A Job Description for the Post of Team Leader

Date as postmark

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your interest in the post of Team Manager at The Thurrock Thameside Nature Park Visitor Centre, Essex Wildlife Trust.

Please find enclosed with this letter a copy of the following information about the post and the Essex Wildlife Trust:

·  A Job Description for the post of Team Leader

·  Terms and Conditions of Employment

·  Our current staff structure

·  An application form for the post

Essex Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading conservation charity. It has more than 36,000 members, manages and protects over 8,200 acres of land on 87 nature reserves, 2 nature parks and runs 11 visitor centres. The aim of Essex Wildlife Trust is to Protect Wildlife for the Future and for the people of Essex. It is supported financially by members, local businesses and grant making organisations. It is one of the largest of the 47 county wildlife trusts that work together throughout the British Isles as The Wildlife Trusts.

The Thurrock Thameside Nature Park Visitor Centre is situated on the restored Mucking landfill site. The centre’s position offers stunning views across the Thames towards Kent. The expanding site has a network of all weather and seasonal footpaths, a bird hide which offers great views of winter waders, including large flocks of avocet and Bar-tailed Godwit. The site has two Middleditch play areas, near the centre that attracts many families. The sites attracts 1000’s of visitors a year and has a great team of volunteers that assist in the centre and on the reserve.

The main aims of this post are to appoint then lead, manage and support the Visitor Centre team

·  Ensuring the TTNP staff and volunteers work well as a team to achieve the charitable aims of the Trust

·  Ensuring the efficient and profitable running of the Centre and providing a high quality and engaging visitor experience.

·  Ensuring a high quality refreshment offer, that will encourage visitors to use the Visitor Centre throughout the year

·  Ensuring the education team offer a high quality educational service for schools and groups

·  Ensuring a high quality retail offer

·  Supervising volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the Centre

·  Ensuring there is an engaging and exciting informal annual events programme.

Please note this role will require regular weekend working, usually alternate weekends, as part of a rota.

To apply for the post please return the application form together with your full CV and a covering letter explaining why you think you are suited to the job. Your application must reach the above address by 9am 21st June 2017.

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 4th July 2017.

Due to the high number of applicants we are not able to respond to your application unless you are selected for interview. If you have not heard from us by the interview date you have not been successful in getting an interview.

For further information please contact 01621 862960 or visit www.essexwt.org.uk

Thank you for your interest in the work of the Trust and I look forward to receiving your application.

Yours faithfully

Lisa Smart - Operations Manager

Essex Wildlife Trust Job Description and Person Specification

JOB DESCRIPTION

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Job Title: Team Leader

Location: Thurrock Thameside Nature Park Visitor Centre

Reports to: Visitor Engagement Area Manager

Professional Lead: Retail Manager

Responsible for: 5 staff and approximately 50 volunteers

Direct responsibility Ranger

Education Officer

2 Catering Assistant (Full time and part time)

Assistant Centre Manager (part time)

Centre Volunteers

Job Purpose:

To lead, supervise and encourage the site team to deliver a great service, through consistent and forward looking management.

Responsibility Areas and Key Activities

People

Improve team members’ performance through coaching, training and providing opportunities for development both individually and as a team (including 1:1’s and annual reviews).

Resolve staff and volunteer issues, grievances and disciplinary matters.

Interview and select staff for positions within the centre team

Recruit and manage volunteers, through effective supervision using EWT procedures

To motivate staff and volunteers through effective training, supervision and regular 1 to 1 meetings

Ensure that EWT develops great working partnerships with external partners

Maintain good working relationships with Cory Ltd and their site staff

Service Delivery

Ensure the Centre is a welcoming, safe and clean, a pleasant and inspiring place to visit

To ensure a high quality refreshment offer to maximise the customer experience

Working with Reserves Manager and Ranger, ensure that the Nature Park is well managed with great opportunities for visitors to see our local wildlife

Ensure visitors receive a high quality and inspiring retail offer

To promote excellent customer service from everyone on the site

To offer a varied programme of community activities/events to the local community and visitors

To provide a varied use of the centre that is sustainable

Ensure administration supports the smooth running of the centre.

To ensure the centre maximises opportunities to recruit new Essex Wildlife Trust members and increase levels of donations, including Gift Aid

Planning/organising

To have overall responsibility for all the Visitor Centre income and expenditure budgets,

To ensure all financial activities related to the visitor centre are carried out to a high standard and to the required time scales

Ensure accurate completion of centre records

To ensure that a well promoted, inclusive and inspiring programme of events runs through the calendar year, to promote regular visitors to the site

Problem Solving/Innovation

To take overall responsibility for the centre staffing rotas and centre security.

To manage the Visitor Centre team to create, develop and deliver projects and events that will move the site forward and attract new audiences

Analyse customers’ needs to define priorities

Create innovative shop displays.

Respond and efficiently resolve problems as they arise

Develop new interpretation in conjunction with the centre team to improve visitor experience in the centre and on the surrounding reserve

Communication

Ensure visitors are provided with information about TTNP and about how EWT achieves its charitable aims, of education and conserving in Essex

Work closely with line manager to meet EWT & TTNP Ltd aims and objectives, and obtain support and resources to achieve visitor centre targets

Ensure regular communications between Visitor Centre team members to maintain up to date information

Act as the main point of contact for media at the centre, encouraging the whole team to create editorial, adverts and press releases that will raise and maintain our site profile.

Maintain social media sites for the Visitor Centre.

Maintain good relationships with EWT partners, including Cory Ltd

Ensure any reports for internal and external customers are completed on time and to the requested standard

To undertake any other duties which are commensurate with the role

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Specialist knowledge and experience

1 A high level of skill and significant experience of leading and managing staff.

2 Proven ability of supervising and/or working alongside volunteers.

3 Experience in two of the following areas:

a)  Running or assisting to run a retail or visitor centre

b)  Providing improved access or managing green space for visitors

c)  Running successful and profitable events or education programmes

d)  Supervising a catering offer

4 Excellent communication and interpersonal skills including use of social media.

5 Proven ability to problem solve and to use own initiative.

6 Experience of providing excellent customer care.

7 A high level of administration skills.

8 Knowledge of /or interest in wildlife and an interest in working for a charity which is determined to protect wildlife for the future and for the people of Essex.

Essential skills and behaviours

1.  Team Working

·  Builds a sense of team spirit, encouraging shared ownership of objectives and deliverables.

·  Makes time to get to know individuals, listens to and builds understanding of their skills, interests and motivations, to work together more effectively.

·  Handles disagreements as they occur, seeking a constructive solution.

2.  Problem Solving and analysis

·  Ensures details and facts are correct, complete and consistent, ensuring that conclusions drawn from the information are built on solid foundations.

·  Offers fresh and creative solutions to potential obstacles.

3.  Professionalism

·  Seeks out feedback from colleagues and managers, taking the learning and development points on board and modifying own practice.

·  Ensures high standards are achieved and customer needs fulfilled.

4.  Determination

·  Leads delivery at a team level by prioritising, setting clear milestones and establishing unambiguous measures.

·  Delivers personally and through others across projects by setting clear goals and targets, monitoring progress and holding people to account.

5.  Persuasive communication

·  Produces written communication which is fluent, clear, concise and tailored to intended recipient(s). Speaks clearly, fluently and in a compelling manner to both individuals and groups.

·  Tailors communications to appeal to, include and engage different audiences.

6.  Customer focus

·  Relates well to different types of customers, listens and gets on with them.

·  Treats both internal and external service users with honesty, integrity and discretion

.

7.  People Management

·  Provides clarity when delegating work, setting boundaries and balancing the need for delivery

·  Experience of motivating and empowering others in order to reach goals including setting and monitoring objectives and performance; conducting appraisals and seeking development opportunities for others.

·  Recognises and rewards good performance and rigorously tackles any poor performance of individuals

·  Fosters creativity by encouraging ideas and building on the innovative solutions of others.

8.  Planning

·  Identifies correct working methods, reviewing methods as appropriate and identifying how best to use resources to achieve results

·  Manages the activities of self and others through effective prioritising, organising, planning and scheduling of activities and resources.

Special Conditions:

·  Willingness to be flexible with working days,

·  Work weekends on a regular centre rota, normally alternate weekends as a minimum, work evenings, weekends and bank holidays as required in order to fulfil your role

·  To be a key holder for the building in the event of a security call out

·  Requirement to be able to drive and a current full UK driving licence with use of your own vehicle

·  Live within 45 minutes of the Visitor centre in order to be a key holder for the building in the event of a security call out.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT

Name of Employer: Essex Wildlife Sales Ltd

Title of Post: Team Leader

A detailed job description is available but this does not form part of the terms of employment.

Responsible to: Visitor Engagement Area Manager

Place of Work: Cory Environmental Visitor Centre, Thurrock Thameside Nature Park

Hours of Work: 37.5 hours per week, normally 7.5 (excluding 30 mins lunch break) per day. Normal office hours are 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, however, work will be required outside these hours, including work at evenings, regular weekend work as part of a rota (usually working every other weekend) and Bank Holidays for which time may be taken off in lieu. Guidance and procedures on claiming time off in lieu are included in the Staff Handbook, located on SharePoint.

Itinerary: You must complete a staff itinerary in advance for each week for your Line Manager to read, this must show the days you are working, the hours you intend to work and indicate key jobs you are undertaking. This is held on Microsoft Outlook Calendar. Instructions are in the Staff Handbook.

Salary: up to £28,500 per annum depending on experience and qualifications and subject to review with your Line Manager. Salary is paid monthly in arrears. If for some reason it is clear that the Trust has over paid or under paid on one month it will adjust this by deduction or addition on the next month. Rates of pay are reviewed in November each year. Details of salary during Probationary period will be set out in your letter of appointment.

Travelling: When using your own vehicle on Trust business (excluding ordinary commuting) a mileage allowance may be payable (full details and current rates are available in the Staff Handbook). When you make a travel claim you will be asked to confirm that your private vehicle is appropriately insured, taxed and has an MOT (where applicable).

Travel at the beginning or end of the working day to/from your normal place of work is within your own time. It is not classed as working time and you are therefore not entitled to record time off in lieu for these journeys. If an employee travels from their place of work to another work related location or temporary place of work, this is normally in work time. If an employee’s role requires them to travel from home to a temporary place of work at the start of the day it would be reasonable for an employee to spend the first 30 minutes of the journey in their own time. The same would apply at the end of the day if an employee travels from a temporary place of work to home in that it would be reasonable for 30 minutes of that journey to be in their own time. Full guidance can be found in the Staff Handbook on SharePoint. Specific exceptions to this can be agreed by your Line Manager for going on a particular visit or training outside of Essex, where the length of the journey is more than a normal journey time you would do within Essex.

Annual Leave: Our holiday year runs from 1st January to 31st December. For a complete holiday year full-time staff are entitled to 23 working days in addition to days in lieu of statutory bank holidays rising to 25 days after 5 years’ service.

This entitlement will be pro rata for part-time staff.

Holidays must be taken in consultation with other staff and with the agreement of your Line Manager. If you commence work part way through the holiday year, you need to base your entitlement on the remaining complete months in that holiday year.

You will not normally be able to take more than 3 consecutive weeks as holiday and at least three working days must be taken between November 1st and March 1st. Annual leave must normally be taken in the calendar year it is due, but some days can be carried over with agreement of the Line Manager providing they are taken by 31st March of the following year.

If you leave your employment your holiday entitlement will need to be recalculated for the completed months that you have worked in that holiday year. Discuss any over taken holidays with your Line Manager.