English Heritage - Kenwood House
Volunteers play a key role in keeping Kenwood free and open to the public all-year round, and support us with the delivery of our visitor offer, and special projects. You will be based in the magnificent rooms at Kenwood House and will help bring the site to life by telling stories about Kenwood and our beautiful artwork, architecture and historic objects. You will provide a warm and…
Description
Why does English Heritage need my support?
We are looking for friendly and enthusiastic people to help our visitors to understand and enjoy their experience of our sites.
What will I be doing?
- Provide a warm and friendly welcome for all visitors
- Help convey the story of our sites through actively engaging with visitors by answering their questions, telling stories about the house or collection, and helping with family trails
- Help preserve and protect the collection
- Attend relevant training courses and workshops to increase your knowledge of our sites
What can I expect from English Heritage?
- A welcoming and enjoyable experience
- To be treated fairly and with respect
- Recognition and appreciation for your contribution
- A full induction and training programme with on-going support
- Reimbursement of reasonable local travel costs between home and volunteering location within agreed limits
- A certificate to demonstrate work carried out for English Heritage is available on request to show future employers or further education providers
- You will be covered by English Heritage’s own indemnity arrangements in respect of all liabilities that may result from your appointment as a volunteer
Duties
Based in the magnificent rooms at Kenwood House you will:
- Provide a warm and friendly welcome for all visitors
- Help preserve and protect the collection
- Tell stories about the House, Estate or collection, both engaging visitors individually and helping with tours and family trails
- Increase your knowledge of the House, Estate and collection through training, special events, personal and peer-learning
As a result you'll be expected to learn:
- Knowledge of local heritage
- Experience communicating with diverse audiences
- Experiences in storytelling, and presentation skills, with the opportunity to develop and lead talks and tours once they have been with us for some time
We also have many benefits for our volunteers – access to English Heritage sites and other heritage sites across the UK, discounts at specific retailers, belonging to a vibrant and diverse community and access to exciting opportunities such as talks and tours, and special visits to other historical collections and locations.
Who will the volunteers be working with?
Members of the public, other members of the volunteering cohort, Kenwood Staff
Training
Full training and support will be provided to help you settle into your role.
We ask all volunteers to attend a recruitment session, followed by an induction and training session before they begin volunteering.
No prior knowledge is required. We will give you all the information you need to be successful in this role. This will include:
• Content-focused training, focused on the architecture of the House, the historic landscape, and our collections.
• General induction about the English Heritage volunteer programme and how to support positive visitor experiences
• Site induction, including clear guidance on how to address security or safety issues
We ask all volunteers to attend a recruitment session, followed by an induction and training session before they begin volunteering.
No prior knowledge is required. We will give you all the information you need to be successful in this role. This will include:
• Content-focused training, focused on the architecture of the House, the historic landscape, and our collections.
• General induction about the English Heritage volunteer programme and how to support positive visitor experiences
• Site induction, including clear guidance on how to address security or safety issues
Time commitment
We are looking for people who can regularly volunteer, ideally for one session every week, or a minimum of two sessions per month. Typically there are two long shifts per day, as well as two shorter break cover shifts:
• AM shift: 9:45am-1:30pm
• AM Break cover shift 11:00am-1pm
• PM shift: 1:15pm-5pm
• Break cover shift 2:15pm-4:15pm
• AM shift: 9:45am-1:30pm
• AM Break cover shift 11:00am-1pm
• PM shift: 1:15pm-5pm
• Break cover shift 2:15pm-4:15pm