Senior Visitor Experience Officer

National Trust; Reading; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Substantial pension scheme up to 10%

Free entry to National Trust places

Rental deposit loan scheme

Season ticket loan

EV car lease scheme

Perks at work discounts

Holiday allowance up to 32 days

Flexible working whenever possible

Employee assistance programme

Free parking at most Trust places

Job summary

The National Trust Thames Valley Group is seeking a Senior Visitor Experience Officer to develop and deliver engaging visitor experiences across Basildon Park, Greys Court and Nuffield Place in Reading area.

You will work with the Visitor Experience team to create audience-led events, programmes and memorable experiences while supervising volunteers and supporting weekend duty patterns.

Qualifications

• Experience devising and running activities to inspire and engage people.
• Strong communication and relationship-building across teams and partners.
• Ability to interpret collections of art and objects for diverse audiences.
• Well-organised with the ability to work at pace and meet deadlines.
• Comfortable supervising volunteers and working with staff and visitors.

Responsibilities

• Develop projects, events and experiences for a wide range of visitors.
• Collaborate with the Visitor Experience team; manage creative projects and programmes.
• Join the duty management team and work regular weekend days.
• Travel between Basildon Park, Greys Court and Nuffield Place as needed.
• Talk to visitors and supervise volunteers where required.

Skills

People skills

Event planning

Public speaking

Team collaboration

Customer service

Volunteer supervision

Job description

Summary

We’re looking for someone with great people skills, who loves to inspire and delight by providing top-quality experiences for visitors, to join us as a Senior Visitor Experience Officer at the Thames Valley property group (Basildon Park, Greys Court and Nuffield Place.)

This role supports the Visitor Experience team in creating exciting visitor experiences, thoughtful visitor programmes and audience-led events. It is anticipated that the post holder will work a regular weekend day, so working pattern may sit between Sunday-Wednesday or Wednesday-Saturday. To be discussed at interview.

Interviews will be held in week commencing 19th October.

What It’s Like To Work Here

The Thames Valley is a major tourist destination, with historic houses, parks and gardens, cycling, walking and boating on the river. It’s a beautiful area in which to live and work, with numerous small villages and towns in the countryside, yet good transport links to London by train and close to the east-west M4 motorway. The nearby thriving town of Reading with its range of housing types and prices, university and sporting facilities is the most important source for local visitors coming to the National Trust properties in this area. Basildon Park is just 12 miles from Greys Court, with nearby Nuffield Place – the third in the group, forming a close triangle of properties spilling out north across the valley.

What You’ll Be Doing

As part of the Visitor Experience team, you’ll be focused on developing projects, events and experiences for a wide range of visitors; helping the Thames Valley Group to develop and grow. You’ll work collaboratively with colleagues in the Visitor Experience team, with creativity and creative project management forming a core part of your role. Your high-quality programmes will make sure every visitor has a unique and memorable experience.

You’ll form part of the duty management team, and will work a regular weekend day. Sometimes you may need to get stuck in and help wherever you’re needed, to keep the whole place running smoothly. The role also involves travelling across the three property sites on a regular basis.

You’ll have plenty of opportunities to talk to visitors, introducing them to all that makes the Thames Valley Group so special. You may also be managing and supervising others, including volunteers.

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

• experienced in devising and running activities to inspire and engage people
• skilled at communicating, and building good working relationships with people in your team and beyond
• aware of ways to interpret precious collections of art and objects to a wide variety of people
• well‑organised, and able to work at pace and keep to time
• confident that you can deal with all kinds of people in all kinds of situations
• flexible, yet with a focus on always giving high standards of customer service
• used to working with and supervising volunteers

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.

National Trust place

Thames Valley, Lower Basiildon, Reading, RG8 9NR

Documents

Senior Visitor Experience Officer - Career Level B.pdf

Requirements

Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK

Additional information

Closing Date

4th October 2026

Equal Opportunities Statement

The National Trust celebrates diversity and is committed to creating a fair and equal society, free from discrimination. You can read more about our commitment to inclusion and diversity here.

Safeguarding Statement

The National Trust is committed to a safe recruitment processes to help the organisation attract and appoint the right staff/volunteer for the role and responsibilities as set out in the vacancy advert. We will not accept applicants who are not suitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk. If you have any questions around your suitability for this vacancy, please contact the people service centre.