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Visitor Experience & Operations Assistant

Trees For Life
23,646 per year
Dundreggan Rewilding Centre
Full-time
Listed 1 week ago
Role Profile – Visitor Experience & Operations Assistant
Dundreggan Rewilding Centre

Job title

 Visitor Experience & Operations Assistant

Reporting to

 Visitor Experience & Operations Supervisor

Has reporting

 N/A

Starting Salary

 Band B - Starting from £23,646.00

Duration

Location

Seasonal, Full Time (35 hours per week 7 months, April through October)
7 day working rota Monday to Sunday
Rota working along with weekends, evenings and bank holidays

 Dundreggan Rewilding Centre
 Glenmoriston
 Inverness

PVG Required?

 Yes. This role will involve working with children and vulnerable groups.

Dundreggan and the Rewilding Centre

Dundreggan is our 10,000-acre estate in Glenmoriston between Loch Ness and Skye. Since 2008, the estate has
been transformed by Trees for Life and its volunteers into one of the best examples of forest restoration in
Scotland. It includes a ground-breaking tree nursery and is where many volunteers come to take part in
rewilding projects.

The Rewilding Centre opened in April 2023 and serves as a gateway to make Dundreggan, and the work being
done here, making rewilding more accessible to a broader audience. It operates under the Enterprises arm of
Trees for Life and is a commercial business.

The site includes an innovative visitor centre, a café, 40-bed accommodation, events and educational facilities.
The Rewilding Centre welcomes visitors of all ages, interests and backgrounds to explore the natural, Gaelic
and cultural heritage of the Highlands and be inspired by rewilding initiatives, including the restoration of the
Caledonian forest.

Trees for Life

Trees for Life stands at the forefront of rewilding in the Scottish Highlands. Hopeful and bold, we are
committed to creating nature-rich landscapes that include and support people. Working on a grand scale, we
aim to close the gap between people and nature.

Focusing on Scotland’s spectacular Caledonian forest, we foster biodiversity and encourage natural processes
essential to life. From the iconic red squirrel to the elusive lynx, we are working to bring more life back to our
landscapes.

Rewilding is a shared journey. Together with communities, we are restoring Scotland’s natural and cultural
heritage while supporting local livelihoods. Join us on this path of hope and positive action. Rewild the Scottish
Highlands.

Visitor Experience and Operations Assistant Feb 26

Join the Trees for Life team!

Join our friendly, values-driven team, taking practical steps to rewild the Scottish Highlands. We offer
competitive pay and benefits, flexibility, great working culture, and much more. We welcome applicants from
all walks of life, with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences. If you require any
adjustments during our recruitment process, that would enable you to do as well as possible in the process,
please let us know.

Don’t meet every single requirement? That’s okay. We’re committed to building an inclusive team, and we
know that skills and experience come in many forms. The right mindset, attitude, and potential to grow are
just as important to us as ticking every box. If you’re excited about this role, meet the core criteria and feel you
can make a meaningful contribution – please apply.

Our values

Our values are at the heart of our mission to rewild the Scottish Highlands, guiding us in everything from the
daily rhythms of office life to the development of our landscape-scale initiatives.

We are Bold

We are an ambitious charity with a critical purpose. For us, being bold means thinking about landscape
restoration on a grand scale, embracing innovative rewilding methods and challenging the status quo. This
approach ensures that every step we take is a bold stride toward a revitalised, thriving natural landscape.

We are Collaborative

Our approach, deeply rooted in community and collaboration, involves working closely with local communities,
conservation groups, landowners, and volunteers. Finding common ground and working together we will
initiate positive solutions to the twin climate and biodiversity crises.

We are Pragmatic

We embrace pragmatic and sustainable solutions in everything we do. We are always mindful of our duty to
our supporters, our volunteers, our staff and above all to Scotland’s wild forest. By adopting practical
solutions, we safeguard our efforts and ensure a resilient future for our initiatives.

Overall Purpose of the Job

The Dundreggan Rewilding Centre welcomes over 50,000 guests each year, including a mix of day visitors,
corporate groups, education groups, special interest groups and overnight guests staying at the on-site
accommodation. The role will be part of a small team responsible for delivering a programme of engaging paid
visitor events and activities, as well as providing outstanding customer service via hospitality and retail
support.

The overall purpose of the Visitor Experience & Operations Assistant role is to provide visitors with a high
quality, memorable experience with the natural and cultural heritage of Dundreggan at its core.

Key Liaisons
The role will be managed by the Rewilding Centre Visitor Experience & Operations Supervisor and have strong
relationships with other Rewilding Centre staff, particularly Visitor Engagement Coordinator, Operations
Manager and hospitality team. They will work closely with the Trees for Life Marketing Officer to support retail
operations. It will also be important to liaise with other Trees for Life charity staff, who can offer experience,
knowledge and skills to provide visitors with more in-depth information about the charity, its fundraising and
its wider conservation work.

Visitor Experience and Operations Assistant Feb 26

Scope, Accountability and Resources
The scope of this role is to deliver products that generate income at the Rewilding Centre. The products are
built around a natural environment that lends itself to outdoor activities and the facilities at the centre – forty
bed accommodation, café, events and conference space. The majority of visitor experience delivery is practical,
hands-on outdoors activity.

The role will be accountable for taking the products created for guests and assisting the Visitor Experience &
Operations Supervisor in making many of them happen. The role will make preparations for all events and
experiences, such as creating risk assessments, ordering supplies, and ensuring space is booked and set up for
use, delivering the experiences to guests and contributing to post-event evaluation that ensures continuous
improvement.

The Visitor Experience & Operations Assistant should focus on providing an experience that leaves a lasting
impression on guests and leads to additional spending by the guest via accommodation, merchandise, charity
donations and repeat business (i.e. upselling). The role will promote the Rewilding Centre business as a means
to support the charitable work of Trees for Life.

Key responsibilities

Visitor Experience

●  Delivering activities, events and programmes to our wide range of target audiences, from pre-event

preparation to post-event assessment

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Leading outdoor tours and activities instruction, often working with school groups, university groups,
families and tourist groups

Serving as one of the on-site experts on nature and culture- based experiences, interpretation and
information

●  Providing feedback and ideas to support continuous improvement of all products, to ensure it is

always current, appealing and distinctive in the market

●  Using the ticketing/booking system and EPOS to facilitate guests bookings and sales

●  Communicating with, and working alongside the Operations and Hospitality teams, to co-deliver guest

experiences to the highest standard

●  Providing customer service in person or via phone or email, to answer questions and provide

assistance

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Following health and safety and safeguarding procedures, to ensure the safety of guests and staff at
all times

Support with creating and distributing promotional materials, such as event posters, leaflets etc.
ensuring materials are kept up to date and visible to public

●  This role may occasionally be required to act as Manager on Duty. Full training will be given.

●  Retail duties, including:

o  Assisting customers with questions, finding sizes, colours and options
o  Maintaining inventory by taking stock counts and replenishing stock

Visitor Experience and Operations Assistant Feb 26

o  Keeping record of invoices and orders
o  Helping with receipt of deliveries, pricing and display of merchandise

●  Performing any other duties as required by the Visitor Experience & Operations Supervisor, or

Operations Manager, in line with the level of responsibility for this post, including:

o  Covering light duties, such as tills or washing up, during busy periods in the café
o  Assisting with set-up and tear down of events space
o  Contributing to light cleaning and upkeep of the Centre, ensuring it is presented at highest

standard to all guests

●  Any other duties in line with role and level of responsibility for this post.

Person Specification

The successful candidate for this role will have:

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Excellent customer service and customer relationship building skills.
The ability to work as part of a team, as well as independently.
Flexibility to adhere to working patterns as needed.

Skills

Excellent communication skills - public speaking and instructing - with people of all ages and

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backgrounds, to provide immersive and informative experiences for guests
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Organised, detail-oriented, good listener
Enthusiastic with an eagerness to learn new skills and information
Able to work well in a fast-paced environment, and adapt to the needs of the customers
Comfortable leading groups in the outdoors, in what can be remote and exposed rural environments

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

Experience in a tourism, hospitality or events management, particularly in heritage or

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outdoor/environmental setting
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Knowledge of local or regional natural or cultural heritage, ecology and/or rewilding
Support for promotion of Gaelic language and culture
Proficiency in Google and Microsoft applications, basic IT skills
Outdoor first aid training certification

Desirable

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Gaelic speaker
Summer Mountain Leader or Hill and Moorland Leader qualifications
Sales or sales support experience
Familiarity or skills with booking engines and EPOS software and systems.
Experience creating or adhering to risk assessments
Degree in relevant environmental subject or discipline, or equivalent experience

Personal Attributes

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Must be committed to the ethos and values of Trees for Life
Proactive approach to getting work done and taking initiative to pitch in where needed
Reliable
Positive attitude
Commitment to continuous personal and professional development

Visitor Experience and Operations Assistant Feb 26

Working conditions/ Special demands

The role will require rota working along with weekends and bank holidays.
Due to the location of the Centre, a full and valid driving licence is essential.  Support in finding

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accommodation can be provided.
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This role will be subject to a PVG Disclosure Check due to working activities including, but not limited to,
supervising and working with children and vulnerable adults. Criminal record checks will be completed in line
with our Safeguarding, Equality and Ex offenders Policy.

Visitor Experience and Operations Assistant Feb 26