General Assistant

Are you looking to be part of a team with a welcoming and positive culture?

We’re seeking an enthusiastic individual to join our hospitality team and help support our charity’s mission of connecting people with nature.

• Permanent contract – average 37.5 hours per week

• Weekly hours will vary across the year, with more during busy periods and fewer in quieter weeks.

• Salary equates to circa £12.96 per hour

• Excellent benefits – including life assurance and health and wellbeing support, see the full list below.

• Shared accommodation available – live and work surrounded by nature.

Work with purpose

At the Field Studies Council we promise to get people outdoors, provide high quality learning and encourage positive wellbeing. We’re all about creating outdoor learning experiences and opportunities that inspire everyone to be curious, knowledgeable, passionate and caring about the environment.

In this role, you’ll help us create a warm, welcoming environment for the schools and groups who stay with us, by ensuring our spaces are clean, comfortable, and welcoming for every visitor.

Your attention to detail will help create safe, relaxing environments where learners of all ages can focus, feel at home, and fully immerse themselves in the natural world.

What you’ll be doing

• Setting up the dining room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner service

• Working in the kitchen, assisting with food preparation

• Serving food to our visitors

• Cleaning bedrooms, bathrooms, and communal areas

• Preparing rooms for guests, including making beds, providing towels, and restocking tea/coffee facilities

• Ensuring public areas, such as corridors and classrooms are neat, tidy, and well-presented

• Helping deliver food and cleaning supplies to the guests at staying at our Start Bay centre

• This role also forms part of our duty rota which will involve staying on site on some evenings and overnight to deal with customer issues and, with the support of a Senior member of staff, respond to emergencies

Further info regarding the full responsibilities can be found in the vacancy pack attached to the advert on our careers website.

Where you’ll be based

Field Studies Council Slapton is located on the South Devon coast, where the freshwater waters of Slapton Ley sit just behind the shingle shoreline of Start Bay. Surrounded by reedbeds, woodland, open countryside and the sea, the centre offers a distinctive and ever-changing natural setting.

The site is immersed in nature, with walking routes, wildlife and coastal views all on the doorstep. Whether watching the light change across the Ley, enjoying a stroll to the beach, or taking in the peaceful surroundings between shifts, it's a place where the natural environment forms part of everyday working life.

We ask that you have:

• A positive, can-do attitude

• Ability to work independently and with others

• Good customer service skills

• Ideally some experience in catering or hospitality

• Flexibility and willingness to support different areas of the centre

• In addition, we have a number of vehicles which you will be asked to drive. To do so, you will need to be 21 years or over, have a full valid driving licence, to have been driving for at least two years, and undertake an internal assessment on commencement in the role

Sound like the role for you? Come and be part of the team! We look forward to your application.

Your benefits whilst working with us will include:

• 28 days annual leave + bank holidays + extra loyalty days dependent on length of service

• Life assurance 5 x your annual basic salary

• Health and Wellbeing Support App for you and eligible family members to access remote GP appointments, mental health consultations, physio, financial & legal support

• 24hr Counselling Helpline Service

• Cycle to work and EV schemes

• Discounts and cashback opportunities

• Flexible working options where roles permit

• Quality learning and development opportunities

If you have any queries regarding this vacancy, please call Catherine (Lead Housekeeper) on 01548 580466.

Applications will be considered on arrival

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we’re in receipt of sufficient applications. Please apply early to avoid disappointment.

Interviews are scheduled to take place at Field Studies Council Slapton on a rolling basis

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by email.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and we expect all team members to share this commitment. Any offer of employment will only be confirmed following the successful completion of rigorous pre-employment checks, including appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks

We want to create a world where everyone feels connected to the environment so they can enjoy the benefits it gives and make choices that help protect it.

As an Investors in People charity, we realise that to achieve our vision we need diverse teams of staff who have a wide range of skills, a real passion for the work of the charity and pride in their role within it. No matter what role you perform at the Field Studies Council, everyone can make a difference and every role is vital to delivering our mission and vision…if this inspires you, we would love to hear from you.