Location: We The Curious
Department: Operations Administration
Report to: Membership and Bookings Manager
Salary: £12 per hour, rising to £12.22, then £13.02 upon completion of stepped pay training programme)
Contract: Permanent
Working hours: Part-time, 22.5 hours per week.
About We The Curious
We The Curious is an educational charity and South West England's leading science centre.
We produce experiences that bring people together to play, get creative with science and explore different ideas.
We work with partners, locally and nationally, supporting people to be inquisitive, develop new skills and improve their wellbeing.
We are progressive, inquisitive, collaborative, playful and creative.
Our mission
Our aim is to connect and empower people through sharing creative experiences which celebrate unknowns in science.
Our work as a charity is driven by five key pledges:
_Cultivate Curiosity
_Include Everyone
_Open Up Science
_Sustainable Futures
_Build Resilience
You can find out more about these in our Manifesto.
About the role
This is a customer orientated role, so an ability to listen and offer excellent customer service is essential. It offers a varied workload from booking in general visits for first time visitors and returning members to helping to book and schedule in school visits and workshops. The role also offers the chance to work with other departments supplying administrative support to help deliver projects, so a can do attitude is welcome.
What will you do in this role?
Role specific responsibilities
General duties
_The operation Administration department is split into three sections, Education bookings, General bookings, and Memberships. During the day, you'll monitor each section's email inbox and respond to customer enquiries.
_This includes answering calls and following up with visitors interested in booking or with questions about memberships, so a good ear for listening and an attention to detail will be key.
_Customer service is key to this role, ensuring a first class customer experience from the first communication to us to help prepare visitors for We The Curious. A friendly and polite approach is needed in all our interactions.
_You'll use a CRM and booking system to process bookings, set up memberships and booking accounts and take payments manage accounts, and process payments through using a dedicated Epos system
_Use Microsoft 365 to help update booking calendars for Educational bookings.
_You will be communicating to other staff members within We the Curious to help answer customer enquiries, check availability and content of workshops as well as passing messages on.
_On occasion you'll deal with booking cancellations and moving of general bookings and as you progress in the role you'll take on more responsibility and ownership in helping to plan and schedule educational visits for schools.
_You will be involved in answering membership enquiries and helping customers to select the correct membership option to meet their needs.
_You'll manage memberships on our CRM system, including setting up, renewing, upgrading, and cancelling them as requested by customers
_Occasionally weekend work will be required to support bookings and memberships over busy periods.
General responsibilities
_Safeguarding : Be responsible for carefully following safeguarding policies and procedures and raising any concerns to manager/Designated Safeguarding Officer.
_Fundraising: Where possible, include charity messaging in your area of work with support from, and connection with, the Development and Marketing Teams.
_General responsibility for departmental compliance with GDPR.
What we're looking for from you
_We are looking for someone who has an interest in working as part of a team for a science-based education centre, with a passion for creating a memorable customer experience and looking to help inspire young curious minds.
_You will have excellent communication skills and will know the importance of listening to help identify customers' needs and expectations.
_You will be mainly office based and taking bookings and communicating to visitors, schools and members either by phone or email, there will be the occasional face to face meetings within the venue when required.
_Knowledge of a previous booking systems isn’t essential as we will provide training for you, but a basic understanding of IT systems and knowledge of Office 365 is required.
_Importantly you will have an eye for detail as the role will involve not just making general bookings, but planning and scheduling timetables for school visits and ensuing we are meeting their needs.
Training
_Whilst we do conduct an extensive induction and training programme for new employees. Your development is important to us, and we will continue to develop you further through shadowing, coaching and set training sessions.
_This is linked to a stepped pay structure which will then allow you to progress further based on your experience and skill.
Application process
Deadline for applications: Tuesday 17th September at midnight
Interview dates and location: Tuesday 1st October and Wednesday 2nd October, at We The Curious offices in Bristol
Start date: Immediate start
Application process: If you would like to apply, please complete the application form. It contains questions designed to assess your experience and suitability for the role.
Please don’t send a CV or covering letter as we will not review them.
We appreciate interviews can be stressful, so we try to make them more of a conversation and a chance for you to tell us about how your skills and experience make you the right person for the role.
If you are invited for interview, we’ll send you the questions that you’ll be asked beforehand so you have time to prepare.
If you have any particular needs or requirements, please do let us know so we are able to make the required adjustments.
If you would like to talk about the role or the application process, please email people@wethecurious.org
Including everyone
We value the positive impact greater representation will have on our organisation, programmes and culture. It’s our goal to become an inclusive place to work and for our teams to better reflect our city and the people who visit us.
We welcome applications from people of all lived experiences and particularly those that are not well represented* in the science centre sector.
We want to work with you to ensure the recruitment process is accessible for you, please contact us if you have questions about We The Curious, our accessibility or recruitment process at people@wethecurious.org
*By not well represented we mean people with lived experience including but not limited to:
_African and African-Caribbean heritage
_South Asian and East Asian heritage
_Other global majority ethnic groups
_Disabled
_Neurodivergent
_Visually Impaired
_Deaf community
_LGBTQIA+ and/or non-binary
_Working class background
_Didn’t go to university or first in your immediate family to attend University
Support during the process
We The Curious is a Disability Confident Employer and we welcome applications from candidates who self-assess themselves as having a disability. We will guarantee an interview to applicants who advise that they have a disability and who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy. To help you, under the Equality Act 2010 a person is defined as having a disability if a) they have a physical or mental impairment, and b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
We want to work with you to ensure the recruitment process is accessible for you.
If you are disabled, neurodivergent, or if you have a long-term health condition, we’ll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to our processes for you.
You’ll have the opportunity to let us know about any adjustments you may need throughout the application and selection process. We’ll continue this conversation if you join us as a staff member, and we’ll work with you to make sure you have the adjustments you need to succeed in your role.
Examples of adjustments could include:
_providing alternative formats at every stage
_options to apply
_extra time for tasks
_providing some extra information about what to expect
_office orientation before an in-person interview.
Working with us
We value the people that work with us. Our staff have access to the following:
Wellbeing & support
_Free flu jabs
_Flexible working
_Mental Health First Aiders
_Confidential advice & counselling through the Employee Support Programme
Leave
_25 days holiday in addition to bank holidays (all pro-rata).
Facilities & discounts
_Free entry to the venue at any time with up to four guests, plus 12 additional entry tickets per calendar year to give away.
_15% off in the We The Curious café
_20% off in our shop
_Range of discounts with local businesses and free entry to other local attractions.
_Free parking
_Secure cycle storage
Pension
_We offer a pension scheme with 5% company contributions.
Death in service benefit
_Four times your annual salary.
New Parent Policy
We are proud to be a family friendly organisation, which is why we work to develop our people practices in line with that value. We have recently introduced a none gendered approach to Maternity and Paternity, re-branded as our “New Parent Policy”. There are eligibility criteria and terms and conditions, but the key take away is that anyone who is due to become a new parent, regardless of their gender, can take 1 year off work, and we’ll pay your full salary for the first 5 months.
