Working at The Bishop’s Palace and Gardens

The Bishop’s Palace: Our Commitment

The Bishop’s Palace is dedicated to equal opportunities, diversity, and inclusion. We value the strengths that a diverse workforce brings to our organisation and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and circumstances.

Join Us

If you are excited by the prospect of helping shape the future of one of Somersets most iconic historic sites,  we would love to hear from you. Become part of a team that celebrates heritage, fosters community, and believes in making a lasting difference.    

Step into history—and help us write the next chapter.

Looking for a Voluntary role?  We often have volunteering opportunities too which you can find here. 

Heritage Building & Facilities Manager

30 – 37 Hours pw worked over 4 – 5 days.
Salary: From £35,000 (based on FT hours) depending on experience

Shape the Future of an Iconic Heritage Site

Are you passionate about historic buildings and their stories? Do you want to play a leading role in conserving one of England’s most remarkable heritage sites, while inspiring thousands of visitors each year?

The Bishop’s Palace, an 800-year-old Grade I listed treasure set among 14 acres of stunning gardens, is seeking a dynamic hands on Heritage Building & Facilities Manager. This is a rare opportunity to join the Senior Management Team of The Palace Trust—a charitable organisation dedicated to protecting, conserving, and sharing the Palace and its story for the benefit of all.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the conservation, repair, and maintenance of the Palace’s historic buildings and collections, ensuring their legacy for future generations.
• Develop and deliver long-term strategies for heritage conservation, balancing hands-on operational delivery with stakeholder and contractor management.
• Bring the Palace’s built heritage to life for visitors, integrating conservation activities into the visitor experience and generating income through events, tours, and educational programmes.
• Manage a dedicated team of staff, volunteers, and contractors, fostering a culture of excellence, inclusivity, and sustainability.
• Oversee compliance, health and safety, and operational management for the entire site, acting as Duty Manager when required.
• Support the CEO and project teams in raising standards and securing funding for conservation and interpretation initiatives.

What We’re Looking For

• Four years’ experience in the practical maintenance, management, and conservation of historic buildings, ideally in a public-facing heritage setting.
• Strong leadership, strategic awareness, and budget management skills.
• Experience managing volunteers and engaging diverse audiences.
• A degree or equivalent experience in a relevant subject, plus H&S training (IOSH or NEBOSH).
• A genuine enthusiasm for sharing heritage and history, and a commitment to our values: authenticity, inclusivity, hospitality, spirituality, generosity, and sustainability.

Desirable: Affiliation with recognised conservation bodies (SPAB, ICON, CIOB), knowledge of Historic England, National Trust, English Heritage, and experience in adapting historic buildings for modern sustainability needs.

Why Join Us?

• Work at the heart of a nationally important heritage site, surrounded by beauty and history.
• Be part of a visionary team dedicated to inspiring joy, healing, hope, and wellbeing through heritage.
• Shape the future of The Bishop’s Palace, making a real impact on conservation, visitor engagement, and community outreach.
• We invest in our people, providing training, mentoring and the chance to take on new challenges as you advance

   

How to Apply Please send a CV along with a Cover letter to [email protected] .  Applications will only be considered with a cover letter included.

Full details of the role can be found:  Heritiage Building & Facilities Manager

Closing date for Applications is at 12noon on Sunday 25 January 2026.   
Interviews are scheduled to take place at The Bishop’s Palace on Thursday 5 February 2026.

Anticipated start date for this role:   March 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as soon as possible

Chef – Part Time

Part time (16hrs per week) Worked over 2 days – straight shifts
Salary: From £28,500 (based on FT hours) depending on experience

Every memorable day out involves great food and drink.     

At The Bishop’s Palace, a medieval visitor attraction located in the centre of the City of Wells in Somerset, we believe great hospitality is essential.      Our Café, The Bishop’s Table, nestles next to the rampart walls with a fantastic view of the Palace.   It is enjoyed by day visitors and locals and we are excited to be expanding our offering.      At the heart of our re-envisioned offer is the delivery of freshly made, great tasting and locally sourced food and drink.    We believe this should be accompanied with exceptional customer service with options to cater for all visitors’ expectations – from a quick ‘coffee to go’ to enjoy while exploring the gardens to a celebratory breakfast for the whole family.   As an independent charity (The Palace Trust) we aim to be part of the local community while sharing this wonderful heritage gem with all.   It is a positive working environment with a great team across the whole site.

The Role:
We’re looking for a Part Time Chef to complete our Kitchen Team, who can work within a small kitchen team to produce exceptional food cooked to order.  For the right candidates this will be on a part time basis – offering the perfect work/life balance.    We work on straight shifts on a rota basis and could accommodate hours around school times if necessary.    The role will be at least 16 hrs/2 days per week with additional hours/days available, along with holiday cover.  

The Bishop’s Table offers breakfast, brunch and lunch in the busy café.    The team work day shifts, generally 8am until 4.30pm.  The café is open from 9.30am until 5.30pm daily.  Some occasional evening if a special event is taking place.       Our Kitchen team are responsible for creating menus, ordering and all health, safety and hygiene to ensure an efficient smooth-running kitchen.      We are open year-round and part of a busy, historic visitor attraction so welcome both tourists and regular local customers.

Who are we looking for:
We’re looking for Chef with at least 3 years’ experience in a busy kitchen producing fresh food to order.    This could be a great environment to develop your career.   Or perhaps you are looking to change your work /life balance and come to an exciting catering environment which has daytime shifts.     You must be a team player, be enthusiastic about creating and producing seasonal menus, be willing to learn and share learning.     It is great time in the café’s development to join and to help influence the future catering offering.  As a small team there may be times when you may be asked to assist in other areas.  

Qualifications:
Ideally our Chef would have NVQ L1 or 2 or City and Guilds 7061/7062.  
At least 3 years’ experience as a chef
Excellent communication skills and ability to place orders and maintain kitchen paperwork
Ability to work under pressure as part of team and use their own initiative.

 How to Apply
Please send a CV along with a Cover letter to [email protected] .  Applications will only be considered with a cover letter included.

Full details of the role can be found:  Part Time Chef

Applications will be reviewed weekly and applicants who meet the shortlisting criteria will be contacted to arrange an interview time.   

Anticipated start date for this role:   November 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application

Casual/Bank Chef

Casual Hours – kitchen over during holidays or additional support for events
Pay depending on experience – per hour  

The Role:
We are looking to add some casual cover/ bank Chefs  to join our small kitchen team.    The Chefs we are looking for would work on an ‘as and when Basis’  and work as part of the  kitchen team to produce exceptional food cooked to order.   This would be perfect for a Chef who is looking to share their knowledge and experience with a new generation, whilst helping out and benefiting a charity at the heart of Wells.

This role offers the best work/life balance as hours will be on a casual basis.   Rotas are planned in advance so you will have notice of workdays.  We are looking for several chefs who are happy to be called upon  and added to the rota to cover holidays, sickness, days off or to add additional support during high season or events.    

The Bishop’s Table offers breakfast, brunch and lunch in the busy café.    The team work day shifts, generally 8am until 4.30pm.  The café is open from 9.30am until 5.30pm daily with occasional evenings for special events.       Our Kitchen team are responsible for creating menus, ordering and all health, safety and hygiene to ensure an efficient smooth-running kitchen.      We are open year-round and part of a busy, historic visitor attraction so welcome both tourists and regular local customers.

Who are we looking for:
We’re looking for Chef with at least 3 years’ experience in a busy kitchen producing fresh food to order.       

This might be working 1 or 2 shifts per month or covering one of the chefs’ holidays so could be 8 days out of 14.    Shifts could be a full day, or additional cover for a summer lunch time. 

You must be a team player, be enthusiastic about creating and producing seasonal menus, be willing to learn and share learning. 

Qualifications / Skills:
Ideally our Chef would have NVQ L1 or 2 or City and Guilds 7061/7062.  
At least 3 years’ experience as a chef in a fast-paced kitchen
Willing to share skills and experience
Excellent communication skills and ability to place orders and maintain kitchen paperwork.

How to Apply
Please send a CV along with a Cover letter to [email protected] 

Full details of the role can be found:  Bank / Casual Chef

Applications will be considered as received and shortlisted applicants invited to interview.

We reserve the right to close any vacancies early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested in any of the above roles, please submit your application as early as possible.

Employee Benefits

You will be working for an independent charity whose main aim is to share, preserve and protect the 800-year Bishop’s Palace, with its medieval buildings, moat and spectacular gardens. We reinvest in the team and the site and work with local community groups and organisations as part of our community engagement.    

• We are a real living wage and a Disability Confident employer.
• We provide an induction and training plan for each employee from day one.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Wellbeing support and access to the organisational Employee Assistance Programme
• A positive, supportive, inclusive, and collaborative working environment
• Family-friendly policies
• Staff social events
• Free admission for yourself and a guest ticket
• Free event tickets and staff discounts
• Opportunity to join the Palace Trust Pension scheme (min of 12% basic pay contribution)
• Opportunity to support the local community through volunteer days
• The chance to make a meaningful impact in the preservation and celebration of local heritage