Seasonal Guide Information Officer

Heritage Ireland; Letterkenny; On-site; EUR 18,000 - 25,000; Part time

Job summary

Heritage Ireland invites applications for a Seasonal Guide/Information Officer at Glebe Gallery and Garden, Derek Hill House, near Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. You will welcome visitors and present the site, ensuring a safe, engaging experience.

This fixed-term role runs 3–9 months with a pay rate of €15.69 per hour for entry level staff. Fluency in English, heritage awareness and strong interpersonal skills are essential for delivering high-quality visitor services.

Qualifications

• Fluency in English is essential.
• Heritage awareness and an appreciation and interest in history.
• Ability to engage with a programme for diverse audiences, individuals and communities, on-site and on-line.
• Candidates will be required to provide an original birth certificate or Passport for age verification.
• The ability to work as part of a team and interact with colleagues, managers and the public in a tactful, courteous and professional manner.

Responsibilities

• Protection of the site and ensuring that visitor rules are observed.
• Being responsible for security and safety at the site.
• Visitor reception and related issues; welcoming visitors to the site.
• Administering admission tickets and receipts; selling literature and posters.
• Counting money and reconciling receipts; counting stock.
• Operating audio visual equipment and dealing with enquiries by phone.
• Promotion and interpretation of the Site; developing tour commentary with supervisors.
• Giving guided tours and adapting tours to groups; event management.
• Outdoor duties including park stewarding and invigilating duties.

Skills

Fluency in English

Heritage awareness

Interpersonal skills

Tools

ICT systems

Job description

Location Glebe Gallery and Garden – Derek Hill House Closing Date 16/10/2026 Rate of pay €15.69 (Entry Level) – Please refer to booklet for pay scale Job Type Fixed Term Contracts

Our key job is to manage and maintain the most important of Ireland’s historic buildings and heritage. We take meticulous care of the 780 heritage sites in our charge and at the 70 sites with visitor services, we work hard to present them to their best potential, making sure that we give visitors from Ireland and abroad the best experience we possibly can.
Would you like to work to promote and present our heritage sites to the public? Visitor Services of the Office of Public Works currently seek enthusiastic people to join their dedicated Guide Team.

Testimonials
Our Guides represent the public face of the OPW, showcasing Ireland’s most important heritage sites. The Guide Service plays a vital role in conserving and presenting selected sites and ensuring the safety and enjoyment of the visitors.
Heritage Guides provide unique and memorable experiences for visitors from all over the world. It is a rewarding and enjoyable job for those who enjoy sharing their expertise and enthusiasm with others.

This elegant Regency house, dating from 1828, is set in woodland gardens near the town of Letterkenny in County Donegal. The celebrated painter Derek Hill lived and worked here from the 1950s until the 1980s, when he presented the house to the Irish state – along with an extraordinary collection of art.
Hill was a man of exquisite taste. The house itself, is as he left it – beautifully decorated with William Morris textiles and furniture of oriental design. His collection includes hundreds of works by some of the leading lights of the art world, such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Louis le Brocquy and Auguste Renoir. There are also choice pieces from further afield, including Japan and the Islamic world.
Hill’s studio, which adjoins the house, has been transformed into a modern and stylish gallery, which now plays host to changing exhibitions.

Visit to Glebe HouseCredit Fáilte Ireland

About the position

The role of the seasonal guide/information officer will include:

• Protection of the site
• Ensuring that any rules for visitor are observed
• Being responsible for security and safety at the site
• Visitor reception & related issues
• Welcoming visitors to the site
• Introducing visitors to the site and its facilities
• Administering admission tickets and receipts
• Selling literature, postcards and posters
• Counting money and reconciling receipts
• Counting stock
• Keeping reception area and other site facilities clean and tidy
• Operating audio visual or other appropriate equipment
• Dealing with phone enquiries
• Promotion and interpretation of the Site
• Familiarisation with all aspects of the importance and story of the site
• Developing own tour commentary in conjunction with supervisor and other guides
• Giving guided tours
• Adapting a guided tour to suit a particular group
• Event Management
• Dealing with detailed enquiries about particular features of the site
• Outdoor duties to include but not limited to Park Stewarding
• Invigilating duties.

In addition, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Candidates must have:

• Fluency in English is essential
• Heritage awareness and an appreciation and interest in history
• An understanding of historical reasoning and research methodology
• Ability to engage with a programme for diverse audiences, individuals and communities, on-site and on-line.
• Candidates must be at least 18 years of age on 1st January 2027. Retirement is compulsory on reaching 70 years of age. Candidates will be required to provide an original birth certificate or Passport for age verification purposes as part of the pre-employment process. No appointment to the position will be made to those candidates who do not meet the age criteria
• The ability to work as part of a team and interact with colleagues, managers and the public in a tactful, courteous and professional manner.
• The ability to contribute to and maintain a good team spirit
• The willingness to take direction
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including confidence and an ability to address groups
• Sound judgement and decision making ability, especially in emergency situations
• Concern for clarity and work quality
• Experience of working with ICT systems and procedures
• Thorough awareness of health and safety procedures. Work must be performed in an efficient and safe manner, in accordance with the directions of the supervisor / manager, with regard to self, colleagues and the public through understanding, observance and application of Health and Safety requirements
• Awareness of the need to protect the site
• Commitment to Quality Customer Service

Interviews will most likely take place in person during the month of November and December .

Contracts will vary in length from 3 to 9 months.