Retail & Admissions Assistant (30 hrs)

At IWM, we're driven by a shared purpose: helping people understand the impact of conflict and the experiences of those affected by it. The Retail & Admissions department welcomes over 2 million visitors each year across five permanent operations and plays a vital role in generating income, delivering outstanding customer service and acting as an ambassador for the IWM brand and values. At HMS Belfast, you'll be part of a team welcoming more than 300,000 visitors annually to one of London's most iconic historic attractions. Working across the admissions desk and shop, you'll help visitors get the most from their experience by providing information about the ship, supporting ticket sales and guidebook sales, promoting retail products and delivering a warm, professional welcome from the moment they arrive.

Retail & Admissions Assistants play an important role in creating a positive and memorable experience for every visitor to HMS Belfast. Through excellent customer service, strong product knowledge and proactive sales skills, you'll help visitors engage with the stories of those who served aboard the ship and understand the wider history of the Royal Navy and twentieth-century conflict. Your contribution also supports IWM's financial sustainability. By promoting admissions products, guidebooks, memberships, donations and retail sales, you'll help maximise income while ensuring visitors enjoy an engaging and welcoming experience.

• Provide a warm, professional welcome and deliver exceptional customer service to every visitor throughout their experience.
• Share information about HMS Belfast, IWM, its collections and the local area, helping visitors make the most of their visit.
• Sell admission tickets, guidebooks, memberships, donations and other visitor products using your knowledge of available offers.
• Actively promote retail products, using excellent product knowledge and upselling techniques to maximise sales opportunities.
• Support the achievement of sales targets and key performance indicators, including average transaction value and spend per visitor.
• Respond to customer enquiries and resolve issues professionally, escalating where appropriate.
• Maintain high standards of presentation, cleanliness and merchandising across admissions and retail spaces.
• Process transactions accurately and follow all cash handling, audit and financial procedures.
• Assist with stock deliveries, stock control activities and branch stock takes, ensuring products are correctly stored, priced and recorded.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the museum and support other London branches when required.
• Take responsibility for maintaining safe working practices and complying with all relevant policies and procedures.

What We're Looking For

We'd love to hear from you if you have:

• Experience working in a retail, admissions, customer service or similar visitor-facing environment.
• Strong customer service skills and a passion for creating excellent visitor experiences.
• Confidence selling products and services in busy environments while working toward targets.
• Good product knowledge and an understanding of visual merchandising principles.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to remain calm, professional and approachable when handling customer enquiries or complaints.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy when handling transactions and administrative tasks.
• The ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• A flexible and reliable approach, including willingness to work weekends and bank holidays.
• An interest in the history of twentieth-century conflict is desirable.

You'll work on-site at HMS Belfast as part of the Retail & Admissions team. This is a varied customer-facing role combining admissions, retail sales and visitor engagement. You'll spend your time supporting visitors at the ticket desk and shop, maintaining high operational standards and helping maximise income opportunities.

Due to the seven-day nature of the operation, the role requires regular weekend and bank holiday working, together with occasional early morning and evening shifts.

You'll also work closely with colleagues across the museum and may occasionally provide support at other London branches.

• Develop a strong understanding of IWM's mission, values and how the Retail & Admissions Assistant role contributes to organisational success.
• Build positive working relationships with colleagues and become an active member of the HMS Belfast team.
• Become confident supporting visitors across admissions and retail areas.
• Demonstrate strong knowledge of tickets, guidebooks, retail products and visitor offers.
• Contribute to sales performance through positive customer interactions and effective promotion of products and services.
• Use Retail & Admissions systems and processes accurately and efficiently.
• Confidently respond to visitor enquiries and help resolve issues with appropriate support.
• Complete transactions, cash handling and stock-related processes accurately and in line with procedures.
• Maintain consistently high standards of presentation, safety and operational compliance.
• Demonstrate the behaviours and values expected of an IWM colleague and act as a professional ambassador for the organisation.

For a full list of duties and the person specification (which your application will be marked against), please view the Job Description.