Visitor Experience Assistant (Retail)

Job title: Visitor Experience Assistant - Retail
Location: Scottish Seabird Centre, The Harbour, North Berwick
Reports to: Visitor Experience Manager - Retail
Hours: Minimum 25 hours per week, including Fridays and Saturdays
Salary: We pay 10p above the National Minimum Wage for this role.
Based on current rates, this is £12.31 per hour for applicants aged 21+ and £10.10 per hour for applicants under 21. (see Employee Benefits below)
Status: Permanent

Join our passionate team and play a key role in delivering exceptional visitor experiences at the Scottish Seabird Centre!

In this role, you’ll be the friendly face of our retail and information desk, helping visitors discover our unique range of local, nature positive and sustainable products while ensuring every interaction is warm, informative, and memorable. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with an interest in cause-based retail who loves connecting with people, thrives in a dynamic environment, and wants to contribute to our mission - saving seabirds, restoring seas and inspiring change.

Our retail and visitor centre operation plays a vital role in connecting people to nature and raising funds for our conservation and education programmes. If you want to help us do more for nature, and you’re a proactive team player with a knack for customer service and a keen eye for detail, we’d love for you to be part of our story.

The Scottish Seabird Centre

The Scottish Seabird Centre (SSC) works to ensure that Scotland’s seas and coasts are alive with wildlife, celebrated and protected by all. We act to save seabirds and restore Scotland’s marine environment through conservation, learning, and unforgettable wildlife experiences:

• Conservation – We manage internationally important seabird islands, including Bass Rock, which is home to one of the largest gannet colonies in the world, and Craigleith, where our community conservation project, SOS Puffin, has quadrupled the population of breeding puffins.
• Learning – We seek to build an understanding of and a passion for the marine environment. Over 60,000 children and young people have engaged with our education programme.
• Experience – We operate one of the leading nature visitor centres in the UK, welcoming over 170,000 visitors a year, and were awarded the Gold Green Tourism Award in April 2025.

Physical Requirements:
This role involves active, hands-on work, including standing and moving for extended periods. We welcome applications from all candidates and will consider reasonable adjustments to enable applicants with disabilities to perform the role.

Key Responsibilities

• Welcome and assist visitors: Be the first point of contact at our information and retail desk, providing friendly, knowledgeable support to visitors, inspiring them to join our charity and visit the Discovery Experience
• Curate and promote our gift shop: Help shape and showcase a thoughtful selection of local, nature positive and sustainable products, creating an inviting shopping experience that reflects our values and delights our customers.
• Maintain a vibrant retail space: Use your creativity to merchandise our shop beautifully, manage stock efficiently, and keep displays fresh and engaging for all who visit.
• Support shop operations: Assist with stock handling, deliveries, and inventory management, ensuring our shop runs smoothly and is always well-stocked with exciting products.
• Grow and help administer online shop: Contribute to the growth of our online shop by helping with content creation, promotion and order fulfilment.
• Work as part of a dynamic team: Bring your adaptability, initiative, and problem-solving skills to a varied and rewarding role, where no two days are the same.

Essential skills and experience

• Experience of working in a retail environment
• Great with people and a confident communicator – verbal and written.
• Organised - with an ability to take the initiative and prioritise your work.
• A team player – adaptable and flexible to a varied working environment.
• Attention to detail and providing accurate information.
• Ability to problem-solve.
• Basic maths skills.
• Basic Microsoft systems skills and a willingness to learn our sales and online shop systems.
• An interest in Scotland’s marine and coastal environment

Desirable skills

• Consistent delivery of a high-quality visitor experience, with a customer-focused attitude.
• An awareness of and alignment with environmental sustainability principles and practice.

Employee Benefits

Other benefits you will enjoy as a Scottish Seabird employee include:

• 35 days annual leave
• Workplace pension
• Training and development opportunities for everyone.
• Access to Cycle to Work Scheme
• Access to Health Cash Plan
• GP Advice Line and Counselling Service
• 20% discount in the charity’s Gift Shop, Café,
• 10% discount on the Scottish Seabird Centre boat trips
• Discounted access to a range of Scottish visitor attractions with an Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) card.

Closing date and Interviews: Applications for this role will be closed by 18th March and interviews will take place week beginning 23rd March 2026.