Constructed just after the 1987 hurricane from the fallen onsite timber, our Nature Discovery Centre at Thorndon is our most popular Centre with over 130,000 visitors annually visiting the park and is also home to the well-attended Gruffalo trail.  The site offers a variety of habitats including ancient woodland, parkland, ponds, a marsh and meadow with stunning ancient trees including Giant Oak and Hornbeam pollards, parts of the site used to be heathland, now a scarce habitat in Essex, and to restore it parts of the park, both north and south, are being grazed by goats and sheep.

The Nature Discovery Centre offers an opportunity to discover the wildlife within the park whilst enjoying refreshments and a gift shop, run by a friendly team and wonderful volunteers who are passionate about providing fantastic customer service. As the Assistant Centre Manager, the post holder will work closely with the Centre Manager to deliver the day-to-day operations (retail, food and beverage, compliance and events), supervising staff and volunteers and interacting with guests to ensure an engaging visitor experience. 

It is essential that the post holder has front-facing retail and/or hospitality experience, self-motivated, has a ‘can-do’ attitude and willingness to support team members both front and back of house. In this role, the successful candidate will thrive on providing a welcoming visitor experience in a customer-facing environment with strong people skills, a welcoming predisposition and good attention to detail. A full job description can be found in the ‘role information pack’.

This is a two-year fixed-term position working 30 hours per week, four out of seven days between Monday and Sunday all year-round including weekends and bank holidays. The rota working arrangements provides every other weekend off. The starting salary is £19,232.80 per annum (FTE £24,041.00).

Essex Wildlife Trust is committed to equal opportunities and maintaining a safe and secure environment for all children and young people. The role of Assistant Centre Manager will involve working in regulated activity with children and young people, being the responsible person during site events and Duke of Edinburgh sessions. Therefore, the successful applicant for this position will be subject to vetting checks including an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check with a barred list check. Please note, it is an offence to apply for this position if barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

Essex Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading conservation charity, committed to protecting wildlife and inspiring a lifelong love of nature; and we would love you to join our committed and enthusiastic team. Our values are Impactful, Collaborative, United and Proactive.

To apply, please complete an online application on our website by 9:00am on Monday 17 June 2024. Interviews will be held on Friday 28 June 2024.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to offering an interview to anyone with a disability that meets all the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you require any adjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible. 

Essex Wildlife Trust is committed to an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone is welcome. As a conservation charity, we know how important diversity is, both in our natural world and amongst the people we employ. We want everyone to feel valued and empowered to contribute to our vision of “A county rich in wildlife with people connected to nature”.

Essex Wildlife Trust is committed to equal opportunities and maintaining a safe and secure environment for all children and young people. Therefore, the successful applicant for this position will be subject to pre-employment checks including a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Please note, it is an offence to apply for this position if barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.