This traineeship is part of our Careers through the Arts Programme in collaboration with The Watermill Theatre. Careers through the Arts offers a range of opportunities and events to inspire young people in West Berkshire to discover the many transferable skills relating to creative activity, and to explore a variety of creative career paths.
In this role, you will support visitors and activity at the Old Library, home to the Corn Exchange’s Learning and Participation programme of courses and workshops, and live performance programme.
The role will have a focus on both customer service working closely with and supporting the Venue Supervisor, and activity coordination working closely with the Learning and Participation team in supporting the administration, practical set up and resourcing of participatory activity. As well as this you will gain understanding of various considerations behind a successful front of house team, including sales, fundraising and general operations. This role will provide the opportunity for you to discover new skills and build experience and confidence in working with a busy team within a creative public facing environment.
Careers through the arts traineeships are a great opportunity for anyone aged 18 to 25 who may or may not have previously considered a career in arts. Previous qualifications and/or experience in this industry is not essential. These opportunities will suit candidates who thrive on learning through experience.
For more information on the Careers through the Arts programme please visit Careers through the Arts
The Visitor Experience Traineeship will support the visitor experience, including both practical and administrative support for all activity and events, with opportunities to also support the Front of House team and operations across our venues.
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Support the day-to-day operations and administration of the Learning and Participation department’s activity at the Old Library, ensuring spaces are set up to requirements, register of attendance are provided, and required resources are available and ready to use.
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To meet and greet practitioners and participants, to sessions on site at the Old Library and the Corn Exchange.
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To become familiar with the Corn Exchange booking system Spektrix, to provide customer service assistance.
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To support sales activity and contribute to fundraising targets
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To support customer enquiries and ticket booking processes, keep accurate records of participant numbers and support with reporting.
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To facilitate good communication between different departments.
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To work with the rest of the team to support the implementation of revised risk assessments for all Old Library activity.
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To be the principle point of welcome to the Old Library and the Corn Exchange venues.
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To support the practical operation of the building, working with the teams to ensure the public areas are presentable at all times;
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To serve customers and visitors to the building at the café bars and at the box office via the phone and in person (training provided)
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To support at performances and events
Key to this role are excellent organisation and communication skills, and good time management, combined with a proactive approach to problem solving.
The successful candidate is likely to:
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Be self-motivated, practical and flexible with a positive outlook and can-do attitude.
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Be organised, with the ability to prioritise workload and enjoy working to deadlines.
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Collaborative team player who enjoys working with others in a busy environment.
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Willingness to work flexibly, including evenings and weekends.
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Be able to work well under pressure, under your own initiative, and able to problem-solve.
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Have an interest and passion for the arts
NB: This job description is a guide to the nature of the work required of this position. It is neither wholly comprehensive nor restrictive and does not preclude change or development that might be required in the future.
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20% discount in café and bar
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Free theatre, film and exhibition tickets for the Corn Exchange & The Base
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Free access to our small car park
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A day off for your birthday
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A day off for Wellbeing activity
We offer training to our staff members to help them develop and progress and have a strong focus on wellbeing within the organisation. There is the opportunity to join one of our staff working groups – Environmental Action, Equality & Diversity, Fundraising, and Wellbeing.
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A full induction into the Corn Exchange including Health and Safety procedures and role specific training.
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An introduction to both organisations through a ‘vision and values’ sessions delivered by Directors at the Corn Exchange Newbury and The Watermill Theatre.
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Opportunities to learn and experience creative duties beyond the main Corn Exchange programme, including opportunities at The Watermill Theatre.
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Peer support programme with other trainee placements.
Please write a short one-page cover letter explaining why you are applying for this traineeship and how you meet the person specification,
Please send along with a completed Equal Opportunities monitoring form (details below) to Sara Price Personnel Manager Corn Exchange Newbury at [email protected]
Closing date for applications: 30 August 2026
First stage online interviews will be held on: week beginning 7 September 2026, the second stage will be an in-person interview.
For further information about the organisation, please look at our ‘About Us’ page.
We recognise that candidates may choose to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support the preparation of their job applications. When used appropriately, AI can be a helpful aid in structuring responses, checking clarity, and improving presentation.
However, applications must reflect your own skills, experience, and understanding. If an application appears to rely excessively on AI-generated content, it may not meet the required standard and could be rejected.
We encourage all applicants to ensure their submissions are authentic, tailored to the role, and clearly demonstrate their own knowledge, experience, and suitability.
Corn Exchange Newbury is committed to equal opportunities for all. We believe that a diversity of perspectives enriches our work and we have an equality of opportunity approach that aspires to give everyone the chance to achieve their potential.
Please find our Equal Opportunities monitoring form on our website. This information will be used to enable us to continue to develop policies and procedures regarding diversity and to submit required data to our funders. The information you supply will not be made available to anyone, including recruiting managers, in any form other than anonymous data.
We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and will guarantee an interview to any applicant who self-identifies as deaf or Disabled, or from a Global Majority background, and meets the Essential Criteria. If you regard yourself as having these characteristics, please state so clearly on your cover letter.
If we can support your application by offering an alternative format, please do let us know by contacting Sara Price [email protected]. Likewise, we want to ensure interviews are as accessible as possible, so please do let us know in your application if there is anything we can do to support this.
