Working at The Bishop’s Palace and Gardens

The Bishop’s Palace and Gardens is an incredible building that has been around for over 800 years.  Home to the Bishops of Bath & Wells, the site and buildings are owned by the Church Commissioners and operated by The Palace Trust, a registered charity which manages the site as a heritage visitor attraction welcoming over 145,000 visitors a year.

Surrounded by a breath-taking moat, drawbridge, and iconic gatehouse you couldn’t ask for a more beautiful and inspirational place to work.

For our Job Applicant Privacy Notice, see here

Visitor Experience Assistant Manager (Part Time)

 £15,225 pa Part time – 24 hours per week.   

The Visitor Experience Assistant Manager will support the Visitor Experience Manager and team in the day-to-day management of the visitor facing side of the Palace including admissions, gift shop, membership, and events. You’ll need to be a confident, practical team leader who can react to different situations.      You will act as Duty Manager, support the Front of House team and support the fulfilment of the KPIs relating to ticket and membership sales along with secondary spends.

The Role:
The Visitor Experience Assistant Managers key responsibilities will include:

• Responsibility for site safety when acting as Duty Manager
• Leading by example to ensure the Front of House team deliver a top-quality visitor experience to our visitors
• Supporting the Visitor Experience Manager on event days

 Who are  we looking for:

To join the team you will have experience of working in heritage, retail or hospitality, ideally with some experience of Duty Management/Supervisor at site open to visitors.  You will excellent organisational, administrative and communication skills.   You will be self-motivated, use your initiative and have the ability to resolve issues quickly with excellent customer service skills.   You will also have excellent ICT skills and ideally experience with ticketing/till systems.

 This part time role is 24 hours per week.   Standard working days Sunday with two others.  Standard hours 9.15am – 5.45pm but flexibility will be necessary for events outside our usual opening hours.  Some events take place in the evenings.    There is some flexibilty on working pattern for the right candidate. 

Experience & Qualifications:
Ideally our Visitor Experience Assistant Manager will have:

• Experience of working in a heritage, retail or hospitality role
• Experience of working towards finance targets and KPIs
• Knowledge of Health and Safety guidelines for a public site
• Experience in a comparable role within heritage/arts/charitable sector 

To Apply: 
To apply for this role please send your CV along with a cover letter to [email protected] 

Full  details of the role can be found:  Visitor Experience Assistant Manager Job Description
Applications will only be considered with a cover letter.      

The closing date for applications will be 12noon on Wednesday 17 April 2024.
Interviews will take place on Tuesday 23 April.
Anticipated start date May 2024. 

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 early as possible. 

Food & Beverage Supervisor

£25,000pa Full time – 40 hours pw over 5 days rota.   

Every memorable day out involves great food and drink.     

At The Bishop’s Palace,  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 of lunch for the whole family. 

The Role:
We’re looking for an experienced Food & Beverage Supervisor to join the team and support the Catering Manager.   Working as part of the team you will encourage and motivate the Food & Beverage Assistants to perform at their best to deliver the highest standards of customer card in a busy catering setting.      

The Bishop’s Table offers breakfast and lunch in the busy café plus there are several seasonal outlets in the grounds.   

The team work day shifts, generally between 8.30am until 6.30pm on a rota basis.  The café is open daily from 9.30am until 5.30pm.  Very occasional evening if a special event is taking place.      

Who are we looking for:
We’re looking for someone with 3 years experience of working in a busy catering environment, ideally with Barista experience.  Supervisory experience is desirable but experience of delivering exceptional customer service along with till systems and good food health and safety knowledge are essential.

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 customer care, be willing to learn and share learning.     As a small team there may be times when you may be asked to assist in other areas.  

Experience & Qualifications:
Ideally our Food & Beverage Supervisor would have:
At least 3 years’ experience working in a busy café/restaurant
Barista Experience
Excellent communication and customer service skills along with ability to well work under pressure.
Level 2 Food Hygiene & Safety and Basic First Aid (or be willing to complete)

 To Apply: 

To apply please send your CV along with a cover letter to [email protected] 

 Full  details of the role can be found:   Food & Beverage Supervisor Job Description

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

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 early as possible. 

Kitchen Assistant

£12.00 per hour  -Full time or Part time hours on a  rota basis.   

Every memorable day out involves great food and drink.     At The Bishop’s Palace,  we believe great hospitality is essential.     

The Role:
We’re looking for an experienced Kitchen Assistant to join the team and support the Kitchen and front of house.     Full time or Part time hours are available.       

The Bishop’s Table offers breakfast and lunch in the busy café plus there are several seasonal outlets in the grounds.   

The team work day shifts, generally between 8.30am until 6.30pm on a rota basis.  The café is open daily from 9.30am until 5.30pm.  Very occasional evening if a special event is taking place.      

 Who are we looking for:
We’re looking for someone with experience of working in a busy kitchen environment who can assist with food preparation, washing up, cleaning and being a vital member of a catering team. 

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 customer care, be willing to learn and share learning.     As a small team there may be times when you may be asked to assist in other areas.  

 Experience & Qualifications:
Ideally our Kitchen Assistant would have:
At least 2 years’ experience working in a busy café/restaurant
Excellent communication and customer service skills along with ability to well work under pressure.
Level 2 Food Hygiene & Safety (or be willing to complete) 

Trustee

Voluntary   

We are looking for new Trustees with time, energy and vision to help us conserve this unique heritage site and develop it for future generations to use.  We are progressing with our strategy for the Trust’s sustainable growth over the next period of time.

To help us move forward we particularly seek Trustees with experience in:

• Fundraising
• Ownership and conservation of historic buildings
• Sustainable development of historic grounds and gardens
• Development of new audiences, and of partnerships and networks
• Financial/commercial development – with experience of managing/leading visitor attractions

The Board of Trustees meets four times a year. There is a small sub-committee structure with focus on particular specialist areas and all Trustees are asked to support the work of one or more of those groups. Trustees serve on a voluntary basis, although reasonable expenses will be paid.

We are particularly keen to achieve a diverse Trustee board, therefore we are actively seeking expressions of interest from people of all ages, ethnicity and backgrounds who have an interest in our work. Previous experience of being a Trustee is not necessary and training will be given. While empathy with the values and ethos of the Trust is essential, there is no faith-based requirement or expectation.

Full details of the role can be found in Trustee Information.

 To Apply: 

If you would like to become a part of this unique place, we would love to hear from you.  
Please send your CV and covering letter, outlining what you could contribute to the role of Trustee and your interest in applying, to
[email protected].  

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Moira Anderson, who can arrange for you to speak with the Chief Executive or Chair of the Board of Trustees.   [email protected] or 01749 988111 ext 203.

In return we can offer comprehensive induction and training.  As this is a voluntary post there is no remuneration, other than reasonable travel expenses.   Expenses may, in some circumstances, include remuneration for loss of earnings.

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