ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TOUR GUIDE
Tour Guides must have excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills. They need to be able to learn and retain historical facts, dates and anecdotes, and to present that information to visitors in a lively, interesting and informative way. They must be able to adapt content for those of different age groups and interests. In addition to being a good storyteller, a Guide must be able to provide in-depth knowledge of the points of interest on the route. Our Guides act as ambassadors for the school; high standards of personal demeanour are expected. Bear in mind also that some visitors are knowledgeable or even experts in their field, and may ask detailed questions.
Applicants should have a passion for history and architecture, previous experience of working with visitors to places of interest, should enjoy meeting people, be reliable, dependable and personable. Guides need to be self-reliant and able to work with limited supervision. Knowledge of a foreign language would be an advantage (but not essential), as would a sound understanding of the history of Winchester as a city.
A sense of humour and a willingness to work as part of a team will also help.
Tours are offered year-round except between Christmas and the New Year. There are both regular standby tours and group tours, which are pre-booked; Guides may be asked to conduct both the daily standby tours as well as those for groups. These may include visitors from local and foreign schools, historical societies, Women’s Institutes, Rotary groups and the National Trust. In addition, Guides may occasionally be asked to provide a tour for visitors to the school who may be attending meetings here, or to those participating in an event managed by the Enterprises office.
BENEFITS, TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AND APPLICATION
Start date
Flexible.
Hours of Work
This is a zero hours position. Tour Guides do not work to a fixed schedule but are offered work when it is available; the amount of work offered will vary seasonally. The College is under no obligation to provide work. Hours worked are recorded on dedicated internal systems and apps, so access to a smartphone or computer is required.
Salary
The current rate of pay is £11.62 per hour. Pay levels are reviewed in September annually; the next review for this post will be September 2026.
Salaries are paid monthly to a nominated bank account that must be in the name of the post-holder.
Induction and Continuous Training and Development
The school is fully committed to the induction, training and development of all our staff, with staff supported to grow and reach their full potential.
We deliver a range of training, run by both our own staff and external providers, varying from highly practical First Aid courses to seminars and learning lunches.
There is an annual cycle of appraisal offering the opportunity to reflect on professional practice and development opportunities.
The school also offers a wide range of apprenticeships supporting staff development and progression.
Pension and Life Cover
On employment, employees will be auto-enrolled into the College’s pension scheme according to legislative thresholds. Those who are not eligible for auto-enrolment may still elect to join the College’s pension scheme.
Initially, when joining the College’s pension scheme, employees will become a member of the College’s Group Personal Pension Plan (GPP). For this Plan, known as Tier 1, the employee contributes 4% and the employer 3%.
After 9 month’s membership of the Tier 1 plan, employees may opt to join Tier 2, which is also a GPP, where the employee contributes 5% and the employer 9%.
Employees in Tier 1 automatically qualify for a Life Cover of 2 times salary. On entry to Tier 2, Life Cover changes to 4 times salary.
Holiday
The College holiday year runs from 1 September to 31 August each year. This position will be entitled to the statutory holiday entitlement. You will accrue 12.07% holiday pay for each hour you work.
Sports Facilities
The school offers all staff free access to its excellent sports facilities, including gym membership, tennis courts and in 2026, a new 25m swimming pool.
Wider Benefits
Winchester College is situated in the heart of beautiful, historic Winchester. Staff are offered a free tour of the College, with discounted rates available for booking venues within the school’s grounds for hospitality events. There is a rolling cycle of talks available to attend, on-site car-parking is available and free staff lunches are offered daily during term-time.
Disclosure Check
As Winchester College is an educational establishment, a condition of employment will be that the successful candidate must consent to the school obtaining an Enhanced Level Disclosure Check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This will reveal all spent and unspent convictions, warnings, cautions and bind-overs. A policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders is available on the school’s website.
Safeguarding is one of the primary responsibilities of this role. The jobholder is responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young persons for whom they are responsible, or with whom they come into contact with, and will need to adhere to and ensure compliance with the school’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy at all times. If, in the course of carrying out the duties of the post, the postholder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety or welfare of children in the school, they must report any concerns to the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead or in their absence the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.
References and Other Pre-employment Checks
The appointment will be dependent upon the receipt of a successful medical check and satisfactory references. The College will usually seek references from shortlisted candidates before interview and may approach previous employers for information to verify particular experience or qualifications. At least one referee must be the current or most recent employer. Where applicants are not currently working with children but have done so in the past, one referee must be the person by whom they were most recently employed when working with children.
HOW TO APPLY
Only applications completed on the school website will be accepted.
Closing date for applications: 20th March 2025 at 12 noon.
Please note that applications will be dealt with as they arrive. Winchester College reserves the right to appoint before the deadline passes.
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the recruitment process, please email recruitment@wincoll.ac.uk.
Data Protection
Winchester College collects and processes relevant personal data as part of its everyday operations and is obliged to process it in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. The school is the Data Controller of this data under the Act and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office; its registration number is Z5751669.
Any queries about this policy or how personal data is processed by the school should be referred to the Data Protection Liaison Officer.