Casual Café Assistant at Carlton Marshes

Suffolk Wildlife Trust; Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading conservation charity in Brighton is seeking a Café Assistant to deliver excellent customer service at Carlton Marshes Visitor Centre. Engage visitors, support café success, and promote the Trust's mission. This position offers flexibility with hours and pays £12.21 per hour plus holiday pay.

Qualifications

• Prior experience in similar roles is desirable.
• Confident in preparing and serving food.
• Ability to maintain cleaning procedures.

Responsibilities

• Deliver excellent customer care in food and beverage service.
• Ensure positive presentation of visitor centre.
• Promote Trust’s mission and support café's commercial success.
• Encourage visitors to support or become a member.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Customer service skills

Knowledge of stock control processes

Barista skills

Job description

Overview

Suffolk Wildlife Trust has led conservation across Suffolk since 1961, protecting some of the county's most important wildlife areas. As a grassroots organisation, we’re passionate about ‘Bringing nature back’ by inspiring and empowering local communities to care for and act on behalf of nature, while managing our nature reserves and advocating for wildlife.

As the Café Assistant, the post holder will deliver excellent customer care and high standards of service in the preparation and presentation of food and beverages, ensuring Carlton Marshes Visitor Centre is presented positively to visitors. The Café Assistant will play a key role in enhancing the visitor experience, promoting Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s mission and supporting the café’s commercial success – all of which is reinvested in to our conservation and recovery work. The post holder will, as part of the Carlton team, promote a welcoming atmosphere for visitors, actively encouraging them to support or become a Member of Suffolk Wildlife Trust, discover our activities and the wider reserve or get involved in volunteering across our many opportunities available.

Responsibilities

• Deliver excellent customer care and high standards of service in the preparation and presentation of food and beverages.
• Ensure Carlton Marshes Visitor Centre is presented positively to visitors.
• Promote the Trust’s mission and support the café’s commercial success, reinvested in conservation and recovery work.
• Promote a welcoming atmosphere and encourage visitors to support or become a Member, discover activities and get involved in volunteering.

Requirements / Qualifications

• Strong communication and customer service skills.
• Knowledge of stock control processes.
• Confident in preparing and serving food, maintaining cleaning procedures, and working well with others.
• Prior experience in similar roles and proficiency in EPOS till systems is desirable; barista skills are desirable.

Conditions

The role is on a casual worker basis based at Carlton Marshes near Lowestoft. Available hours will be during visitor centre hours (Monday to Sunday 9:00am to 5:00pm) covering weekdays, weekends, bank holidays and school holidays. Under a casual worker agreement there are no set hours of work. The rate of pay is £12.21 per hour plus holiday pay.

How to apply

To apply for this opportunity, please submit an application via our website by 9:00am on Wednesday 24 September 2025. Interviews are planned for Tuesday 30 September 2025 at Carlton Marshes Visitor Centre. Please indicate your availability for interview on the application.

Equality and diversity

Suffolk Wildlife Trust is committed to an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone is welcome. As a conservation charity, we recognise the importance of diversity in both nature and our workforce of staff and volunteers. We strive to ensure that everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute to our vision of “A Wilder Suffolk where nature is thriving and abundant because everyone is doing more to help”.