BPT Museum Assistants

THE BATH PRESERVATION TRUST LTD; Bath; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 28,000; Part time

Job summary

The Bath Preservation Trust Ltd invites applications for BPT Museum Assistants to support opening and running of multiple museums. You will welcome visitors, handle enquiries, manage ticket sales and merchandise, and assist with events, tours and admin tasks.

Requirements include reliable, public-facing experience and strong customer service ethos. The roles cover No.1 Royal Crescent, Herschel Museum, Beckford’s Tower and the Museum of Bath Architecture, with weekend shifts and casual hours

Qualifications

• Experience of working with the public in a customer facing role.
• Experience delivering good customer service.
• Numerate and able to remain calm under pressure.
• Desirable: experience in a museum setting.

Responsibilities

• Open and close the museum and manage security and alarms.
• Provide a friendly welcome and respond to visitor queries.
• Handle ticket sales, merchandise and stock deliveries.
• Support events and guided tours as required.
• Assist with admin tasks and health and safety responsibilities.

Skills

Reliable

Public-facing

Customer service

Numerate

Lone working

Job description

Job Description

Post: BPT Museum Assistants

Two salaried roles available at: No.1 Royal Crescent: alternate Sundays 8am to 4pm Beckford’s Tower: Saturdays (4-hour shift)

Casual hours contracts also available for the 2025 season

Salary based on £12/hour. Annual leave entitlement pro rata of 34 days/year inclusive of bank holiday entitlement. Casual hours contracts paid at £12/hour plus paid holiday.

Reporting to: FOH Manager

Purpose of role: To ensure the opening and smooth running of the Museums. BPT Museum Assistants also provide cover as required at any of the BPT’s four museums (No.1 Royal Crescent, Museum of Bath Architecture, Herschel Museum of Astronomy and Beckford’s Tower) as well as supporting events and tour bookings.

Key responsibilities

Museum Assistants may be required to provide support at any of the BPT’s four 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 the Museum (and the landscape at Beckford’s Tower), unlocking and locking up all the rooms and other spaces as applicable; deactivating and setting the intruder alarm.

Oversight of the museum floor including carrying out cleaning regimes and monitoring supplies required for staff and visitor PPE, sanitizing stations, toilets, visitor literature and any other processes that form part of the daily visit.

Making sure the museum is ready for opening including audio visual equipment, ticket stocks, visitor literature and retail merchandise. Restocking/checking during the day and advising the appropriate manager when stock requires re-ordering.

Checking tills in the morning

Recording takings on a daily basis

Sale of admission tickets, guide books and other merchandise from the museum shop, as well as ordering and managing deliveries of stock as needed.

Providing a friendly welcome to visitors, dealing with general visitor queries and responding to telephone and email enquiries.

Providing support for out of hours activity including leading guided tours and supporting events.

Completing visitor survey and Gift Aid forms as applicable.

Responsibility for health and safety issues as they 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 cover any extended opening-up periods, for example special bookings, evening tours lectures and events.

To fulfill 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 working with the public in a customer facing role

Experience of giving 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

Desirable:

Experience of working within a museum

Experience of working in a public space and 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 monitoring stock

Experience of giving guided tours

Experience of ordering and displaying retail merchandise

Experience with tills

In addition, some lone working and manual handling will be required.

Working hours:

In addition to the salaried shifts above, additional casual shifts to cover holiday and sickness absence and to cover events and tour bookings at all our museums may be available. Our museums are open at weekends so weekend availability is required.

BPT Museum opening in 2025

No.1 Royal Crescent opens Tuesdays to Sundays 10am to 5.30pm 1 February 2025 to 4 January 2026. The museum is also open on Bank Holiday Mondays and all Mondays in August.

Herschel Museum of Astronomy opens Tuesdays to Sundays 10am to 5pm 1 February 2025 to 4 January 2026. The museum is also open on Mondays in school holidays.

Beckford’s Tower and Museum opens Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from 15 February 2025 to 14 December 2025. Summer times February to October 10am to 5pm and winter times November and December 10am to 4pm (shift times at this site will be adapted during the winter months)

Across all museums guided tours and events also take place outside of these hours.