Posted: 03/10/2024 14:11 Start Date: Not Available Salary: 25741.00 Location: Horniman Museum and Gardens, Forest Hill Level: Entry Level Deadline: 21/10/2024 10:00 Hours: 14.5 Benefits: See "Working for Us" on the Home menu Job Type: Part time Job title and reference: Visitor Host (CIG07.24) Salary: £25,741 pro rata per annum Hours of work: Weekend (14.5hrs) – working Saturdays and Sundays Contract: Permanent The Horniman is London’s only museum where human cultures and natural environments can be seen alongside each other. We are a ‘one world’ museum showing collections of musical instruments, anthropology and natural history; we have a butterfly house, an aquarium and a popular programme of family-friendly exhibitions. The Horniman is set in 16 acres of beautiful Gardens offering breath-taking views across London. We are looking for warm and approachable Visitor Hosts to share their enthusiasm for the Horniman’s collections of objects from the natural world and different cultures. You’ll be friendly and helpful as you help our visitors to get involved with daily activities at the museum, as well as ensuring that they have a safe and smooth-running visit. You’ll have previous experience of working with the public (not necessarily in a museum), and you may well be familiar with the Horniman and the local area. You will have outstanding customer service skills and will be able to follow correct procedures to keep both our collections and our visitors safe. Upcoming projects in our department include tours of the World Gallery (ideally including personal stories), active engagement with our visitors on the topic of climate change and support for events such as relaxed early and late openings with neurodivergent families in mind. Members of staff with protected characteristics, such as race and disability, are currently underrepresented in our team and we particularly welcome applications from these sections of the community. The closing date for completed applications is 10am on Monday 21 October. Interviews will be held on Wednesday 06 and Thursday 07 November. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for this role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. The Horniman is an equal opportunities employer and we value and celebrate diversity. We want to better represent the communities in which we work but recognise that there is still much work to do in this area. We welcome and encourage all applicants and particularly encourage you to apply if you are from a community that is often disadvantaged by society or an ethnically diverse background. How to Apply Click on “Apply Now” at the top or bottom of this page. When you apply you will be asked to upload a covering statement in Microsoft Word format (the document must be in .doc format and the maximum file size is 2 MB). Please also ensure that you have uploaded your CV as a separate document which you can do when you create an account or login. Please provide an overview of no more than 2 pages describing your experience relevant to the role as outlined in the Job Description and Person Specification. JOB DESCRIPTION Job title and reference: Visitor Host (CIG07.24) Salary: £25,741 pro rata per annum Hours of work: Weekends (14.5 hrs) worked every Saturday and Sunday from 9.30am-5.45pm Contract: Permanent Main purpose of the job Section description The Communications and Income Generation Directorate (CIG) comprises fundraising, membership, marketing, communications, digital, event operations, visitor experience and commercial activities. Main responsibilities Entertain, guide and inform Horniman customers throughout their visit to the Museum and Gardens to provide a high quality visitor experience, ensuring that each visit is enriching, enjoyable, memorable and safe. Visitor Hosts deliver activities and projects in public areas and also offer excellent standards of internal customer service across the Horniman. Customer service and engagement (50%) Offer a welcoming, friendly and engaging visitor experience in line with the customer services standards set by the Visitor Experience Manager and Team Leaders. Greet customers warmly on arrival and manage their exit, actively assist them to find their way around, and accurately check tickets and membership cards using the scanners provided Build rapport with our visitors, encouraging them to visit galleries and take part in events and activities likely to interest them Explain proactively the collections, stories and mission in ways that entertain, inform and engage our visitors, including the delivery of self-developed guided tours and talks about objects in the collection (quality assured by curatorial and learning as needed). Ensure that interactive displays or areas are well presented, and that customers are using them safely and to best effect Deal with customer enquiries, comments and complaints effectively and in line with customer care standards Maintain excellent standards of personal presentation and maintain presentation standards for the galleries, displays, facilities and all public areas. Communications and Income Generation 20% Actively promote the charitable status of the Horniman and generate donations from customers Contribute to the income generation of the Horniman by promoting charged-for products and events/activities Share information on customer activities: observing visitor behaviour; requesting feedback; evaluating displays and events; supporting the marketing team’s audience research. Health and Safety (20%) Demonstrate a duty of care for customers by ensuring that public areas are safe and accessible at all times Carry out defined responsibilities for health and safety, safeguarding, evacuations and collections emergency planning. This includes daily gallery and security checks before the museum opens to the public and at the end of the day All Hosts will be qualified first-aiders as a requirement of the role Monitor, identify and report promptly any threats to the security of the museum’s customers and collections e.g. suspicious behaviour or packages. Other (10%) Provide operational and customer support for events, projects and programmes managed by other colleagues, particularly CIG and the Learning & Volunteering team. Demonstrate a ‘can do’ approach and be flexible as needed. Actively deliver the Horniman’s commitments on access and diversity through every interaction with customers Act as ambassador for the Horniman during all contact with the public on site General responsibilities Act in a professional manner and uphold the Horniman’s Code of Conduct Follow and promote safe systems of work and observe health and safety regulations Any other duties that may be required to ensure the effective running of the Visitor Experience operations Job activities may vary and evolve over time to meet business needs. PERSON SPECIFICATION Minimum Shortlisting Criteria Knowledge and experience Delivering effective customer service in a visitor-focussed environment, including interacting with visitors on a daily basis (E) Skills and abilities A good communicator, confident and able to communicate with staff and the public in a clear, concise and professional fashion (E) Able to prioritise under pressure in a busy and crowded environment (E) Additional Shortlisting Criteria Knowledge and experience Experience of carrying out health & safety checks and ensuring that public areas are safe and accessible at all times (E) Skills and abilities A constructive and flexible team player, contributing positively in meetings, projects and training within the department and throughout the museum (E) Good levels of literacy (E) Personal attributes Members of staff with protected characteristics, such as race and disability, are currently underrepresented in our team and we particularly welcome applications from these sections of the community (D) Further Selection Criteria – to be tested at interview Skills and abilities Able to share knowledge about the Horniman and its content in ways that inform and entertain our visitors (E) Look for solutions and be positive when problem-solving (E) Flexible and adaptable, willing and able to take on differing roles, tasks, locations (including the Gardens or elsewhere) and activities according to business need and as required (E) Personal attributes Passion for delivering good customer service (E) Willingness to work flexibly to meet corporate objectives (E) Commitment to the Horniman’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion policies (E) An empathy with the Horniman mission and an interest in its collections, exhibitions, activities and events (E) Commitment to own learning and professional development (E) Good standard of self-presentation to give a professional impression of the Horniman (E) Circumstances Weekend and bank holiday working is a requirement of the role. Some evening work may also be required Occasionally situations may arise that require the post holder to perform other duties or tasks as may be reasonably requested. Availability to work some additional hours during peak times and holiday/sickness cover will be required The post includes light manual handling duties and moderate physical activity Qualified First Aider or willing to undergo training A basic DBS disclosure check is required for this post.