communities by providing memorable, high-quality experiences, to join us as a Senior Visitor Experience Officer at Rufford Old Hall.
The role will also support the Property Operations Manager in making sure everything runs smoothly in a complex and lively visitor business.
This is a fixed term contract due to end when the postholder returns to the role. This is likely to be 24 th October 2027.
The role is 22.5 hours per week. The usual working days will be Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays including a minimum of one weekend per month and regular bank holidays to meet the needs of the business. Some evening work will also be required for the operation of several evening events.
If you have any questions about the role, please email [email protected] or phone 01704 823816.
Interview dates: Friday 7 th and Tuesday 11 th August
What it's like to work here:Located directly next to the Leeds and Liverpool canal, you’ll be working on a property with nearly 500 years of Lancashire history, attracting up to 60,000 visitors every year. Rufford Old Hall is a Tudor house surrounded by formal Victorian gardens at the heart of the local community, with a focus on the National Trust’s strategy priorities of Ending Unequal Access and Restoring Nature.
You will be a part of a small and ambitious team, collaborating with other heads of departments and working closely with volunteers to ensure the thousands of visitors that come through our doors can access and engage with nature and heritage.
What you'll be doing:You’ll report to the Property Operations Manager and work closely with other heads of departments to deliver great visitor experiences which encourage repeat visits to Rufford. You will creatively design and implement an engaging and dynamic combination of core and seasonal programming of events and activities for people of all ages, including but not limited to Easter, Summer, Autumn and Christmas.
You’ll supervise volunteers and work closely with external facilitators and partners to deliver creative interactive workshops and experiences throughout the year, attaining high-quality standards of presentation and ensuring to provide excellent customer care and service across all public facing events.
Sharing with other colleagues, you will work weekends on a rota basis and will help cover Duty Management responsibilities to ensure the smooth running of the property on operational days. Sometimes you may need to get stuck in and help where you’re needed to support the running of the whole property.
You will support the property’s wider aim of ending unequal access by overseeing the operation of the property’s monthly dementia café, and work with partners and other colleagues to develop ways of improving accessibility across all events and activities.
You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. You don't need to have all the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what’s possible in this role.
Who we're looking forWe’d love to hear from you if you’re:
- experienced in devising and running activities to inspire and engage people
- skilled at communicating, and building good working relationships with people in your team and beyond
- aware of ways to interpret precious collections of art and objects to a wide variety of people
- well-organised, and able to work at pace and keep to time
- confident that you can deal with all kinds of people in all kinds of situations
- flexible, yet with a focus on always giving high standards of customer service
- used to working with and supervising volunteers
The packageThe National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.
- Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
- Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
- Rental deposit loan scheme
- EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
- Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
- Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.
- Flexible working whenever possible
- Employee assistance programme
- Free parking at most Trust places
Requirements :Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK
Fixed Term p/t (22.5 hrs pw to 24/10/27)
