We are seeking enthusiastic people who can work across Baristas, Bartenders, Front of House, and Events roles to assist the Exchange Team at Somerset House. This role focuses on delivering exceptional customer service to Exchange members, visitors, and guests attending Somerset House’s wider cultural and commercial programme. You’ll help create a welcoming, efficient, and memorable experience across in both our member and public areas.
This role also oversees day‑to‑day bar and café operations, including stock control, licensing compliance, customer service, and the assistance of pop‑up bars and catering in other parts of the building.
Café & Barista Duties
- Make a various selection of hot drinks for customers
- Upsell coffee, food and snack offers
- Complete daily workspace walkthroughs and cleaning tasks
- Prep and serve large pre-brought event orders and deliver them in a timely and well-presented manner
- Act as a community host and assist members with queries when needed
- Process payments and support with stock management
Event Support
- Assist with event setup, delivery, and breakdown of events, including private hires, public programmes, and member activities. (Please note this role involves manual handling)
- Welcome guests, manage queues, check tickets or bookings, and provide information about the venue and programme.
- Assist with on-site event delivery and troubleshooting
- Assist with events risk assessments, H&S, and evacuation procedures
Bartending
- Serve beverages and, occasionally, food during events and process card payments - ensuring swift service throughout.
- Oversee and maintain good stock levels on the bar throughout service.
- Barback duties including stock replenishment and occasionally changing kegs and gas.
- Greet and make members and event attendees feel welcome, prioritising high quality customer service.
- Ensure cleanliness and tidiness of premises and equipment.
General Duties
- Build positive relationships with event attendees, proactively gathering feedback to ensure continuous improvement of services.
- Create a welcoming and inclusive environment.
- Act as a point of contact for questions and requests from guests.
- Undertake any other duties and responsibilities as required, to ensure specific event requirements are completed and attendees experience outstanding service.
- Maintain clean, organised, and safe bar, café, and event areas throughout service.
- Ensure that H&S, licensing regulations and internal policies are adhered to at all times
Experience:
- Front and back of house experience working in cafes/bars/restaurants
- Experience delivering excellent customer service as part of a team while working in fast-paced environments
- Experience supporting and delivering events
Skills
- Excellent customer service skills with a positive approach
- Proactive attitude and capacity to work in a fast-paced events environment
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
- Good eye for cleanliness
- Being punctual and reliable is key to the success of the role
Desirable
- Previous work experience as a Barista or Bartender
- Barback experience
- Previous experience with guest management
Mental Health & Wellbeing
-
Access to our external Employee Assistance Programme (CiC) for free 24/7 confidential advice and support, including up to 6 free counselling sessions per year where needed
Pension
-
3% employer 5% employee pension contributions *as long as criteria is met
Discounts, offers and free stuff!
- The list is endless and includes tickets to Somerset House events and entrance to other London Heritage sites
- Discount to local leisure centres
Somerset House hosts the UK’s largest and most exciting creative community right in the heart of London, and are always looking for new talent to join our team. We welcome 3 million annual visitors to share our unique combination of cultural events, the creative industries and history. This mix informs and powers our programme and organisational culture, making us a singular, compelling and inclusive place to visit and work.
Somerset House is actively anti-racist and you can read about our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging here. We are working hard to ensure our people, our onsite community and our sector reflect, represent and include all of society.
Our Commitment to Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging:
Somerset House is open to all, and we value everyone's unique skills. Somerset House Trust is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to championing equality, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace. We are committed to equal opportunity and encourage applications from all qualified individuals. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.
Where candidates are equally qualified, we will seek to prioritise diversity to help us increase representation across the creative economy and the Trust.
We anonymise all job applications to help avoid
discrimination
in the initial screening stage of our recruitment process. This reinforces our commitment to focusing on the skills and qualifications of all applications from the start.
We're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you perform at your best. We're open to adjusting our process to accommodate your needs please email
[email protected].
The Trust reserves the right to close a job before its application deadline.
Please only apply if you have the right to work in the UK; the Trust cannot currently offer sponsorships.
And finally.... the use of AI in your application
In your application, we want to hear from you in your own voice about your skills, experience, and how you align with the job expectations and desire to work at Somerset House Trust. All applications are reviewed by members of our team.
While we recognise that AI tools can be helpful for tasks such as research, structuring, or formatting, applications that rely heavily on AI‑generated content can sometimes lack the depth, authenticity, and the individuality we are looking for, and may not be progressed. We therefore encourage you to use any tools thoughtfully and to ensure your application clearly reflects your personal experience, perspective, and voice.
