Collections Assistant

National Trust; Devon and Torbay; On-site; GBP 19,000 - 23,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Free NT entry for you and guest

Deposit loan scheme

Season ticket loan

EV car lease

Discounts (gym, shopping, cinema)

Holiday entitlement up to 32 days

Flexible working

Employee assistance programme

Free parking

Job summary

The National Trust is seeking a Collections Assistant at Arlington Court. You will work with a housekeeping team to care for the house's precious collections, ensuring they are looked after with attention to detail while engaging visitors about their history.

This role requires weekend work and a four-day week, with Mondays fixed and the pattern negotiable. Training will cover environment monitoring, records, and care of objects, textiles and furniture.

Qualifications

• Good hand-to-eye skills and comfortable working from heights.
• Flexible and adaptable approach to work patterns.
• Focused on delivering excellent service to visitors.
• Able to work in a team and on own initiative.
• Well-organised and versatile in tasks.
• Willing to learn new skills.

Responsibilities

• Clean and care for the house's precious collections, textiles and furniture.
• Monitor environmental conditions and signs of wear or damage.
• Keep accurate records and support volunteers as needed.
• Talk to visitors about the work and collections.

Skills

Hand-eye coordination

Flexible

Customer service

Team player

Well-organised

Willing to learn

Job description

Summary We're looking for someone with a love of history and an eye for detail, who's friendly and open with people. This role is about looking after a historic house and its collections of precious objects, furniture and works of art. And it's about presenting all of this to people visiting, and helping to make every person's day memorable and enjoyable.

Because Arlington Court is in a rural area, please think about how you'd be able to get here for work before you apply for this job.

Salary: £20,670 pro rata (FTE £25,837.5 per annum)

Contract: Permanent

Hours/ working pattern: Part-time, 30 hours per week. This role requires weekend working and the pattern is working one weekend in three. It's a four day a week role and one of the days will need to be a Monday.

Shifts will be Monday to Thursday, with every third weekend worked, on this week the days worked would be Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday (with Tuesday and Thursday off).

Please note you will be required to work Mondays and every third weekend, but the days in the week shift pattern can be negotiable.

Provisional interview date: 14th October 2026.

Start date: Around 14th November 2026

For this role, you'll need to complete our online assessment instead of using a C.V. or online application form. This will help us understand more about your strengths and give you more information on the role.

What it's like to work here

Devon is a county of contrasts - from surfing beaches and spectacular cliffs on the north coast to the mellow south Devon countryside, with the wilds of Dartmoor - our North Devon portfolio has it all! With inspiring valleys, sandy beaches, towering cliffs, woodlands and moorland, North Devon was a favourite landscape of the Romantic Poets. It provides all visitors with a huge opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with walks of all shapes and sizes and if you love the outdoors, you'll love being part of our team who promote our cause and the importance of preserving these special places for our future generations.

For more information about our property please visit days-out/regionsouthwest/devon

What you'll be doing

As a Collections Assistant, you'll be working with a supportive housekeeping team in an inspiring historic setting. You'll be helping with the day-to-day cleaning and care of the precious collections of objects, works of art, textiles and furniture that are part of the house's history. You'll be alert to details and changes, and will keep a keen eye on everything from the environmental conditions in a room to any signs of wear and tear. You'll also be keeping accurate records. Providing support to our Collections and House volunteers when needed.

It's a role that's all about people as well, so you'll be talking to visitors about the work you're doing and the collections you help to look after.

You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. You don't need to have all the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what's possible in this role.

Who we're looking for

• good hand-to-eye skills, and happy to work from ladders or scaffold towers
• comfortable working in a flexible and adaptable way
• focused on giving great service to everyone you meet
• a team player, but also happy to work on your own initiative
• well-organised and versatile
• willing to learn new skills.

The package

The National Trust has the motto 'For everyone, for ever' at its heart. We're working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It's important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we're for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
• Rental deposit loan scheme
• Season ticket loan
• EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.
• Flexible working whenever possible
• Employee assistance programme
• Free parking at most Trust places

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.