Tour Guide (Seasonal)
Job description – Seasonal Tour Guide
Post title: Tour Guide
Terms: Seasonal
Salary: £9.50/hr
Reports to: Head Guide
Location: Paxton House, Paxton, Berwick upon Tweed, TD15 1SZ
*Guides work on a rota basis allowing flexibility.
Role Summary
Seasonal guides at Paxton House will maximise the enjoyment of visitors to Paxton House through exceptional customer service. Guides are part of the public face of Paxton, welcoming, friendly and approachable at all times. With passion and enthusiasm for history and the ability to share this in a variety of ways to suit a variety of age groups and nationalities. A keen awareness of security and health and safety are integral to this role.
The Organisation
Paxton House is an 18th century Palladian mansion designed by John and James Adam. The House and 80 acres of designed landscape and gardens are located five miles from Berwick upon Tweed. The River Tweed that signifies the border between Scotland and England provides the southern boundary to the Estate. The collections at Paxton with one of the largest collections by Chippendale and Trotter furniture are recognised by Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) as nationally significant. In 1988, the House and Estate was gifted by John Home Robertson to the nation for the benefit and enjoyment of everyone with a Charitable Trust established to manage and progress the next development of the House as a key heritage and cultural visitor attraction.
2020 and 2021 have been turbulent years for the UK, as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic, and Paxton House have been affected by this. No part of the business has been untouched by these changes and new ways of working remain vital to our continued progress. We have set out an ambitious mission and vision; to be a place for everyone every day.
What you will be doing:
Reporting directly to the Head Guide, Tour Guides have a pivotal role at Paxton House. You’ll be responsible for delivering a fantastic, five star experience for all visitors to the House.
You will:
- Welcome every visitor, providing exceptional customer care and help as appropriate.
- Develop extensive knowledge about Paxton, its history, the collections and current operations.
- Monitoring the care and safety of the collections
- Work as part of a team
- Provide excellent customer care, providing a warm welcome to all members of the public
- Provide visitors with a complete experience
- Support and help visitors with particular needs such as families, educational visits or visitors with disabilities
- Be flexible and adapt to situations as they occur
All seasonal guides will be given full training, this will include health and safety and emergency procedures. Guides will take responsibility for unlocking and locking up parts of the house and preparing rooms at the start and end of the day – mainly at weekends. This will entail some unlocking / locking up, operating lights, opening & closing of sun blinds to protect collections, checking that ropes and signage are in place as required etc. Seasonal guides must tell the head guide/ caretaker any general maintenance matters (e.g. blown light bulbs, appearance of damp / water ingress) or any concerns about any of the collections.
Seasonal Guides will be ambassadors for Paxton- telling our stories and entertaining our visitors
Who we are looking for:
The ideal candidate will possess:
- Excellent interpersonal skills (listening and communication)
- Be polite
- Have an enthusiasm for history
- Enjoy working with the public
- Be experienced team players
- Be able to work alone when necessary
Experience
- Experience in team working – Essential
- Previous public engagement experience – Desirable
- Experience within a heritage setting – Desirable
Skills and Abilities
- Excellent interpersonal skills, listening and communication skills – Essential
- Polite and approachable – Essential
- Ability to work as part of a team with all members of staff at Paxton House – Essential
- Ability to assimilate and present detailed information in a manner that engages a variety of age groups and nationalities – Essential
- A level of fitness and mobility to be able to share responsibility for evacuating visitors swiftly in an emergency, and to safely access and egress a two storey building via staircases. – Essential
- Good organisational skills – Desirable
- Ability to use initiative – Desirable
- Excellent time management and punctuality.
- Ability to speak a foreign language – Welcomed
Knowledge and understanding
- Knowledge and understanding of Paxton’s traditions, collections & operations – Full training provided
- To be honest trustworthy dependable and reliable – Essential
- Methodical and accurate – Essential
- Being adaptable, recognising the need for change
Other Requirements
- Willingness to work weekends
- Willing to help out other departments if it is required.
- Ability to identify own training needs and ways of addressing them
- Flexibility in agreeing hours or days of work to mutual benefit within reason.
- Must dress in a manner that is appropriate for their role as a guide at Paxton.
The Application Process
If you are interested in the role of Seasonal Guide at Paxton House please send your cv and covering letter to: info@paxtonhouse.com
Applicants will be invited to Paxton House for an interview about the role. If accepted you will be invited to attend an induction and safety training day before the opening day with further training and practice tours as arranged with the Curator, Head Guide, and the team at Paxton, prior to working independently as a Seasonal House Guide.
All Seasonal Guides will undertake a one month trial period.
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