Volunteering with Fort Amherst Heritage Trust

Tour Guide Volunteer Job Description

Fort Amherst Heritage Trust is looking for Tour Guides to guide all our visitors through our Tunnel network and external spaces.  You should be a confident public speaker and enjoy sharing your love of history to people of all ages.

Fort Amherst is the UK’s largest Napoleonic Fort, which is maintained and protected almost entirely by volunteers.  By volunteering at Fort Amherst, you will be helping to preserve Medway’s history, whilst also potentially learning new skills and making new friends.

Responsibilities

• Being the face of Fort Amherst
• Welcoming all visitors in a polite and professional manner.
• Share factually accurate history and stories with our visitors.
• Ensure each of our visitors are kept safe whilst on a tour.
• Engage a variety of people.
• Answer questions politely and confidently
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Requirements & Skills

• Excellent communicator
• Customer Service skills
• Patience and react well under pressurised situations
• A love of history and heritage
• A good memory

Fort Amherst Heritage Trust is looking for gardeners to assist with maintaining our 20 acres of green spaces.

Fort Amherst is the UK’s largest Napoleonic Fort, which is maintained and protected almost entirely by volunteers.  By volunteering at Fort Amherst, you will be helping to preserve Medway’s history, whilst also potentially learning new skills and making new friends.

Responsibilities

• Install and maintain seasonal plants
• Mow, trim and fertilise green spaces
• Mulch, edge and weed gardens
• Prune and trim trees and bushes
• Maintain all gardening equipment and machinery, such as mowers and trimmers
• Monitor the health of our plants
• Report and deal with pest or fungal infections which could damage the plants
• Keep all green spaces clear of litter and debris
• Adhere to all site Health and Safety

Requirements & Skills

• Previous experience as a garden preferred but not essential
• Familiarity with landscaping preferred but not essential
• Knowledge of regional plant life preferred but not essential
• Knowledge of local pests and how to eliminate them preferred but not essential
• Ability to life heavy objects in line with the Manual Handling regulations
• A love of the outdoors and plant life
• Commitment to safety
• Apprenticeship or previous experience is preferred.

Training will be available for this role, with the potential to learn new skills.

Fort Amherst Heritage Trust is looking for skilled bricklayers to assist with maintaining our historical buildings throughout site.  You must be confident in reading and analysing building plans, checking specifications and following strict heritage guidelines.  You should also be able to mix mortar powder, sand clay and water to obtain acceptable consistency.

Fort Amherst is the UK’s largest Napoleonic Fort, which is maintained and protected almost entirely by volunteers.  By volunteering at Fort Amherst, you will be helping to preserve Medway’s history, whilst also potentially learning new skills and making new friends.

Responsibilities

• Analysing and interpreting building plans
• Laying bricks
• Applying or removing grout with a trowel
• Strengthening and sealing foundations with appropriate materials
• Repairing building blocks and chimneys
• Refurbishing stonework
• Accurate measure to ensure adherence with strict guidelines
• Understanding and managing the quantities of materials required for the job
• Using tools such as hand tools, brick cutting machines but also spirit levels and plumb lines to ensure building alignment

Requirements & Skills

• Be detail orientated and have a methodical approach
• Have knowledge of construction and building
• Teamwork and communication skills
• Be manual and agile with their hands
• Commitment to safety
• Apprenticeship or previous experience is preferred.

Fort Amherst Heritage Trust is looking for general labourers to assist with manual tasks and support operations on site.

Fort Amherst is the UK’s largest Napoleonic Fort, which is maintained and protected almost entirely by volunteers.  By volunteering at Fort Amherst, you will be helping to preserve Medway’s history, whilst also potentially learning new skills and making new friends.

Responsibilities

• Clean up site after works.
• Assist our skilled tradespeople on site
• Handle and transport materials and equipment
• Use power tools and machinery when needed (only when trained)
• Assist with putting up warning signs
• Help with the setting up and transferring of temporary structure (i.e. scaffolding)
• Report issues with equipment or unsafe conditions

Requirements & Skills

• Ability to meet the physical demands of the job (standing for long periods, lifting heavy loads in accordance with manual handling regulations
• Good hand-eye coordination
• Communication and teamwork skills
• Familiarity with power tools is advantageous but not essential
• Commitment to safety
• Apprenticeship or previous experience is preferred

Training will be available for this role, with the potential to learn new skills

Fort Amherst Heritage Trust is looking for Event Staff to assist with their seasonal events throughout the year.  You should be confident speaking with people and following basic instructions relating to the event taking place.

Fort Amherst is the UK’s largest Napoleonic Fort, which is maintained and protected almost entirely by volunteers.  By volunteering at Fort Amherst, you will be helping to preserve Medway’s history, whilst also potentially learning new skills and making new friends.

Responsibilities

• Being the face of Fort Amherst
• Welcoming all visitors in a polite and professional manner.
• Assist with setting up and closing down events on site
• Ensure that the even space is kept clean
• Excellent levels of customer service
• Act as ticket and entrance control
• Ensure each of our visitors are kept safe whilst on a tour.
• Answer questions politely and confidently

Requirements & Skills

• Excellent communicator
• Customer Service skills
• Patience and react well under pressurised situations
• Excellent team worker
• Friendly demeanour

Training will be available for this role, with the potential to learn new skills.

Fort Amherst Heritage Trust is looking for carpenters to assist with all of our woodwork projects on site.

Fort Amherst is the UK’s largest Napoleonic Fort, which is maintained and protected almost entirely by volunteers.  By volunteering at Fort Amherst, you will be helping to preserve Medway’s history, whilst also potentially learning new skills and making new friends.

Responsibilities

• Read blueprints, drawings and sketches to fully grasp requirements
• Take measurements and calculate the size and amount of material needed
• Cut, shape and smooth lumber and other material (e.g. fiberglass) according to measurements
• Build window frames, doors, staircases and frame buildings by using raw materials or pre-constructed items
• Lay out floorings, roofings or drywalls ensuring they are levelled and compatible
• Carve and assemble furniture, cabinets, shelves and other items and install them where designated
• Inspect places and conduct repairs or maintenance
• Build scaffolding and other construction structures

Requirements & Skills

• Proven experience as carpenter
• Hands-on experience in working with carpentry materials
• Excellent understanding of carpentry techniques and methods of installation and construction
• Proficient in using electrical and manual equipment and measurement tools (powered saws, hammers, rulers etc.)
• Ability to read technical documents and drawings
• Willingness to follow safety guidelines at all times
• Good knowledge of English
• Good understanding of basic math

Training will be available for this role, with the potential to learn new skills.

Fort Amherst Heritage Trust is looking for archivists to join our archives team.

Fort Amherst is the UK’s largest Napoleonic Fort, which is maintained and protected almost entirely by volunteers.  By volunteering at Fort Amherst, you will be helping to preserve Medway’s history, whilst also potentially learning new skills and making new friends.

Responsibilities

• evaluate records for preservation and retention
• assess items that may be fragile and need careful handling, repair or conservation
• catalogue collections and manage information and records
• promote your work through exhibitions, presentations, talks and visits
• liaise with donors and depositors of archives
• advise and support users on how best to access, use and interpret archives
• prepare record-keeping systems and procedures for archival research and for the retention or destruction of records
• maintain user-friendly, computer-aided search systems
• be customer focused and respond to enquiries from the public, businesses, academics and other users
• identify ways of protecting and preserving collections
• arrange the acquisition and retrieval of records

Requirements & Skills

• a genuine interest in history and in preserving records for posterity
• good communication skills to relate to, and encourage, a range of users
• a logical approach to the work of identification and classification
• an understanding of research skills in order to help users access materials
• the ability to skim and understand an extensive and varied range of material
• attention to detail and accuracy
• the ability to anticipate and respond to changing needs and digital media
• a commitment to the profession and to professional development
• the ability to work independently and as part of a team
• good IT skills and an interest in applying digital technology to archiving

Training will be available for this role, with the potential to learn new skills.

To assist the Fort by opening and closing the gates according to our opening times.  Our gates need to be opened at 0800 daily and then locked at 1900 (Summer) and 1600 (Winter).

Main responsibilities are to ensure all members of the public have left site and that the site is secure.