Host (Casual Contract)

Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust

Job Title: Host (Casual Contract)

Department: Experience

Reports To: Host Management Team & Host Supervisors

About Us

At Theatre Royal, we’re a bold, creative, and collaborative team, driven by ambition and a passion for powerful storytelling. We are always looking ahead – embracing new ideas and delivering with purpose.

We’re here to achieve the organisation’s strategy, and we believe everyone plays a part in shaping our success.

Our Values:

· Ambitious – We strive for excellence and quality in everything we do.

· Inclusive – We celebrate diversity and welcome different voices and perspectives.

· Collaborative – We build trust and work in partnership to achieve shared success.

· Creative – We nurture creativity and celebrate imagination and originality in everyone.

· Progressive – We’re forward-thinking, embracing change and looking to the future.

Job Purpose:

Our Host team are the public face of the Company, making sure that our audiences are at the heart of all we do. They welcome people to our theatre and deliver the highest standards of customer service and safety.

Experience Hosts will be allocated duties by the Duty Host Managers and Duty Host Supervisors. Host activities will mainly be focussed in the following areas:

Door duties include, but are not limited to, welcoming visitors, checking tickets, conducting visual bag checks, directing to relevant facilities, and assisting with enquiries.

Sales duties - including but not limited to selling programmes, merchandise, and refreshments across fixed and roaming sales points and upselling to meet sales targets.

Floor duties - including but not limited to ensuring audience members' safety, security and good behaviour, helping latecomers to their seats, being responsible for evacuating audiences in an emergency, and completing a litter pick-up post-show-.

Access duties include, but are not limited to, welcoming those with additional access needs and ensuring they have all the support they need to use our facilities and enjoy our shows.

Hosts are required to work across all four areas as directed by the Host Management Team in order to deliver a comprehensive, professional and safe experience for all visitors.

Person Specification:

The post holder should:

Excel in customer care and be driven to deliver outstanding service

Dress smartly, and have a positive and proactive attitude

Have an eye for detail and have basic maths skills

Be able to handle challenging situations with patience and diplomacy

Have a polite and helpful manner with a solution-based outlook

Enjoy working with a broad range of people and be a natural team-player

Be good with heights and working on all levels inside the audotorium, including our highest level

· Be available for regular daytime, evening, weekend, bank holiday and seasonal (Christmas) shifts.

Duties:

Service

To ensure that the Theatre Royal provides an enjoyable, safe and relaxed environment, open to visitors from all social, economic and ethnic backgrounds and of all ages.

To provide a proactive and collaborative style of customer service in all public spaces.

Act as the main point of information, welcoming the public and providing exceptional, positive and accessible service to visitors at all times.

To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of NTRT (Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust) activity – including, but not limited to, our main house programme, learning events and development activity.

To be alert and vigilant while monitoring audiences during performance times, ensuring their health, well-being and conduct while inside the auditorium.

To deal with potential disruption to a performance or an event as required.

To welcome all education groups, giving appropriate information about the performance and facilities – including offering assistance with seating arrangements and providing information about audience atmosphere, ensuring that students and young people feel at ease.

To ensure that those with access needs are offered assistance and facilities appropriate to their requirements.

Effectively, swiftly, and appropriately respond to feedback, comments, suggestions, compliments, and complaints from all visitors.
To take proactive and immediate action where appropriate to ensure that all public areas are clean and safe. These include but are not limited to toilets, bins, foyer spaces, bars, auditorium and the outside of the building. To carry out appropriate cleaning duties as instructed, including post-show litter picking.
To undertake other relevant duties as reasonably requested by Experience Management.

Safety:

To provide support to the Duty Manager in all aspects of safety, security, emergency and evacuation procedures as required.

To confidently and adeptly facilitate the evacuation of the public in the event of an emergency and/or follow the instructions of the Duty Manager in a major incident.

To be alert and vigilant, maintaining agreed security standards at all times – reporting and investigating concerns immediately as appropriate.

To keep up-to-date, maintain a good understanding of and implement safety protocols, including licensing, trading standards, GDPR, child protection, food hygiene and relevant health and safety policies and procedures.

To ensure that any illness or accidents involving the public on-site are dealt with efficiently and appropriately.

To promote the security of the venue by carrying out bag and ticket checks, monitoring audience behaviour and taking action as appropriate.

To assist the Duty Manager in their First Aid duties.

To assist with the administration of the lost property system.

Sales

To positively promote the Theatre Royal’s performances, events and facilities in order to maximise sales opportunities
To proactively sell programmes, merchandise, confectionery, ice creams and refreshments across all sales points (both fixed and roaming) inside and outside the auditorium as required.
To ensure that accurate card and stock handling processes are adhered to.
To maintain thorough product knowledge, including current promotions and/or new products, and ensure that stock is well presented at all times.

Duties as a member of the Theatre Royal team

Ensuring that the working environment and practices conform to the Trust’s Health and Safety and GDPR Policies, appropriate Child Protection legislation and Health and Safety Legislation

To take all reasonable care and responsibility for the Health and Safety of themselves and other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions and to co-operate with the Trust in achieving and maintaining Health and Safety requirements.

Be fully committed to the Trust’s Equality Policy; The Theatre Royal values and promotes equality, supports and encourages diversity and has a zero tolerance policy on discrimination of any kind.

To adopt an environmentally aware attitude and adhere to any of the Trust’s Green Initiatives, taking personal responsibility that all duties are undertaken to ensure environmental, sustainability and climate change best practice is observed.

To understand the Trust’s staff handbook and respect the ethos by which we work as an equal opportunities and inclusive employer, always striving to be the best in our industry as a welcoming theatre.

To have an understanding of our Creative Program, which comprises work on stage and our Creative Engagement program, collaborating with colleagues to ensure the highest quality support and customer service is delivered across the program as a whole.

Application deadline:

Wednesday 3rd September 9am. Please apply via the linked application form. Please note as this role requires late night working and selling alcohol, we can only accept applications from candidates age 18 or over.

Interviews:

Wednesday 17th September 5.30pm - 9.30pm

Start/ Training:

Successful candidates will be required to complete 3 days of compulsory induction training and attend twice-yearly compulsory training forums as scheduled by the Experience Host Management team.
Training Date(s) & times: Mon 29^th, Tues 30^th Sept & Weds 1^st October 5.30pm-9pm .Training dates are compulsory and cannot be changed.

Hours

0 hour casual contract

Salary

£12.60 per hour

EAP

Employee Assistance Programme available to all staff and their household members

Employee benefits

Critical Illness and Death in Service Cover
Employee Assistance Programme available to all staff and their household members
Discounted Travel Scheme - discounted Metro and bus travel.
Discounted Tickets - Access to staff discounted tickets for performances, subject to availability
NE1 Discount card - Access to city centre discounts and activities.
NGCV Discounts - Theatre Royal staff have access to discounts across 10 Newcastle Gateshead Cultural Venues.

Working at the Theatre

We recognise that only once every member of our team feels a sense of belonging they will truly thrive during their time working with us. You will be welcomed at the Theatre, and if you need any adjustments at the time of applying or within the role please let us know at any stage in the process by contacting: recruitment@theatreroyal.co.uk

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