Centre Assistant

RSPB; Leeds; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

An environmental organization in Leeds is seeking a Centre Assistant to deliver outstanding customer service in the café at their St Aidan's Nature Park. You'll play a key role in maintaining visitor standards and providing a welcoming environment. Ideal candidates will possess strong communication skills and previous experience in customer service or catering. This part-time, permanent role offers a competitive hourly wage and opportunities for training and development.

Benefits

Pension Scheme

Life Assurance Scheme

26 days' Annual Leave

Qualifications

• Excellent customer service skills are essential.
• Ability to work under pressure and on your own initiative.
• Experience in a catering environment is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Serve customers in the café and maintain high visitor standards.
• Welcome visitors and provide them with excellent service.
• Work collaboratively within a supportive team.

Skills

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Ability to manage and respond to customer needs

Enthusiastic approach to work

Cash handling

Understanding of food hygiene

Teamwork

Education

GCSE Maths and English or equivalent

Job description

Centre Assistant

Reference: OCT (Apply online only)

Location: RSPB St Aidan's, LS26

Hours: Part-Time, minimum 9 hours per week + seasonal variations & cover

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £12.60 - £13.45 Per Hour

Benefits: Pension Scheme, Life Assurance Scheme, 26 days' Annual Leave

Are you able to deliver fantastic customer service, and would you like to work for an organisation that is making a big difference to our natural world? We are looking for an enthusiastic and hard‑working people person to work in our café, welcome visitors and maintain visitor standards at RSPB St Aidan's Nature Park.

RSPB St Aidan's is one of our most important sites in Northern England. This former industrial site is just half an hour from Leeds – a landscape that provides essential habitats for several rare species and showcases our large-scale habitat conservation work to a diverse and growing audience of thousands each year.

Our café and visitor offer is a crucial part of what we do here, encouraging visitors to explore the reserve and giving them a great visitor experience.

Duties will include working in our Little Owl Café serving customers and helping to maintain high visitor standards of our busy visitor operation. You will be able to communicate well with our visitors and offer excellent levels of customer care.

Full induction and training will be provided, with opportunities to learn about the running of a busy café and nature reserve operation.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience

• GCSE Maths and English or equivalent.
• Enthusiastic approach to work.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage and respond to customer needs and feedback.
• Cash handling.
• Be able to work effectively as part of a supportive and positive team.
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of food hygiene.
• Ability to work on your own initiative and under pressure.
• Consistently deliver the highest standard of customer service.

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience

• Experience of working at a catering environment / visitor attraction.
• Knowledge and experience of meeting targets.
• An intermediate Food Hygiene Level 2 certificate (training for Level 3 will be provided).
• Experience working with volunteers.
• Knowledge of health and safety in the workplace.
• Confidence in the use of tills and payment processes (training will be provided).

Additional Information

• Our work is planned via the use of rotas and this part‑time, permanent role will include weekend and bank holiday working. Basic hours are 9 per week with the opportunity to flex up hours over busy periods including holiday and sickness cover.
• There may be the occasional requirement to work in our RSPB Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve shop. RSPB Fairburn Ings is only 4 miles away from our stunning St Aidan’s Nature Park.

Closing date: 23:59, Sunday 16th November 2025

We are looking to conduct interviews for this position as soon as suitable candidates present themselves, so please do not delay in applying.

Please note that we are actively recruiting for this vacancy and reserve the right to close once sufficient applications have been received.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently under‑represented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and / or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application.

The RSPB is an equal–opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship – the successful applicant will need to have a pre‑existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

As part of this application you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete a short form. If you wish to provide a cover letter with your application, please include this at the end of your CV document upload. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

No agencies please.