Visitor Services Officer x 2

The Museums & Galleries team at Canterbury City Council are looking for 2 x Visitor Services Officers.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our friendly team of Visitor Services Officers, welcoming all and providing an excellent visitor experience at our two sites in the heart of Canterbury: The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge and Canterbury Roman Museum.  This is a chance to enthuse others with diverse collections (which include a Roman mosaic, a four-legged duckling, and the original Bagpuss!), contribute to learning experiences, and promote health and well-being in the community.  It's also a great role for those looking to start a career in museums or the cultural heritage sector.

Why Join Us?                                                                                 

• Starting Salary £26,513.11 (per annum pro rata), £13.78 an hour.
• Cost of living pay award negotiated annually as a salary increase
• We offer a generous annual leave entitlement! You’ll receive 23 days annual leave (pro rata) which increase with service, plus bank holiday entitlement and 3 given days. You’ll also have the option to buy more annual leave.
• A fantastic local government pension scheme.
• We’ll support and encourage your career by providing excellent opportunities for training and development.
• Employee perks, including multiple retailer and lifestyle discounts to help you get the most out of your money and enjoy your free time.
• An easier commute: free use of Canterbury’s Park and Ride, flexi bus tickets, and a cycle to work scheme.
• Stay healthy: Access to free counselling, advice and webinars through our employee assistance programme, as well as contributions to the cost of Flu Jabs.

About this role:

Visitor Services Officers are the face of our service, warmly welcoming visitors of all ages and backgrounds, engaging them with our collections and delivering a high-quality customer service that exceeds expectations.

Here’s what you’ll get up to:

• Talking to visitors, helping with enquiries and providing an excellent level of customer care.
• Confidently delivering tours, talks and activities for school groups, families and visitors of all ages.
• Providing both museum and tourist information at our visitor information desk.
• Actively contributing to income generation by selling merchandise and encouraging both admissions and donations.
• Proactively maintaining the safety, security and presentation of our building and collections.
• Engaging with visitors to collect feedback, helping us to constantly improve our offer.

 Working pattern:

• We operate 7 days a week, so you will need to be able to work on site over a two-week shift pattern which includes weekends, Bank Holidays and occasional evenings.
• These are Part-Time positions with 20 contracted hours per week.
• This role is based on-site two locations: The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge and Canterbury Roman Museum.
• Contract type: Permanent

About you, the ideal Visitor Services Officer:

Your knowledge

• Understanding of customer service processes relating to the museum and visitor information desk.

Your experience

• Experience of working in a customer facing role & ability to demonstrate customer service skills.

Your skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills and confident speaking to members of the public and visitor groups.
• Numeracy and IT skills.
• Processing data accurately, having good attention to detail.

The successful applicant will need to undertake and complete an Enhanced DBS check as part of pre-employment clearances before commencement in the post.

Interviews are expected to take place in the week commencing the 15th of June.

So, if this museums job opportunity looks right for you, please apply today! Simply click the “Apply Online” button and create your account to begin your application form.

For an informal chat to find out more about the role or what it’s like to work for Canterbury City Council’s Museum & Galleries team, please email our Front of House Team Leaders, Joshua Dack and Gary Jephcote: joshua.dack@canterbury.gov.uk / gary.jephcote@canterbury.gov.uk.   Josh and Gary very much welcome your email.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at Canterbury City Council.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in everything we do. We provide a safe and welcoming environment where everyone is valued, included and respected.

Our diversity strengthens our ability to serve the diverse communities we support through our work.

To demonstrate this through our actions, all applications are anonymised for the shortlisting panel, allowing all applicants to be assessed on merit alone.