Visitor Assistant

English Heritage Ltd; Penrith; On-site; GBP 40,000 - GBP 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A UK heritage charity is seeking a Visitor Assistant at Brougham Castle in Penrith, England. You will work 8 hours per week ensuring a positive visitor experience, providing recommendations, and promoting heritage membership. No previous history background is required, but a passion for customer service is essential. Benefits include free site access, career progression opportunities, and enhanced leave policies. Join a dedicated team to help preserve and share England's heritage.

Benefits

Career progression opportunities

Free access to all English Heritage sites

25% discount in shops and cafes

25 days' holiday plus Bank Holidays pro rata

Matched pension contributions

Qualifications

• A passion for people and excellent customer service.
• Some paid or voluntary experience with the public is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Ensure visitors have a great time from arrival to departure.
• Help personalise visitor experiences and promote membership.
• Contribute to site accessibility, safety, and presentation.

Skills

Excellent customer service

Teamwork

Communication

Job description

Visitor Assistant

Location Brougham Castle, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 2AA

Salary £12.39 per hour / 8 hours per week April to October / Fixed Term until end of October

*All salaries will increase following the NLW rise on 1st April 2026 to a minimum of £12.71 per hour*

Job type Fixed Term Contract Ref 16342

Would you like to work for the charity that cares for hundreds of historic sites in every corner of England? We are looking for a Visitor Assistant to join us at Brougham Castle working 8 hours per week.

No history background? No problem. What is important to us is a passion for people and excellent customer service. You will enjoy working with others as part of a team and understand what makes excellent customer service to deliver an engaging visitor experience to a diverse audience.

Heritage is for everybody, and we are here for heritage.

Heritage lives in places and people, memories and stories, artefacts and traditions. It can connect us all to the past, and to each other. It can make us happier, strengthen every community, and help shape society for the better. Everybody should be able to enjoy the benefits it brings. That\'s why, as a charity, we care for over a million objects and hundreds of historic sites in every part of England, from international icons to local treasures. And it\'s why we open them up, share their stories and find new ways for everybody to enjoy, learn, play and create.

Brougham Castle was founded in the early 13th century by King John\'s agent, Robert de Vieuxpont. His great keep dominates the castle, surrounded and reinforced by buildings added by the powerful Clifford family, lords of Cumberland and Wardens of the Marches.

By joining us as a Visitor Assistant, you will be part of an amazing team of employees and volunteers, ensuring visitors have a great time from the moment they arrive until they say goodbye. Through your recommendations, you will help personalise their visit - this could include talking about the benefits of English Heritage membership or recommending things to see and do on site. You will also contribute to making sure your site is accessible, safe and well presented at all times.

It is a varied role - some days will be busy from start to finish and others quieter, especially on the wetter days! Some paid or voluntary experience with the public is beneficial but full training and support is provided as part of your induction. You will be required to work weekends and Bank Holidays, more information will be provided at interview

Benefits include:

• The opportunity for career progression within the heritage sector in retail, food and beverage or general management
• Opportunities to go to some of our great live music and history events
• Free access to all English Heritage sites for you, and up to 6 friends and / or family members
• 25% discount in our shops and cafes
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/shared parental leave
• 25 days\' holiday plus Bank Holidays pro rata rising to 28 days after 3 years
• Options to buy additional leave
• Matched pension contributions up to a maximum of 10%

To find out more about us and what we do, please register via one of the links below join us at one of our webinars.

Wednesday 4th February 2026 6-7pm

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ea661ca0-f117-46dd-8c83-af63e055008a@30116e44-4d79-44c0-a8c1-ebc0707da3c9

You can also find out more about us here: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/ and meet some of our people and hear about why they enjoy working with us: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/our-people/careers-with-us/

Everybody\'s welcome at English Heritage

Forget the stereotypes. It takes thousands of people from every background to care for England\'s heritage and open it up for everybody to enjoy. We\'re looking for every type of person with every kind of skill and experience, and we\'re committed to making sure that English Heritage is an equitable, diverse and inclusive place to work. You can connect with others through our EDI networks as a member or ally. These include Ethnic Diversity, Faith & Belief, Social Equity, LGBTQ+, Neurodivergence, Age, Disability and Gender Health and Wellbeing.

We take wellbeing seriously. We are committed to ensuring everyone feels safe at work and can carry out their role. To support this, we have a network of Mental Health First aiders, regular information and awareness events, unlimited access to an Employee Assistance Programme and work with our people to implement reasonable adjustments.

If you would like to talk to us before you apply e.g. about workplace adjustments or working patterns, please contact Denise Gallagher at [e-mail]

You will need to refer to the following documents when completing your application.