Recreation Assistant

Westonbirt Arboretum

Job Summary

What you’ll do…

Working three days a week on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday pattern you will be working within the Recreation Team to welcome visitors to Westonbirt, The National Arboretum. Contributing to proving visitors with a service that exceeds their expectation and promote a work environment that is positive, productive and practices support and respect between individuals and teams.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Where you’ll work…

As a collection of rare and beautiful trees, Westonbirt has few rivals anywhere in the temperate world. Planted in the mid-nineteenth century by wealthy landowner Robert Holford, Westonbirt is a product of the great age of Victorian plant collecting. Just as remarkable is the arboretum’s ‘Picturesque’ landscape, which continues to provide much of Westonbirt’s unique atmosphere to this day.

Today, Robert’s legacy is open for all to enjoy – a beautiful, relaxing and unique day out amongst some of the tallest, oldest and rarest trees and shrubs in the country. The collection contains over 16,000 numbered specimens representing more than 3000 different kinds of trees and shrubs, all set within 600 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds.

Job Description

And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager

• Work within the Recreation team to welcome visitors to Westonbirt, the National Arboretum
• Contribute to providing visitors with a service that exceeds their expectations
• Promote a work environment that is positive, productive and practices support and respect between individuals and teams
• Operate the admissions area scanning tickets checking membership and handling cash, credit and debit card sales
• Help to give information and deal with enquiries from customers in a positive and friendly manner
• Ensure the public areas are kept clean and presentable
• Assist the events and learning teams in setting up and delivering events and activities
• Work with and support volunteers
• Welcoming all visitors including school groups, vulnerable adults and children
• Follow set guidelines and processes to provide customer services, such as cash handling procedures and risk assessments
• Liaise with delivery partners such as the Restaurant and Shop concessions to ensure a cohesive customer offer
• Working outdoors in all weather completing manual tasks including maintenance and manual handling

Provide overtime: If overtime is needed then staff will be invited to volunteer. If there are not enough volunteers, you may be required to work overtime with at least 48 hours' notice

And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager

Person specification

Essential Professional And Technical Experience

• experience of delivering excellent customer service
• proven ability to work as part of a team
• competent IT user with experience of Microsoft Office packages, the internet and email
• a full UK current driving licence
• willingness and ability to work outdoors in all weathers and to carry out manual maintenance tasks
• experience of undertaking cash handling duties
  
  

Desirable professional and technical experience

• experience of operating electronic admissions or retail till systems
• a working knowledge of risk assessments and safe working in an outdoor setting
• experience of working at a visitor attraction in the heritage and or environment sector
• experience of assisting with the delivery of events and activities
  
  

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
  
  

Alongside your salary of £26,959, Forestry Commission contributes £7,810 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Benefits…

Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

• 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
• STaR is our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills, Headspace wellbeing app.
• free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.

a commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.

Read more about the benefits on the Forestry England website.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.

How To Apply…

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Managing a Quality Service

Working Together

Communicating and Influencing

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first.

Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact

• Name : FC Recruitment Team
• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk
  
  

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.