Thank you for your interest in Hoghton Tower.

Join the Team, Careers at Hoghton Tower

We offer a range of unique roles within a historic visitor attraction, across friendly and supportive teams, all dedicated to preserving the rich heritage of Hoghton Tower. For an exciting career opportunity, explore our current vacancies below, you may find just what you have been looking for.

Find your ideal role with us. Please view full details of all our vacancies below.

Operations and Business Support Officer

On-site | Full-time
Salary: £24,420 – £24,902 per year Hours: 37.5 hours per week (any 5 days out of 7) Standard Hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

ABOUT THE ROLE

Hoghton Tower is seeking a highly organised and proactive Operations and Business Support Officer to play a pivotal role in the smooth day-to-day running of our historic site and thriving events business.

This is a varied and hands-on role at the heart of the organisation. You will support operations, events, weddings, volunteers, administration, and customer service, often acting as the first point of contact for visitors, clients, and suppliers.

You will also operate as Duty Manager on a rota basis, helping to oversee daily site operations and ensuring exceptional standards of presentation, safety and visitor experience.

If you enjoy variety, responsibility and working in a unique heritage environment, this could be the perfect opportunity.

Summary

The Operations and Business Support Officer is more than an administrative role. It is a central position within a historic environment and a vibrant organisation. You will contribute directly to delivering exceptional visitor experiences, memorable weddings, a happy team and the continued success of an important heritage site in Lancashire.

This role has many dimensions. You will:

• Oversee the efficient administration of our busy office.
• Be responsible for the smooth operations of the activities on site which might vary day to day.
• Be the first point of contact for our business enquiries, whether these be about weddings, corporate away days, music and theatre or filming locations.
• Welcome new volunteers and provide administration and support to existing volunteers.
• Support operational risk management and manage the implementation of health and safety requirements.
• Be a duty manager, fire warden and first aider.

You will need to be prepared to work at the weekend and in the evenings on a rota basis. A full driving licence and access to a vehicle are required for this role, as the location is not well serviced by public transport.

You will possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, enabling you to engage effectively with a wide range of people. With a proven track record in retail, business, marketing, tourism or visitor services, especially within the charity sector, you will be willing to work hard to help us develop the various income streams by being the first point of contact for all our visitors.

Your administrative skills and your exceptional attention to detail will ensure that our operations run smoothly for all. Experience in working with volunteers and community groups will further highlight your suitability for this role.

As a confident and flexible operational team member, your excellent planning, report writing, and time-management skills will help you navigate the complexities of this role.

You will possess practical experience of the operational side of a customer facing business, Additionally, your IT skills will allow you to manage EPOS and online booking systems efficiently.

Key Responsibilities

Operational

• Opening and closing of the house as required, completing daily operational checklists and ensuring site readiness.
• Act as Duty Manager, including evenings and weekends on a rota basis.
• Ensure high standards of maintenance, conservation and presentation
• Coordinate set-up and take-down for events and activities.
• Liaise with contractors, suppliers and internal teams.
• Ensure excellent customer experience across all touchpoints.

Venue bookings management

• Manage enquiries for weddings, private hire, tours and corporate bookings.
• Conduct venue viewings and support clients throughout their journey.
• Prepare quotes, contracts and event documentation.
• Coordinate logistics including suppliers, security, stewarding and facilities.
• Maintain accurate booking records and calendars.
• Ensure all risk assessments and compliance documents are up to date.
• Support delivery of wedding fairs and promotional activity.

Administration and general business support

• Act as first point of contact for all customers and visitors.
• Upload and manage events on our ticketing platform, Digitickets.
• Organise files, maintain office systems and distribute post.
• Support meeting administration including minute taking.
• Maintain visitor statistics and reporting data.

Volunteer Liaison

• Act as day-to-day contact for volunteers.
• Support volunteer recruitment and onboarding administration.
• Assist with rota coordination and training records.
• Work with the Development Officer to ensure volunteers are engaged and supported.

Health and Safety

• Support operational risk management and documentation.
• Assist with routine inspections (fire alarms, emergency lighting, CCTV).
• Maintain supplier documentation (RAMS, insurance, risk assessments).
• Act as nominated First Aider and Fire Responsible Person when on duty.
• Ensure compliance with Trust policies and health and safety procedures.

About you

EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Proven experience of working in a business/ department in retail, leisure, visitor service or tourism sectors.
• Proven experience of managing administrative processes and procedures.
• Proven experience in customer-facing roles.
• Proven experience of using EPOS systems.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a heritage or museum environment.
• Experience of working in a charity.
• Experience of managing the administration of a volunteer programme.
• Experience supporting events, bookings or operations.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Strong IT skills and ability to use all Microsoft platforms.
• Ability to work with data, analyse performance reports and produce data reports.
• Ability to write clear and concise summaries, emails and other written documents.
• Strong numeracy skills.

Desirable

• A level or equivalent qualifications.
• Knowledge of Health and Safety in the workplace.
• Willingness to undertake First Aid training, Fire Marshall training and other training as the business requires.

PERSONAL QUALITIES

• Honest, trustworthy, conscientious and approachable with a friendly demeanour.
• Problem solver, able to create solutions where background / answer is not clear.
• You will have a practical, hands-on approach and be happy work outside the office on events when this is required.
• You will need to be self-driven and be able to work alone and as part of a team.
• You will need to demonstrate a professional approach, and be confident, resourceful, resilient and committed.
• Highly organised and efficient.
• Have a commitment to diversity, equality and safeguarding.

What We Offer

• NEST pension scheme.
• Employee discount.
• Free on-site parking.
• A unique and inspiring heritage working environment.
• Opportunity to play a key role in developing the future of the site.

Other considerations

• Appointment will be subject to a probationary period.
• No person shall be treated less favourably than another on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, marital status, race, ethnic or national origin, religion, colour, age or disability. As an equal opportunities’ employer, applicants for staff vacancies shall be shortlisted for interview and appointed purely on the grounds of their suitability for the post as laid out in the advertised job description. The Trust operates a no smoking policy on the site and in its offices.

Application process

• Application is by C.V. and must contain the following information:
  • Name, address, contact phone numbers at home & work (for discreet calls only).
  • Full employment history – please comment on all gaps in employment.
  • Full educational history.
  • You should include a covering letter summarising your proven ability to fulfil the role as described above and experience that you believe you will bring to the job.
  • Please indicate whether you will be able to attend a first interview on either of the dates listed below.
  • You should give two referees to whom we can turn for a confidential reference, one of whom should be your current or most recent employer. References will only be taken up for those candidates chosen for interview or, with regard to current employers, on offer of contract.
  • Applications will not normally be acknowledged.

Applications and enquiries should be sent to recruitmenthoghtontower@gmail.com and addressed to the Business Manager.

The deadline for applications is 12 midday on Tuesday 7th April 2026

• 1st interviews will be online (Teams) on Wednesday 15th April or Wednesday 22nd April.
• 2nd interview with a presentation and site visit will be 15th and 16th May 26 These will be held at Hoghton Tower in Lancashire. The Trust does not pay expenses for attending interviews.