Job Description
Post: Museum Assistant
Terms: Casual hours available, often at weekends
Salary based on £13.45/hour plus paid holiday of 15%
Reporting to: Museum Manager
Purpose of role: To provide cover as required at any of BPT’s museums (No. 1 Royal Crescent, Herschel Museum of Astronomy and Beckford’s Tower) to ensure the opening, closing and smooth day-to-day running of the museums, visitor engagement and supporting events and tour bookings.
Key responsibilities
The role may be required to provide support at any of BPT’s museums. As such, the requirements of the role will vary depending on the location as lone working is required in some museums.
The following is not an exhaustive list but is to give an idea of the scope of the role. In addition, the post holder may be required to undertake other duties and responsibilities compatible with the overall scope of the post.
Opening and closing of the Museum, unlocking and locking all rooms and other spaces as applicable, deactivating and setting the intruder alarm.
Staff all museum entrances during opening hours to sell tickets, collect Gift Aid and visitor data and welcome visitors to the museum.
Oversight of the museum floor including carrying out cleaning regimes and monitoring supplies required for staff and visitor toilets, visitor literature and any other processes that form part of the daily visit.
Ensure the museum is ready for opening including setting up audio visual equipment and tills, ticket stocks and visitor literature.
Operate tills for sale of admission tickets, guidebooks and retail items including recording daily takings.
Manage day-to-day running of the shop including the sale of items, restocking and checking throughout the day, advising the appropriate manager when stock requires re-ordering and managing deliveries of stock as needed.
Provide a friendly welcome to visitors, dealing with general visitor queries and responding to telephone and email enquiries.
• Provide support for out-of-hours activity including leading guided tours and working at events.
Provide cover as required at any of the BPT museums at the direction of the Museum Manager.
• Work alongside volunteers at some museums or at events as required.
Encourage visitors to complete surveys and Gift Aid forms as applicable.
Support with health and safety issues that affect the visitors and staff including the security of the building. This includes first aid response, fire response and regular alarm/evacuation testing and recording and CCTV monitoring.
• To support with and fulfil basic admin tasks as applicable to the role.
• To cover any other tasks commensurate with the role where required.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential:
Reliable and trustworthy
Experience of providing good customer service (or a strong understanding of what makes a good customer service experience and the confidence to deliver this)
Numerate
Ability to remain calm under pressure especially at busy times
Basic IT skills
Desirable:
Experience of working within a museum
Experience of working with the public in a customer-facing role, maintaining presentation and hygiene standards, especially cleaning
Experience as a key holder or equivalent responsibilities
Experience of carrying out health and safety and fire procedures and regular monitoring Experience of displaying and monitoring retail merchandise
Experience of giving guided tours
Experience of operating tills
In addition, some lone-working and manual handling may be required across the museum settings.
Working hours:
In addition to the salaried shifts above, additional casual shifts to cover holiday, sickness absence, events and tour bookings may be available at all of our museums.
Working shifts will normally be between the hours of 8am and 6pm. Across all museums guided tours and events may also take place outside of these hours.
Our museums are open at weekends, so weekend availability is required.