Full Time

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

As a Collections Care Assistant, you will be responsible for the planning and day-to-day care of collections, along with managing reactive situations and support with long term planning at (insert property name)

The post holder will be responsible for ensuring that best preventive conservation and collections care practices are followed through the implementation of an effective collections care regime in line with Trust policies and procedures.

The role will include engaging with visitors about the collection care work of the National Trust for Scotland when undertaking cleaning activities in the house but also work with events team to develop collection based educational events for children and adults.

The post holder will also work closely with the function and event team ensuring all functions and events are operated in such a manner as to minimise risk to the collection without compromising the event itself.

The post holder will be part of a wider team of employees and volunteers, helping to support the property where necessary.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Collections Care Assistant is responsible for a wide variety of duties in connection with the care of the property. These duties involve the correct handling and conservation-cleaning of the collections following best-practice at all times and general housekeeping duties throughout the House and other buildings.

Specific duties include:

Manage Integrated Pest Management, Environmental Monitoring & Control Systems, Housekeeping Plans and collections handling and protection, collections management processes; proactively action reported recommendations for treatments and improvements.

Carry out conservation cleaning of collections including conducting a deep clean over the winter period.

Member of the properties senior operational team assisting with duty management cover.

Recruit and manage a volunteer collections team.

Develop new specific volunteering roles within the collections team such as textiles, storage, research, and visitor engagement.

Create and lead on a regular events schedule for collection themed events, showcases and workshops.

Develop educational opportunities for all ages through children’s activities, specialised workshops and interactive tours.

Work with external educational and community groups to create specialised events and grow visitor numbers.

Grow and improve current interpretation of the castle’s history and collection.

Working closely with the regional conservator to carry out remedial conservation on the collection.

Provide training to staff on safe handling of collections, information relating to collections and relevant historical information.

Lead on the use of Trust systems to monitor the condition and security of the collections and interiors across the cluster ensuring any damage, deterioration or threats to the collections are promptly reported and mitigated.

Lead on the collections care aspects of functions, events, filming, building works and general visitor experience improvements across the cluster. Work with other property team members to ensure that the care of the collections and interiors is not compromised.

Work closely with the Regional Conservator to improve and develop the collections care and preventive conservation practices across the cluster and to assist in remedial conservation as required.

Work closely with the Regional Curator to assist with the presentation, interpretation and access to collections and interiors.

Work closely with the Collections Services Team, to ensure that the Trust’s object movement and location audit procedures are maintained, updated, and adhered to so that location inventory information remains accurate. Completing room audits and ensure condition checks are carried out.

Work with the regional curator to update records, improve visitor experience through the layout and interpretation of the collection.

Work closely as required with the Trust’s Registrar (Loans & Disposals) to ensure the safe management of all long loans in and temporary loans in and out of properties in the cluster;

Liaise with the Trusts Archivist to conduct research and to maintain and care for the property archives.

Develop knowledge and understanding of the collections and be a passionate advocate for widening access and engaging visitors;

Work with the wider estate to create a holistic and richer visitor experience.

Eden Scott are delighted to be working with Dunnottar Castle, for over 600 years the Castle has hosted some of the most dramatic events in Scottish history, and has been graced by some of the most influential (controversial) characters -Oliver Cromwell, William Wallace and Mary Queen of Scots to name but three.

The Castle is owned by Dunecht Estates and is internationally recognised as one of Scotland’s most iconic visitor destinations – often referred to as the 8th wonder of the world.

We are actively recruiting a Castle Manager to oversee the day-to-day visitor operation and lead their dedicated team of Custodians.

Dunnottar Castle is a world-renowned tourist attraction that has played host to some of the most significant events in Scottish history and holds many secrets to its colourful past.

Once an impregnable fortress, the Castle is now largely a ruin and a Scheduled Ancient Monument, yet its location some 150ft above a rocky outcrop in the North Sea still provides a powerful, haunting, and dramatic backdrop for the >120,000 visitors they welcome each year.

The Castle Manager will have operational oversight of the Castle on a day-today basis and lead a dedicated team of Custodians who maintain their consistently high standards of service delivery and visitor experience. Dunnottar Castle is owned and operated by Dunecht Estates.

As the Castle Manager you will be based at Dunnottar Lodge, Stonehaven, where you will have operational oversight of the Castle on a day-to-day basis. Your will report to the Head of Rural Enterprises and work closely with other Estate departments that are key to their success including their Finance and Maintenance team.

Responsibilities include:

Leadership and Management:
Operational Oversight:
Financial Performance:
Guest Experience:
Strategic Planning:
Marketing and Public Relations:
Facility Management:
Community Engagement:

We are seeking a candidate with:

Demonstrable experience of leading a team at an operational level including, recruitment, workload planning, resource deployment and delegation, ideally within the tourism industry or similar industry such as events or hospitality.

You should be a self-starter and a natural problem solver who is highly organised. Great time management skills and exceptional interpersonal / leadership qualities are essential to ensuring the business operates efficiently, profitably and safely.

You will possess a full UK driving licence and have access to a suitable vehicle for business use.

Salary: Commensurate with experience

Benefits:

29 days annual leave rising to 31 days after two years
Pension Scheme
Life assurance scheme
Health insurance

Purpose of Role

To support the Visitor Centre Manager in motivating and leading the Visitor Centre (VC) team to deliver a first class Deanston Distillery Experience for all our customers and visitors.

Key Performance Areas and Responsibilities

– Includes but is not limited to:

• Engage visitors in a distillery experience providing accurate and informative information via engaging and entertaining tours, tastings and other innovative experiences

• Demonstrate a pride and passion for Deanston Distillery, Scotch whisky and other CVH Spirits brands.

• Support the realisation of the vision for the Deanston Distillery Visitor Centre (DVC) through the Scotch Whisky & future Gin Experiences from our sister distillery, Tobermory, and the DVC Retail Store.

• Day to day management of the Visitor Centre, organising tours and tasks and allocating them to your team

• Provide daily support and supervision of the Tour Guides, including scheduling, monitoring and recording of working hours, creating rotas in line with operational and team needs, etc.

• Delivery against annual operational budgets

• Act as a Key Holder and be responsible for the opening and closing of the Visitor Centre

• Deputise for the Visitor Centre Manager as required

• Manage both the safe and till for banking purposes

• Be responsible for DVC stock levels and carry out stock taking and store work

• Day to day system administration of EPOS, managing email and telephone enquiries and DigiTickets.

• Work within the standards of CVH Spirits and Deanston DVC’s health and safety policy, food hygiene, licencing and other company policies and standards, ensuring compliance at all times

• Prepare stock for sale – to include filling bottles, building packaging and related tasks.

• Carry out cleaning and housekeeping to maintain attractive and functional extended DVC work areas – floors, surfaces, glasses, wash areas, toilets etc.

• Help plan and implement special events through the year.

• Build community engagement and support delivery of the Brand Home sustainability ambition.

• Work in partnership with the Sales and Marketing teams to provide ambassadorial and hospitality support

• Set KPIs for the team, run daily DOR meetings and ensure the team board is updated accordingly.

• Provide training and support to team members, hold regular appraisal meetings and ensure ongoing personal development and the reporting of team performance and KPI’s.

• Deliver the CVH Spirits high performance culture by leading by example.

• Plan and implement DVC projects such as filling schedules, online sales, etc

• Create monthly reports for Visitor Centre Manager.

• Continually seek ways to create new, extend and/or improve the range and quality of experiences

• Build effective relationships and networks with internal departments including but not limited to; Customer Services, sister Distilleries, Deanston Production, IT, Finance, etc

• Provide vital support to the Visitor Centre Manager and team with all operational activities relating to the experiential, shop and retail offerings.

• Where required, participate in administrative tasks and the development and use of new approaches to the work of the DVC including social media, processing purchase orders, invoices and deliveries via SAP etc and use Head Quarters Management system

• Carry out other reasonable duties/tasks as required to deliver and meet the objectives of the DVC. This will include working at weekends, occasional evening work in the corporate and online facilities, and project work.

Qualifications:

• Degree in Hospitality or Tourism advantageous
• Health and Safety certification advantageous
• Personal Licence advantageous

Professional Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience in hospitality, retail or Visitor Centre roles
• Ability to speak an additional language is a distinct advantage.

Specific Company or Industry Knowledge:

• Experience working in the drinks, tourism and travel, guiding or retail industry is required

Functional Skills / Attributes:

• Experience of till work and POS systems required
• Experience leading world-class teams
• Excellent people management skills
• World class customer service knowledge and execution
• Experience motivating and leading teams to achieving KPIs
• Microsoft Office skills desirable
• Experience using virtual and online tools such as Zoom and/or other platforms advantageous
• SAP or other ERP system experience advantageous

Behaviours & Competencies:

• Friendly, confident and enthusiastic.
• Strong communication skills with ability to entertain and engage with people one on one or in large groups.
• Focused and quality driven with attention to detail.
• Solutions focused with ability to inspire those around you
• Strong team player who can collaborate well and motivate others.
• Ability to work enthusiastically under pressure.
• Self-motivated who can work efficiently with minimum supervision.
• Ability to multi-task, moving from one task to another in a swiftly manner
• A strong sense of ownership and pride
• An interest and passion for whisky is a strong advantage.
• Appetite and enthusiasm for learning.
• A flexible approach to hours of work over a seven day working week and the year is required and some evening work will be integral to this role.

JOB PURPOSE

To assist in the maintenance of Inverewe Garden as an internationally recognised garden of outstanding horticultural importance, contributing to its conservation and development, and to its enjoyment by visitors and supporters under the supervision of the Garden Team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Assisting the Gardener Team with general horticultural duties to the required standards expected by the Trust and for the maximum safety of, and enjoyment by, visitors. Activities may include:

Undertaking practical maintenance of the garden (e.g., managing shrubs and herbaceous borders)

Grass-cutting, strimming, hedge-cutting and raking/collection.

Cutting of lawn edges

Hand-weeding of beds and borders

Planting out tender perennial

Application of mulches and compost

Assisting with general property maintenance duties and for the maximum safety of, and enjoyment by, visitors. Activities may include:

Refuse disposal.

Raking gravel paths

Assisting as required with the general enjoyment of the gardens and estate by:

Responding to general visitor enquiries

Assisting at events held within the garden or on the estate.

Assisting with interpretation activities such as answering basic horticultural enquiries from visitors and providing clear and accurate plant labeling.

Working with the full-time staff to foster positive relationships with local communities, visitors and promoting the work of the Trust, and actively seeking opportunities to increase Trust membership.

Working with volunteers to ensure they deliver required outputs at the appropriate standard and gain benefits from their volunteering.

Ensuring compliance with the Trust’s health, safety and environment policies and procedures to ensure the safety of staff, volunteers and visitors. This includes recognition of the Trust’s environmental policy with respect to sustainable gardening policies.

Undertaking such other reasonable duties as may from time to time be required to ensure the smooth running of the property as required by the Head Gardener.