Receptionist in Wallingford

Salary - £26,206 to £27,808 depending on experience

Fully On-site

Location: Wallingford

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we find the right candidate, so we encourage you to apply early.

UKCEH is seeking an experienced Receptionist to be the professional, welcoming face of the organisation. This is a high-visibility role at the centre of the campus, supporting an excellent day-to-day visitor experience for a wide range of stakeholders including staff, visiting scientists, contractors, partners, and members of the public.

Working as part of the Workplace Team, you will run a high-quality reception service and contribute to hospitality and catering support to ensure visitors and colleagues have the best possible experience on site. You will also provide core administrative support and help maintain safe, well-managed facilities through routine processes and accurate record keeping.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Provide a consistently professional, welcoming reception service and act as a first point of contact for UKCEH.
• Greet and assist visitors, manage sign-in processes, issue visitor badges, and ensure visitors are directed appropriately.
• Manage incoming calls and queries, take accurate messages, and route enquiries to the correct teams.
• Monitor and manage shared reception inboxes and respond to enquiries in a timely and customer-focused manner.
• Maintain reception standards (presentation, information displays, supplies) to support a high-quality, consistent visitor experience.
• Support hospitality delivery across the site, including helping coordinate visitor requirements and ensuring a positive experience on arrival and throughout their visit.
• Provide catering support when required (e.g., covering busy periods or short staffing), including customer service, taking orders, handling payments, and stock rotation.
• Follow food hygiene and service standards; undertake training as required to support safe handling and service of food and beverages.
• Provide administrative support to the Workplace Team, including document control, basic data entry, and maintaining accurate records in line with retention requirements.
• Support internal reporting by ensuring systems and logs are kept current, accurate, and complete.
• Assist with processing routine requests, escalating issues appropriately, and ensuring stakeholders receive timely updates.
• Support contractor management processes, including arranging/assisting with inductions and helping ensure contractors follow site safety and access procedures.
• Assist with controlled processes such as permits-to-work (where trained/authorised), and support safe working practices across the estate.
• Respond to routine reactive requests that support service delivery (e.g., room set-ups, basic moving and handling tasks, light operational support).
• Support a safe, clean and well-organised environment, working closely with colleagues and service partners.

For the role of Receptionist, we’re looking for somebody who:

• Proven experience in a reception/front‑of‑house role in a professional environment (e.g., corporate, education, healthcare, public sector, hospitality).
• Strong customer service skills with the confidence to engage professionally with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with a calm, clear telephone manner.
• Strong organisation skills and attention to detail (accurate data entry and record keeping).
• Ability to multi‑task, prioritise and stay composed under pressure in a busy, public‑facing environment.
• Competent IT user with Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel) and confidence using digital systems/inboxes.
• Reliable, punctual, and adaptable; able to work flexibly to support service needs.
• Willingness and ability to support hospitality/catering activities as required.
• Ability to undertake moving and handling tasks (within safe working practices and training provided).
• Experience supporting hospitality/catering services, visitor management processes, or event/meeting support.
• Experience in facilities administration, contractor coordination, or basic compliance processes (e.g., inductions, permits, logs).
• First Aid, Fire Warden, or Food Hygiene certification (or willingness to complete training).

Working for UKCEH is rewarding. We appreciate the continuous dedication and contributions of our staff, which is why we provide a comprehensive benefits package that includes financial incentives and wellbeing-oriented perks, such as:

• 27 days annual leave (rising to 29 after five years), plus 3 days Christmas closure.
• Enhanced family leave (subject to qualifying requirements).
• 24/7 wellbeing support and access to trained Welfare Officers.
• Flexible working opportunities (where operationally feasible).
• And more.

At UKCEH, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone—regardless of background, identity, ability, or circumstance—has the opportunity to thrive. As a Disability Confident employer, we actively encourage applications from neurodivergent candidates and those with disabilities. We are happy to provide any adjustments or support you may need throughout the application process—please don’t hesitate to reach out. So, if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we’d love to hear from you anyway. You may be just the right fit for this role or another within our wider team.

Please note: Unfortunately, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role, and this does not qualify for endorsement to support a Global Talent Visa application. If you are considering pursuing self‑sponsorship, please indicate this in your application so we can take it into account during the recruitment process.