Engagement Assistant - Galleries

JOB DESCRIPTION

Engagement Assistant - Galleries
February 2026

Department

Engagement

Position type

Variable hours, weekday and weekend working with potential for extras
during school holidays and occasional evenings.

Responsible to

Visitor Engagement Senior Duty Supervisor

Salary

Location

 £ 12.21 per hour plus holiday pay

Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds LS9 7LN

Closing date

Sunday 22nd February 11.59pm

Interview date

Tuesday 3rd March

THACKRAY MUSEUM OF MEDICINE

The Thackray Museum of Medicine is the UK’s largest independent medical museum,
and a place that inspires people with the passion and purpose of medicine and healthcare –
past, present, and future.

Situated in the bustle of a lively East Leeds inner-city community, and adjacent to St James’s
Hospital – Europe’s largest teaching hospital, the Museum showcases innovation and collaboration
in medical endeavour through its collection of over 50,000 objects and some 23,000 written works,
covering all aspects of the history of medicine.

Open to the public year-round, seven days a week, the Museum’s exhibitions, and programmes
are built on the foundation of democratising the collection and co-curating with our community.
Medicine touches the lives of all humankind, and the museum uses its collection as a focal point
to share stories through people from all parts of society, past and present.

As an independent museum and registered charity, our income comes from a range of sources
including public and private funding alongside our museum admissions, building hires, café sales
and our onsite shop.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Our Engagement team looks after our museum visitors throughout their time at Thackray,
developing relationships that see a wide range of people come back to the museum again and
again. Through this work, the team generates essential income to support the development of our
work with schools and community groups, and the development of our exhibition programme so
that it speaks to everyone within our community.

Thackray Museum of Medicine

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Key responsibilities:

•  To be the public face of Thackray, delivering an excellent visitor experience for all.

•  Process visitor information in our ticketing system: booking-in pre-booked sales,

administering walk-in sales, capturing relevant customer data, maximising Gift Aid and
upselling opportunities.

•  Be first point of contact for all visitors to the building, providing a friendly and accessible
welcome, and signposting visitors to all areas of the museum offer, including the café,
shop, conference, and community areas.

•  Undertake regular on-gallery duties, making sure all exhibits, interactives and spaces are
resourced, well-maintained and secure, free from rubbish or obstructions, that all daily
checks are completed and that issues are recorded and escalated appropriately and in a
timely manner.

•  Undertake accurate cash handling.

•  To be flexible and adaptable to ensure the museum can meet customer demand, including

occasional working within other areas of the museum’s engagement team such as:

o  Assist with the setup and delivery of meetings/events in the conference centre

(furniture/AV/catering).

o  Efficiently process shop and café sales, upselling where appropriate.
o  Undertake administration duties as applicable.

•  Led by the relevant Duty Supervisor, support the safe evacuation of the building in

emergency situations.

•

Identify and report security risks and potential hazards.

You will be required to work flexibly Monday to Sunday on a rota basis agreed in advance, and
should be able to work weekends, bank holidays, and some evening openings to meet operational
demands, as well as attending occasional out of hours meetings and training.

The Thackray Museum of Medicine is actively committed to promoting equality, inclusion and
diversity. We are a Disability Confident employer and welcome applications from all sections of the
community.

HOW TO APPLY

Please fill in a job application form via the Thackray website at
thackraymuseum.co.uk/aboutus/work-for-us/ and send it to Jonnie Darmody at
jonnie.darmody@thackraymuseum.org

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Duties and Skills

Duties

To be the public face of Thackray, delivering an excellent
visitor experience for all.

Process visitor information in our ticketing system:
booking-in pre-booked sales, administering walk-in sales,
capturing relevant customer data, maximising gift aid and
upselling opportunities.

Essential skills, experience, qualities, qualifications

Desirable skills, experience, qualities, qualifications

Excellent customer service skills.

A team player with excellent communication
and interpersonal skills.

Assertive, calm, and reliable under pressure;
able to prioritise workload.

Demonstrates a positive and flexible approach
to working environment.
A good standard of literacy and numeracy and
the ability to maintain accurate records.

Customer care and/or visitor experience training,
eg NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in Customer
Services.

Experience of working in a customer service
environment.

Experience of working with ticketing systems and
computerised till operations.

Experience of upselling and cross selling.
An affinity for the museum’s audiences and
community.

Be first point of contact for all visitors to the building,
providing a friendly and accessible welcome, and
signposting visitors to all areas of the museum offer,
including the café, shop, conference, and community
areas.

Friendly and open manner and confidence
speaking to a wide range of people.

Understanding of access needs of diverse
audiences and how to meet them.

Undertake regular on-gallery duties, making sure all
exhibits, interactives and spaces are resourced, well-
maintained and secure, free from rubbish or obstructions,
that all daily checks are completed and that issues are
recorded and escalated appropriately and in a timely
manner.

Undertake accurate cash handling.

Able to respond to visitor enquiries, complaints,
and difficult situations.
Good attention to detail and methodical
working.

Understanding of health and safety in a public
building.

Experience of cash handling and operating tills.

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To be flexible and adaptable to ensure the museum can
meet customer demand, including working within other
areas of the museum’s engagement team.

Led by the relevant Duty Supervisor, support the safe
evacuation of the building in emergency situations.

Identify and report security risks and potential hazards.

Ability to work independently and as part of a
team.

Experience of working in events.

Knowledge of health and safety and security
procedures.

Basic Health & Safety certificate.

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General Responsibilities

A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion; and health and safety.

Actively contribute to the successful achievement of departmental and charity-wide goals.

Adhere to all Thackray Museum of Medicine policies and procedures.

Be passionate about protecting the longevity and reputation of the Thackray Museum of Medicine.

Carry out any other duties as reasonably requested, including late-night working, commensurate
with the general level of responsibility within the organisation.

All employees must be:

–  Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and energetic.
–  Honest, reliable, and flexible.
–  Organised, confident and assertive.

Benefits and Conditions

–  25 days annual leave entitlement pro rata plus 8 statutory holidays.
–  Regular weekend working required, plus occasional evenings.

Other terms and conditions in line with the Thackray Museum of Medicine standard Contract of
Employment.

Additional Notes

This job description will be reviewed as part of the post holder’s annual appraisal and is not
intended to be a complete list of responsibilities.

Please note that due to the large number of applications we receive, we are unfortunately unable
to offer individual feedback. If you have not heard from us by 3rd March, please assume your
application has not been successful this time.

Thackray Museum of Medicine

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