Room Steward Volunteers at Queen Street Mill Museum

Room Steward Volunteers at Queen Street Mill Museum

Queen Street Mill Museum is looking for Room Steward Volunteers, helping to provide knowledge and guidance to visitors.

Queen Street Mill is the last surviving 19th century steam powered weaving mill from the days when cotton was king. It was built in 1894 for the Queen Street Manufacturing Company. It closed on 12 March 1982 and was mothballed, but was subsequently taken over by Burnley Council and maintained as a museum. In the 1990s ownership passed to Lancashire Museums. Queen Street Mill is a grade 1 listed building and has provided background scenery for a number of historical films and television programmes.

The role of the volunteer will be to create a warm, friendly and welcoming environment to our visitors and provide them with the knowledge and information about this historic site during their visit. Queens Street Mill is an industrial museum site and volunteers will need to be comfortable in an industrial environment.

Tasks:

• Volunteers will lead guided tours throughout the building, help with interpreting and explaining the building, the historic areas, and its history for visitors while the museum is open.
• They will ensure the security of objects and inform the duty officer of any issues.
• Volunteers will also be responsible for ensuring that the rules of the museum are observed and provide basic emergency cover such as assisting in fire evacuations.
• Using good customer care skills the volunteer should be confident about having to approach visitors who touch or otherwise compromise objects and/or the building, and explain why they are asked not to do so.
• Willing to support staff with running family activities such as trails, craft activities and collection handling on occasion.
• Willing to support the Museum with their other activities.
• Log volunteering hours monthly and submit expenses (where applicable) on-line.
• Complete minimum level training e.g. safeguarding and commit to further training relevant to the role.

Required Qualities:

• Comfortable talking and listening to people from many backgrounds and walks of life
• Patience and understanding
• Aware of confidentiality
• Approachable and friendly
• Able to learn and interpret historical facts
• Willing and able to negotiate a historic industrial building with uneven floors
• Be able to engage with families and their children
• Willing to undertake appropriate H&S and collections training