Visitor Experience Assistant

Our site at Kew is free and open to all. Our ambition is to change the way people think about archives, to encourage engagement at all levels and to increase the number of visitors to our building and outdoor spaces. In addition to meeting the needs of researchers and historians, we have a growing exhibition and events programme targeting the wider public and families.

In order to make all our visitors feel more welcome, we want to change our approach to how we interact with them on site. This new role will help ensure that visitors to The National Archives receive a friendly welcome when they arrive, assistance during their visit, and a similarly warm farewell when they leave. Visitor Experience Assistants will meet and greet visitors; they will proactively explain what might be of interest to the visitor throughout their visit and will answer any questions that the visitor might have. They will also support the visitor experience in other ways, such as giving tours of the exhibitions and displays, as we develop our offer for the public.

The main focus of this role is to proactively provide excellent service to visitors to The National Archives and ensure that they have a positive and memorable experience.

You will be energetic, enthusiastic and passionate about meeting new people of all ages and explaining how The National Archives is relevant for them.

You’ll be responsible for answering queries and making sure that visitors can find everything they need for their visit. You’ll help them understand what makes archives special, and why we (and our collection) play such an important role in telling the nation’s stories.

You will help to promote our public programming activities to visitors, encourage them to stay in touch (by signing up to our mailing list and following us on social media), and suggest that they tell their friends and family about their visit.

You will take part in the delivery of our public programming activities, including tours of our exhibitions and the building more generally, and support our exhibitions through ticketing, some invigilation, ensuring the displays and exhibits are in good order every day and that the building is tidy and presented with pride. You will also work in our shop on occasion to support our retail team.

As this is a new role, and as our public offer expands, there may be other front of house duties that will be needed as required.

We’ll provide the training that you need (including familiarisation with some of the most common issues reported by visitors), as well as branded apparel.

Please note that this vacancy is part time only (3 days per week).

This role requires on site presence and is not suitable for home working.


How to apply:

If you are an internal applicant: please do not use the link on this page. Please apply via your employee Workday account.

If you are an external applicant: to submit your application please click the link following 'Museum Website' below.

You will be asked to provide details of your work experience and write a personal statement. In your personal statement please explain, using examples, how you meet the essential criteria given below. You may draw on knowledge, skills, abilities, experience gained from paid work, domestic responsibilities, education, leisure interests and voluntary activities. Please note selection for interview will largely be based on the information you provide in this section.

Essential criteria:

- Energetic, friendly, enthusiastic and passionate about meeting new people of all ages, with a genuine enthusiasm for working with people
- A can-do attitude
- Ability to adapt as situations demand, for example being proactive and fleet-of-foot during busy periods, but also taking the initiative during quieter times to think of new ways to enhance the public experience of our building
- Excellent customer service and communication skills
- Willingness to learn new skills and acquire role-specific knowledge
- Ability to work well in a team

Desirable criteria:

- Previous experience in a customer service role in a heritage or visitor attraction location

Museum Website: https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi?jcode=1914549