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. 

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

Seasonal Visitor Team Assistants & Stewards 

Part time, seaonal contracts of between 4 – 21 hours per week. 
These contracts are for our Sparkle, Christmas Illuminations between 29 November 2025 to 4 January 2026. 
£12.60 per hour  

The Role:

Christmas is a magical place during the Christmas period and 2025 is set to be bigger than ever.    Sparkle, our Christmas Illuminations, run between 29 November and 4 January and we are looking recruit some team members to join our current team for this event.    We are looking for two roles – Seasonal Team Assistants and Sparkle Stewards.     Both of these roles are part time. 

Seasonal Visitor Team Assistants – will work within the ticket office/shop.    The working hours will either be daytime (between 9.45am- 4.15pm) and/or evenings (between 4.45pm – 8.15pm).   
This role will be based within our ticket office/shop where the team provide excellent customer service and maximise the sales of tickets, memberships and gift aid.   You will also assist with the opening/closing of the site, and are key to welcoming visitors and ensuring that they have an amazing visit.  

Sparkle Stewards – will work by the ticket gate, and around the site.   The working hours will be evenings between 4.45pm and 8.15pm.  
Stewards play a key role during our Sparkle, Christmas illuminations event – welcoming visitors, checking tickets, signposting and ensuring that every visitor has a safe and enjoyable visit.    This role will mostly be based outside, and will require some walking around the site.    

Who are we looking for:
To join our team for Sparkle you will ideally have:
Outstanding Communication and Customer service skills.
The ability to work as part of team and use initiative
Ability to remain calm under pressure,  while continuing to deliver high quality visitor experience
Positive and approachable manner.
For the Seaonal Visitor Team Assistants role previous experience of working in a customer-facing sales roll, along with experience of handling money and using a till system is essential. 

How to Apply
Please send a CV along with a Cover letter to [email protected] clearly stating which seaonal role you are applying for

Full details of the roles along with the personal specifications can be found:   Visitor Team Assistant   or Sparkle Steward

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

These seasonal contract roles will be between 29 November 2025 to 4 Janaury 2026.   Training will be provided in late November.

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