Chawton House, Near Alton, Hampshire

Deputy House Manager

Chawton House, Near Alton, Hampshire

Contract period until December 2018 (potentially renewable)

Live In: Salary Package to the value of £25,000 per annum, including fully funded service accommodation in Chawton House

Closing Date for applications: Saturday 10th February 2018.

This is an opportunity to join a small and energetic team, as we focus on developing a growing visitor attraction business for the 2018 Visitor season. The position has been created as Chawton House extends its hours of opening to the visiting public. Chawton House is an independent research library and registered charity. It occupies the Elizabethan Manor House, which once belonged to Jane Austen’s brother Edward. It is open to the visiting public 7 days a week from March until December in 2018. More details can be found on our website www.chawtonhouselibrary.org

The Job description for this role and the person specification details are listed below:

JOB DESCRIPTION: DEPUTY HOUSE MANAGER

Job Purpose: A live-in position, assisting the General Manager in ensuring the smooth running of day-to-day operations at Chawton House.

Post responsible to: General Manager

Working closely with the Development and Communications team

Responsibilities:

·  Provide operational support to the General Manager in the smooth running of Chawton House, especially in relation to being open to the public.

·  Assume the role of Duty Manager on Saturdays and Sundays during the open season, and on occasional weekdays as and when required, including ensuring operations run smoothly and that the day’s takings are accurately recorded.

·  Responsible for site security when acting as Duty Manager with the requirement to be familiar and confident with the intruder and fire alarm systems, and to act as a ‘key-holder’ to be on call if these are triggered outside of normal hours.

·  Assist the General Manager with staffing and running special events as well as, and in conjunction with, the normal open day routine.

·  Assist with ensuring the smooth running of group tours, including liaising with colleagues across the team to facilitate bespoke aspects of each group tour.

·  Responsible for the running of the Chawton House Gift Shop, including maintaining and developing stock, keeping accurate records of sales data, and ensuring that all items are well stocked, displayed and promoted.

·  Provide support to the tearoom operation when required by covering the front of house role during staff holidays etc.

·  Take part in management meetings and be discreet and diplomatic with strategic and sensitive information.

·  Provide support to the General Manager with the management of the wider estate including assuming decision-making responsibility for estate matters in the General Manager’s absence.

·  Ensure that interpretation and signage around the site is well maintained and that marketing literature is well stocked and presented around the building.

·  Assist the Development and Communications team with other duties, such as providing support with social media, as and when required.

·  Assist with taking event bookings and other administrative support in the front office as and when required.

Due to the nature of this role, regular weekend work and some evening work will be required.

PERSON SPECIFICATION: Deputy House Manager

Essential / Desirable
Qualifications / ·  Educated to degree level / ·  Heritage management or event management qualification
Skills, Knowledge and Competencies / ·  Customer service experience
·  Excellent written and verbal communication skills
·  Strong organisational skills / ·  Experience of working at a heritage property, particularly in a front of house role
·  Managing volunteers
·  Understanding of Health & Safety Principles
·  Event management experience
Personal Qualities / ·  Team player with a can-do attitude
·  Ability to effectively build working relationships at all levels of the organisation
·  Ability to work on own initiative
·  Excellent attention to detail
IT Skills / ·  Proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel
·  Confident in adopting new software packages and technologies / ·  Understanding of social media platforms, particularly Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
·  Experience with Wordpress and Eventbrite
Other / ·  A keen interest in the work of the organisation
·  Flexibility and willingness to work unsocial hours due to the nature of the role

2018 is an exciting time to join the organisation as it focuses on developing as a visitor attraction. This role will give the selected applicant plenty of solid hands-on experience in the heritage management sector.

Applications in the form of a curriculum vitae and a covering letter explaining your suitability for the role in digital form by Saturday February 10th 2018 to:

Interviews to be held during February with the intention of the role starting as early in the open season as convenient during March 2018.