Visitor Experience Volunteer - Front of House (Visitor Experience Volunteer - Front of House)

We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about heritage, historic and cultural sites and who love engaging with the public.

This is an exciting time to become one of our first heritage volunteers as the Royal Hospital restores the Soane Stable Yard and opens a Visitor Centre with new displays telling the history of the Royal Hospital and Chelsea Pensioners. This project has been part funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We will be delivering an exciting range of heritage activities, tours, events and workshops for Chelsea Pensioners, local residents, veterans, and tourists.

Visitor Experience and Front of House volunteers will work with the front of house and public programmes team, and a team of volunteers to offer visitors an outstanding visitor experience.

Although no prior experience or skills are required, this is one of the most vital roles at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Our volunteers are on the front line as the first people visitors meet and maybe the last person they speak to as they leave.

The ideal person for this role will be of smart appearance, interested in heritage and have excellent communication skills. They will enjoy meeting a variety of people. Experience in a customer service role maybe helpful. You will need to be calm when things get busy. A military background is desirable, but not essential. This is an exciting opportunity for someone looking to gain knowledge and experience in working in a Heritage and Culture setting. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you.

At the Royal Hospital Chelsea, we don’t specify the time that you commit to volunteering, we ask that you give a minimum of 4 hours a fortnight to support the Audience Engagement Department in supporting the running of our Tours’ programmes.

Support and Training for Visitor Experience Volunteers

Full in-house training will be provided that is specific to the site, which will include volunteer and site induction and Health and Safety training.

Gaining additional skills and qualifications:

We value our volunteers and will do our best to make your volunteer experience with us enjoyable and rewarding. We offer training for every volunteer role and extend opportunities for our volunteers to improve their existing knowledge and skills and gain new ones. This will include becoming a Dementia Friend, and opportunities to attend advanced courses in First Aid, Health and
Safety, improving the customer experience for people with dementia, visual and deaf awareness and conducting visitor research.

Other key information

Suitability discussion and induction training to begin in July 2024.

The opportunity is open to everyone aged 18 and over.

The RHC will reimburse reasonable expenses incurred whilst volunteering in accordance with the volunteer and expenses policies. All expenses to be reclaimed should be agreed with the Volunteer Manager in advance.

References and ID verification to start after successful informal discussion.

All reporting will be to the Volunteer Coordinators. You will be introduced to this person on or near the commencement of your volunteer role.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The Royal Hospital Chelsea is dedicated to equality, diversity, and inclusion, where all backgrounds and abilities can reach their full potential. We pride ourselves on attracting a wide range of talent, removing potential barriers, and promoting equal opportunities. We know, the more varied and inclusive our teams are, the better our organisation will be for our community. We are a Disability Confident employer dedicated to hiring diverse talent and ensuring you are treated with respect throughout the volunteer recruitment process and upon joining our community.