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 ● ● 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 ● ● 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: ● ● ● 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 ● backgrounds, to provide immersive and informative experiences for guests ● ● ● ● 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 ● outdoor/environmental setting ● ● ● ● 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 ● ● ● ● ● ● 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 ● ● ● ● ● 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 ● ● accommodation can be provided. ● 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