Theatre Front of House Assistant

Job Title: Casual Front of House Assistant (Zero Hours Contract)

Department: The Old Rep Theatre

Responsible to the Theatre Manager/Duty Manager 

Rate of Pay per Hour: £8.91 

The BOA Group is proud to run The Old Rep, Birmingham’s unique 385-seat Grade II listed venue on Station Street in the city centre. This historic and elegant theatre, founded and built by Sir Barry Jackson in 1913, was the original home of Birmingham Repertory Theatre (now based on Centenary Square). The theatre plays host to numerous professional and amateur companies. The theatre is a vibrant space and the vision of a theatre for young people run by young people, has always been at the heart of BOA’s operation of this venue. The theatre will continue to be a performance venue for student, professional and amateur companies and refurbishment backstage allows spaces to be used for both classes and rehearsals. 

.The chosen candidate will be responsible for ensuring the highest standards of customer care and service within the theatre during both daytime and evening shifts. 

Purpose of the Role:

• To be trained to work in a variety of front of house roles including the theatre, bar and box office

• To assist with the successful delivery of first-class sales and customer service in line with the style and ethos of the Old Rep Theatre.

• To adhere at all times to health and safety, licensing regulations.

We are looking to recruit a team of Front of House Assistants that will be trained in all areas of the front of house of our building. Candidates that are invited to join the team would be told in advance of their shifts as to which role they would be taking on. A list of responsibilities for each of the roles is listed below.

Key responsibilities:

Theatre:

• To welcome patrons, check tickets, usher patrons to seats and act as the point of contact for enquiries;

• To sell programmes and other merchandise pre- performance during the

interval and post-performance;

• To ensure the public areas, foyer, auditorium and toilets are presentable at all times;

• To ensure freesheets, leaflet displays and merchandise are tidy and well stocked and that all poster displays are clean;

• To be responsible for the safety and comfort of patrons before, during and after performances.

Box Office

• To be the principle point of welcome to the Old Rep Theatre and to act as reception for the building and to alert relevant staff promptly of any visitors arriving to the building;

• To ensure there is sufficient ticket stock in the printer and that the computer, printer and chip and pin pad are all working;

• To count the Box Office float and to inform the Theatre Manager of any discrepancy;

• To take delivery of postage and deliveries; and to distribute to the relevant member of staff;

• To listen to answer phone messages and to call back customers throughout the day;

• To serve customers to the box office via the phone and in person;

• To print and prepare tickets and merchandise for postage;

• To batch print tickets before each performance and distribute these to customers;

• To actively sell tickets and merchandise pre-show;

Bar:

• To serve customers and visitors to the building at the bar;

• To be knowledgeable of the products that the bar and kitchen serve;

• To abide by and enforce appropriate licensing regulations;

• To correctly operate the Café Bar’s cash registers and PDQ machines;

• To be pro-active in bar and food sales to ensure maximum profitability;

• To accurately reconcile and record cash takings.

• To adhere to and assist with stock control procedures.

• To accept and check, stock deliveries.

• To ensure all cash and stock is kept safely whilst on the premises.

Across all roles:

• To have a broad knowledge of Old Rep Theatre productions, past and present;

• To provide a welcoming environment to all visitors to the theatre;

• To uphold the highest standard of customer service;

• To assist in ensuring the safety and comfort of members of the public and staff.

• To deal effectively with any customer problems and enquiries;

• To be fully aware of the emergency evacuation of the theatre & Front of House areas;

• To ensure that basic daily cleaning duties are carried out;

• To assist with internal and external events;

• To attend all training sessions.

General

• To act always in the best interest of The Old Rep Theatre;

• To act at all times in accordance with BOA/Old Rep Theatre policies and protocols;

• To actively adhere to and implement the Old Rep Theatre Health and Safety policy;

• To maximise income and minimise expenditure wherever possible without jeopardising the quality of the work or the reputation of the Old Rep Theatre;

• Any other duties as reasonably required.

Personal specification

• Keen interest in the arts & in particular the Old Rep Theatre;

• Friendly & warm personality;

• Commitment to high levels of customer service, with experience of dealing with

• customers both in person and on the telephone;

• Good communicator, able to offer a consistently high standard of customer care;

• Enthusiastic team worker with excellent interpersonal skills;

• Ability to use your initiative and prioritise tasks;

• Ability to work well under pressure;

• Accurate cash-handling skills;

• Availability to work evenings and weekends essential:

• Basic knowledge of health & safety and/or hygiene issues is desirable.

Hours:

You will be required to work shifts from one to seven hours long, as and when required.

These will vary according to the availability of work, but will include mornings, evenings, weekends, Bank Holidays and other hours as required.

The Theatre is most busy during the Autumn, Spring and Summer seasons, Although the hours are likely to be less outside term-time, where possible we would like you to be available for work all year round.

Rota:

The rota is co-ordinated monthly and covers Monday to Sunday both daytime and evening. Students’ academic commitments will be taken into consideration when doing this.

Pay:

£8.91 per hour (plus holiday pay)

Closing date for applications: 9:00am Friday 8th October 2021 (Please complete the supporting statement section, detailing why you would like to be considered for the role along with completing the online application). Due to the nature of the role, we can only accept applications from candidates who are 18 or above. 

Interviews are scheduled to take place: WB 11th October 2021

The BOA Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Contact Information

Contact: Nicole Nienaber 

Email: recruitment@boa-academy.co.uk