Welcome Manager

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty; Ambleside; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 10%

Free entry to NT places

Season ticket loan

EV car lease scheme

Perks at work discounts

Holiday allowance up to 32 days

Job summary

The National Trust is seeking a Welcome Manager (Band 1) to lead the operation at Wray Castle and Tarn Hows, overseeing visitor services, staff and volunteers. This fixed-term role is based in Ambleside on a full-time schedule, with weekend requirement and a salary of £27,612 per annum.

You will manage day-to-day visitor operations, engage with visitors in the car park and castle, and work with multiple departments to deliver exceptional visitor service while helping achieve organisational aims.

Qualifications

• Experience in visitor services, sales, tourism or heritage settings.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Confident leader with change-management mindset.
• Adept at managing financial performance and budgets.
• Able to work weekends/holidays when required.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily visitor operations and compliance for Wray and Tarn Hows.
• Spend time visiting with guests and staff to model service.
• Line-manage Welcome & Service Team Members; develop staff and volunteers.
• Collaborate with Site Manager, Visitor Experience Officer, Gardens, Rangers and Facilities.
• Drive membership recruitment and visitor experience KPIs across sites.

Skills

Visitor services

Sales

Tourism

Heritage

Leadership

Budget management

Adaptable under pressure

Job description

Fixed Term f/t (37.5 hrs pw to 29/10/27)

Ambleside

229.8 mi from London

Ends: Sep 13th

Ref: IRC178854

Summary

Are you great with visitors, staff and volunteers and a keen problem-solver? Ever dreamed of working in a castle in the centre of the Lake District? If so, then we’re looking for a Welcome Manager to lead the operation at Wray, a parkland and castle set on the west shore of Windermere, and Tarn Hows, a busy car park leading to an accessible walk revealing majestic views of the iconic Lakeland fells. Internally, you'll be known as a 'Welcome Manager (Band 1)'.

Salary: £27,612 per annum

Contract Duration: This is a fixed-term contract due to end when the postholder returns to the role. At this point we cannot confirm exactly how long this contract will last, but it is unlikely to last beyond 29th October 2027.

Working Hours: You will work 37.5 hours per week, including regular weekend and school holiday working.

Proposed Start Date: Monday 12th October 2026

We are also advertising for a second full-time cover role, IRC178857 - Welcome Manager at Ullswater.

What it's like to work here

You’ll be based at Wray, one of the most spectacular and ambitious villa estates in the Lake District. Created between 1840 and 1860 from open farmland, the estate includes a house in the Mock-Gothic form of a medieval castle, a church, a farm and boathouses, set in rolling lakeshore parkland.

Tarn Hows sits a few miles away from Wray, and its busy car park, toilets and coffee trailer provide the perfect jumping-off point for visitors wanting to absorb the majestic views of the high fells from the accessible path leading around the tarn.

You’ll be joining an experienced Visitor Operations team, directly line managing Welcome & Service Team Members, based at both Wray and Tarn Hows. You’ll also be working alongside other departments, including Site Manager, Visitor Experience Officer, Gardeners, Rangers, Business Services, Collections and Facilities.

As well as the property teams, you’ll be part of a wider ‘Lakes & Eden Properties’ network, collectively looking after an area of ownership stretching from Coniston Water to the Ullswater Valley. Along with Wray, other key visitor touch points include Hill Top, Allan Bank, Townend, Aira Force, Acorn Bank and Steam Yacht Gondola. These are some of the most iconic landscapes and places in the world, with 18 million people visiting the Lake District each year.

What you'll be doing

As the Property Operations Lead, you'll be accountable for the day-to-day management, visitor operations and compliance of Wray and Tarn Hows. This includes how we engage with visitors across the wider parkland, in our car park, and with those looking inside the castle.

You'll be expected to spend some of your time visitor-facing alongside your team, not just when cover is needed, and contribute to creating a positive, inclusive and collaborative work environment focused on delivering the Trust’s strategy.

Line managing the Welcome & Service Team Members, you'll provide support, champion training and personal development, and work closely with colleagues across departments to lead staff and volunteers in delivering excellent visitor service, presentation standards and conservation standards. Working with the Facilities team, you'll also liaise with contractors.

You'll have responsibility for key performance indicators (KPIs) across membership recruitment, fundraising, visitor experience and staff satisfaction at Wray and Tarn Hows. We want as many people as possible to join the National Trust, so membership recruitment will be a particular focus.

You'll carry out duty management as agreed locally, coordinate the duty management rota, and be prepared to get stuck in wherever needed to ensure the smooth running of the site.

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

We'd love to hear from you if you’re:

• experienced in visitor services, sales, tourism, heritage or similar situations
• naturally curious about people, and motivated to give the highest standards of service
• highly organised
• a confident leader, excited and motivated by change
• adept at managing financial performance
• up for a challenge, adaptable and responsive under pressure

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)

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.

National Trust place

Wray Castle, Low Wray, Ambleside, LA22 0JA and Tarn Hows, near Coniston

Documents

Welcome Manager (Band 1) - Career Level B.pdf

Requirements

Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK

Additional information

Closing Date: 13th September 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.