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.

As the Relief Centre Manager, the post holder will be responsible for supporting our commercial operational teams at our nature discovery centres across Essex. We operate ten visitor centres that are gateways to the nature reserves whilst offering retail and food and beverage offerings. This role provides cover for Centre Managers in their absence, supervising and coordinating teams of staff and volunteers to deliver an outstanding visitor experience.

We are looking for someone who has commercial operations experience in either a catering, café, retail or hospitality environment together with experience in people management. It is essential that applicants have strong administrative, interpersonal and communication skills, confident using the Microsoft Office environment and can travel across the county to provide relief cover at any of our visitor centres.

Our Nature Discovery Centres are:

• Abberton Reservoir | Colchester
• Bedfords Park | Romford
• Belfairs | Leigh-on-Sea
• Fingringhoe Wick | Colchester
• Hanningfield Reservoir | Chelmsford
• Ingrebourne | Hornchurch
• Langdon | Basildon
• Thameside | Stanford-Le-Hope
• The Naze | Walton-on-the-Naze
• Thorndon | Brentwood

The position is a fixed-term contract until 31 December 2025 with a salary of £17,215.32 per annum pro rata (£28,692.20 FTE). Our Nature Discovery Centre’s operate between 9:00am to 5:00pm every day of the week (with the exception for Christmas Day and Boxing Day) and relief cover will be required mostly at weekends and bank holidays. Flexibility will be required on working days as cover may be requested at short notice.

For more information about the role, please see the job description on our website essexwt.org.uk/jobs. Our visitor centre’s are not for profit making. All money raised goes directly back into managing conservation across Essex.

To apply for this opportunity, please apply via People First by 9:00am on Thursday 30 January 2025. The interviews will be held on Thursday 06 February 2025 at our Fingringhoe Wick Nature Discovery Centre.

Essex Wildlife Trust is committed to equal opportunities and maintaining a safe and secure environment for all children and young people. The role of a Centre Manager will involve working in regulated activity with children and young people, being the responsible person during site events, young volunteering 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.

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”.