Retail Assistant - Stirling Castle

Historic Environment Scotland; Stirling; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension

25 days annual leave

Professional subscriptions support

Study leave

Flexible working hours

Free entry to properties

Free access to English Heritage, Manx,

Job summary

Historic Environment Scotland is seeking a Retail Assistant at Stirling Castle for a full-year role starting November 2026. You will deliver high-quality customer service to visitors from around the world, handle retail transactions, and maintain attractive shop displays in a fast-paced environment.

The role offers a pro-rata annual salary of £27,740 and a rotating 35-hour/28-hour schedule across seasons, with interviews in person at Stirling Castle.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering high standards of customer service.
• Retail or admissions sales experience.
• Experience in working in a high end fast paced retail environment.
• Excellent team working skills.
• Experience dealing with cash, credit transactions and end of day procedures.

Responsibilities

• Engage with customers helping them with their buying decisions and answering any questions to improve their enjoyment of the Castle.
• Carry out the daily operational duties of the shop as requested by the Retail Supervisor or Manager.
• Processing and promotion of retail transactions through the till system.
• Responsibility for the retail areas including ordering of stock, pricing, rotation and attractive display of stock.
• Ensure a high standard of presentation throughout the site, including cleaning procedures in both public and staff areas.
• Processing sales, while ensuring that all financial procedures are adhered to and carried out accurately and efficiently.
• Support the team in achievement of quality assurance KPIs and overall commercial targets.
• Assist with pop-up retail events within the castle grounds and local community.
• Actively support HES seminars, events, functions and promotions.
• Maximise commercial opportunities and promote other sites and products.

Skills

Customer service

Retail sales

High-end retail

Teamwork

Cash handling

Job description

Job Description

Starting salary: £27,740 pro-rata per year

Contract type: Full year variable - Permanent

Grade: 1

Location: Stirling Castle

Working Hours: April - September, 35 hours 4 on, 2 off rota. October - March, 28 hours, 4 working days per week

Interviews: To be held in person at Stirling Castle FROM week commencing 23 September 2026

Your role of Retail Assistant will be a full year variable position. The likely start date for this role is in November 2026.

Are you looking for a job that is both fun and unique? You'll get an insight into Scotland's rich history and gain valuable experience in the tourism industry and help bring Scotland's dramatic history to life for our visitors from across the world. Explore the fascinating stories from Scotland's past and share your passion with international and local visitors who come to Stirling Castle.

This is an exciting opportunity to work for the lead body responsible for the historic environment in Scotland. You will be actively involved in work which supports providing the best experience for our visitors.

We are looking for someone who enjoys interacting with diverse groups of people, who has a passion for customer service and who would thrive in a fast paced and constantly changing workplace.

Stirling Castle staff pride themselves on delivering a first - class visitor service. We have welcomed over 600,000 visitors from April 2025- March 2026, visitors from many countries around the world who are all looking for a unique experience, with the anticipation that we will welcome even more visitors in 2026/27 and beyond and the retail team play a huge role in the visitor experience, with the selling of retail products to the benefit of the customer, a core part of visitor engagement.

For more information about the post and information about the team, please access the full job description for this post. Please note that if you don't have Office 365 installed on your device, this can be opened using your browser.

Benefits of joining us at Historic Environment Scotland

• Enrolment onto a Civil Service Pension scheme - 28% employer contribution
• 25 days annual leave, pro-rata (increasing to 30 days after 3 years) + 11.5 public holidays
• Reimbursement for relevant professional subscriptions
• Support for further education and personal development
• Study leave for work related courses
• Flexible working hours (where appropriate)
• Free entry to all of our properties (with up to three guests)
• Free entry to English Heritage, Manx and Cadw properties

Key Responsibilities of this role

• Engage with customers helping them with their buying decisions and answering any questions to improve their enjoyment of the Castle.
• Carry out the daily operational duties of the shop as requested by the Retail Supervisor or Manager.
• Processing and promotion of retail transactions through the till system.
• Responsibility for the retail areas including ordering of stock, pricing, rotation and attractive display of stock.
• Ensure a high standard of presentation throughout the site, including following appropriate cleaning processes in both public and staff areas.
• Processing sales, while ensuring that all financial procedures are adhered to and carried out accurately and efficiently.
• Support the team in achievement of quality assurance Key Performance Indicators as well as working together to achieve overall commercial performance targets.
• Assist with pop-up retail event both within the castle grounds and the local community.
• Actively support HES seminars, events, functions and promotions.
• Strive to provide the warmest welcome to our visitors and engage proactively with customer service.
• Proactively communicate with colleagues across the site to ensure high performance, standards and consistency.
• Work as part of a team to ensure that the Customer Service Industry Standards and Quality Services Awards are maintained and participate in local action plan delivery.
• Maximise commercial opportunities and capitalise on income generating opportunities through selling and upselling appropriate merchandise and promoting other sites and products.
• Assist Retail Supervisor to ensure accurate stock management and assist with stock ordering and deliveries as required.
• Ensure the security of the site, buildings and contents, including acting as key holder (where required).
• Ensure that the health and safety of staff, visitors and contractors is always paramount and follow correct procedures to ensure safe operation of any equipment

Key requirements of the role:

In order for you to be successful in this post, we will be looking for you to complete a cover letter which addresses:

1. Why you are interested in the post with Historic Environment Scotland

2. How you can meet each of the essential and desirable criteria (in up to 800 words), using examples of where you have used these skills in the past.

Please ensure that you provide real life examples for each of the criteria to be considered for this post. You can use examples of how you have met this criteria from your work life, home life, education or volunteer experience. Please read our CV and Cover Letter Guidance first before completing, as you will only be eligible for selection if you use examples of how you meet the essential and desirable criteria.

Essential Criteria:

• Experience delivering high standards of customer service.
• Retail or admissions sales experience
• Experience in working in a high end fast paced retail environment.
• Excellent team working skills.
• Experience dealing with cash, credit transactions and end of day procedures.

Find out more about desirable skills and experience in our full job description.

We are dedicated to building a workforce which is reflective of diversity within Scotland. We warmly welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, gender or gender identity, religious beliefs, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or neurodiversity. In support of our Gaelic Language Plan, we welcome applications from Gaelic speakers.

Please note that, at this time, we are unfortunately unable to provide sponsorship as part of the recruitment process, therefore you must have current right to work in the UK to be considered for a post.