Dowload Description

Team:

Meet and Greet Volunteers, within the wider Visitor Experience Team

Aims:

Here at Newcastle Castle, we aim to make everyone’s visit special, memorable, and of course enjoyable. We get visitors from all over the world as well as some very close to home, so we need to adapt our welcome accordingly and help visitors navigate the Castle and the wider City. Because our historic buildings dominate the city skyline, we are an immediate destination for visitors to head towards, we want to use this factor to offer the most hospitable and genuine welcome to our Castle and our City.

How can I help?:

We are sharing an invitation to join our friendly team through volunteering specifically to support visitors.  Visitors to the Castle are free to explore both the Black Gate, Castle Keep as well as the public space in between the two historic buildings which is important to gain an understanding of the site.  This includes introducing the fact that the main east coast railway line runs right through the Castle!

Our approach to helping visitors understand a little about the history and the current use of the area around the Castle is to introduce a number of points of interest where they can get more information that they may need to get the most out of their visit.  These points of interest include an initial welcome and key points within the buildings like the Museum Room and Great Hall as well as the Keep Roof and other rooms.

The Volunteer Visitor Experience Assistants will be available to help visitors at these points and will form part of a rotation of a wider volunteer team so that no one stays in one place too long and so that we can build in rest breaks.

What will I be doing?:

·       Talking to visitors about what they can see and do at the Castle

·       Learning about the history of the Castle to share with visitors

·       Optional – conducting guided tours outside the buildings, around the Castle Garth

·       Operating as part of a rota

Perks of volunteering with Newcastle Castle

·       Regular recognition and appreciation for your contribution

·       Full induction and continued training opportunities

·       Free entry to the Castle for yourself and up to two guests during normal opening hours

·       Reimbursement of reasonable local travel costs between home and the Castle, within prior agreed limits

Dowload Description

Team:

Meet and Greet Volunteers, within the wider Visitor Experience Team

Aims:

Here at Newcastle Castle, we aim to make everyone’s visit special, memorable, and of course enjoyable. We get visitors from all over the world as well as some very close to home, so we need to adapt our welcome accordingly and help visitors navigate the Castle and the wider City. Because our historic buildings dominate the city skyline, we are an immediate destination for visitors to head towards, we want to use this factor to offer the most hospitable and genuine welcome to our Castle and our City.

How can I help?:

We are sharing an invitation to join our friendly team through volunteering specifically to support visitors to the City with a genuine welcome and to help point them in the right direction for their interests and needs which may also include visiting the Castle.

Based in the visitor welcome and gift shop is a desk and area specifically designed to help inform and guide anyone looking for things to see and do in Newcastle. By volunteering in this role, you will be part of the team helping to offer a warm and friendly welcome.

What will I be doing?:

·       Talking to visitors about what they can see and do on their visit to Newcastle and if applicable, the Castle

·       Sharing information that tourists to Newcastle need to enjoy their stay in our city

·       Researching and adding to collective knowledge that can support international and domestic tourists to Newcastle

·       Attending training and team meetings to continue to develop a tourist information service from the Castle

·       Operating as part of a rota

Dowload Description

Team:

Engagement Volunteers, within the wider Visitor Experience Team

Aims:

Here at Newcastle Castle, we aim to make everyone’s visit special, memorable, and of course enjoyable. We get visitors from all over the world as well as some very close to home, so we need to adapt our welcome accordingly and help visitors navigate the Castle and the wider City. Because our historic buildings dominate the city skyline, we are an immediate destination for visitors to head towards, we want to use this factor to offer the most hospitable and genuine welcome to our Castle and our City.

How can I help?:

Our group of costumed characters will form a key part of the visitor experience, allowing visitors to enjoy and informed and engaging trip. The role will involve becoming one of our historic characters and setting the scene for an engaging visitor experience inside the Castle, chatting to visitors, and having fun. Character profiles will be provided which explains exactly what this means for each character.

What will I be doing?:

·       Talking to visitors about our site and what they can see and do here

·       Sharing the history of our site and our city

·       Building support within our community of visitors

·     Operating as part of a rota covering all character roles

Dowload Description

Team: Learning Volunteers, within the wider Learning Team

How can I help?

We need volunteers to help us welcome children and young people to Newcastle Castle and bring the past to life for them, delivering a range of guided tours, educational workshops, and family activities.

What will I be doing?

Learning team volunteers assist with the delivery of our popular schools education program.

Activities include: greeting school groups, escorting them around the site, delivering guided tours and educational workshops, imparting basic health and safety information to school groups. In school holidays you may be asked to help with welcoming family visitors, supporting trails, art and craft activities, object handling and storytelling.

What skills, qualities and experience do I need?

We are looking for people who:

• Enjoy working with children and families and want to engage and inspire them

• Are confident communicators with a range of audiences

• Are approachable and friendly to visitors

• Would like to develop their abilities to lead and talk to groups

• Are self-motivated and pro-active and can work well in a team Newcastle Castle Learning Team

What support and training will I receive?

You will receive a full induction before starting your role. You will also receive training on the history of the Castle, the content of tours and school workshops, and will be able to shadow staff and established volunteers while they lead school groups until you are confident with delivering parts of the visit yourself.