Are you friendly and welcoming with great communication skills and a passion for history? Do you have some time to spare during the week? You may be just who we are looking for! We need volunteers to join a friendly and enthusiastic team to help our staff in the historic cloisters and ground floor areas of Newstead Abbey. You’ll be joining us at an exciting and challenging time as we move to weekday opening for our new Medieval Newstead exhibit. Volunteers provide a friendly face to our visitors, answer practical questions, assist staff in gallery and museum areas, act as room stewards, and occasionally help with events.
Newstead Abbey is a beautiful historic house, set in a glorious landscape of gardens and parkland in the heart of Nottinghamshire. Founded as a priory in the late 12th century, it was home to the poet Lord Byron between 1808 and 1814. Inside the Abbey, there is much to explore including Victorian room settings and the poet’s private apartments.
What you will be doing
- Presenting a welcoming and professional image to all visitors.
- Gallery stewarding and ensuring the safety of our collections.
- Provide information on our exhibitions and activities.
- Talking to visitors and helping to increase the public’s understanding of our collections.
- Back-marking heritage tours.
- Supporting with activities and events
The skills you need
- Have enthusiasm for arts, heritage and museums and willingness to learn.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Reliable, well presented, polite and with good time keeping.
- Have a flexible approach to working alone or as part of a team.
- Ability to take and act on instruction from staff and Lead Volunteers.
- Ability to provide a warm friendly welcome to all visitors as the public face of the site.
- Enjoy interacting with families and people from all walks of life
- Be committed to inclusivity and diversity
What’s in it for you
- Learn more about the history and heritage of our sites and collections.
- Chance to share your passion for history with the public
- Build your experience of working in galleries, museums, heritage, and visitor experience.
- Opportunity to join a friendly and welcoming volunteer team
- Learn new skills and gain confidence in a work environment.
- Meet new people and have the opportunity to socialise with fellow volunteers in a team from all backgrounds and ages.
- Get discounts in our cafés and shops, free tea or coffee, and free parking while volunteering
- Spend time in historic areas of Newstead Abbey
Disclaimer
Newstead Abbey museum has no disabled access with the exception of a small part of the ground floor. There are a number flights of stairs in the house and to the staff and volunteer areas. Due to the historic nature of the building we do not have a lift. Reasonable level of mobility needed.