Security Assistant in Walsall

Security Assistant - Ref: EE10926

The New Art Gallery Walsall

(Permanent / Part-time / 30.25 hours per week)

Grade: G4

Salary: £27,274 - £29,071 per annum (full-time equivalent)

Contracted salary (30.25 hours): £22,298 - £23,767 per annum

Additional overtime for extra hours worked £14.14 - £15.07 per hour.

Additional payments are made for participation in the out-of-hours standby rota, with a minimum payment of £20 per standby session or two hours paid overtime when attending site.

The venue:

The New Art Gallery Walsall is one of the leading visual arts venues in the West Midlands. Situated in the heart of Walsall town centre, the Gallery is a busy and vibrant building with an exciting programme of contemporary art exhibitions and collections displays, lively education events, an artist studio, library, café, and shop.

Few security roles offer the opportunity to work alongside contemporary exhibitions, nationally important collections, creative events and community programmes. This is a chance to contribute to a thriving cultural venue that welcomes thousands of visitors every year.

The role:

Help create a safe, welcoming and inspiring environment for all our visitors. As a Security Assistant, you will play a vital role in protecting visitors, colleagues, and contractors, the building, and exhibits, while helping to create a positive experience for everyone who walks through our doors. You'll work across the Gallery, helping and supporting people, responding to incidents, monitoring building security and contributing to the smooth operation of a major cultural venue. Combining security awareness with excellent customer service, you will be a visible and valued member of our team.

Experience of securely opening, closing or keyholding a public, commercial or operational building would be advantageous, although full training will be provided. Due to the nature of the role, flexibility and reliability are essential.

Please noteThis post is based at The New Art Gallery Walsall and requires routine weekend working as standard and occasional evening work to support events. The role also includes participation in an out-of-hours emergency call-out rota. Applicants should be able to travel to the Gallery within an agreed timeframe, when required.

Standard working hours are between 8am-5:30pm.

Your duties will include:

• promoting the safe and secure running of the venue during opening hours by monitoring CCTV, patrolling the building, screening contractors, and supporting health and safety.
• acting as a key holder, opening and locking down the site, operating alarm systems, and being on-call to attend site out-of-hours when required.
• supporting visitor needs, protecting collections and exhibitions, and helping deliver a welcoming and positive visitor experience.
• appropriately dealing with any security incidents and emergency situations as they arise.
• assisting with practical aspects of a busy venue, including monitoring deliveries, supporting set ups for events and hires, and light housekeeping duties.

You:

We welcome applications from people with experience in security, customer service, visitor attractions, hospitality, emergency response or other public-facing roles. If you have strong communication skills, a calm and professional approach, and a commitment to keeping people safe, we'd like to hear from you.

We're particularly interested in candidates who:

• Have experience in security, facilities, customer-facing or operational roles.
• Take pride in following procedures and maintaining high standards.
• Respond calmly and professionally when dealing with incidents or emergencies.
• Communicate confidently with visitors, colleagues and contractors.
• Carry out building security, and keyholder duties with a high level of attention to detail.
• Understand the importance of safeguarding people, property and valuable collections.

To be successful, you will have a solid understanding of security and safeguarding issues associated with a public building, have experience in a customer-focussed environment, understand the principles of health and safety, demonstrate good communication skills, and be able to work as part of a small team. Current SIA licenses in both door supervision and CCTV surveillance are also necessary, and an interest in arts, culture, museums and galleries would be an advantage. Full induction and role-specific training will be provided.

Why Join Us?

You'll benefit from professional development opportunities, local government pension benefits and the opportunity to work in one of the West Midlands' leading cultural venues.

We want our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve in Walsall and are committed to promoting equality, diversity, inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those currently under-represented within the cultural and security sectors. If you meet most of the criteria and are excited by the opportunity, we encourage you to apply. We are committed to making our recruitment process accessible and welcome discussions about reasonable adjustments at any stage.

We invest in our staff through ongoing training and professional development, helping you build skills in areas including security operations, safeguarding, emergency response, health and safety, customer service and inclusion.

Benefits:

• Generous annual leave entitlement (increasing after 5 years)
• Access to the LG Pension scheme
• Training and development opportunities
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• 15% selected membership discount for Walsall Leisure centres
• Car leasing schemes

Closing Date: Sunday 25th October

Interviews:

Interviews will be held week commencing 30th November, at The New Art Gallery Walsall, with the aim of any successful candidate starting work in the New Year.

For an informal discussion or for more information on the role, please contact Kevin Storrar Head of Technical Services kevin.storrar@walsall.gov.uk

View Job Description & Employee Specification

At Walsall Council, we appreciate that AI can be a useful tool for ideas or guidance. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. Over-reliance on AI can make responses feel less personal, and we really want to understand what makes you unique. Your experiences, skills, and perspective are what set you apart, so please ensure your application as a whole – particularly your 'Supporting Information' – reflects your own voice.

This post is covered by the Government's Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers. The post holder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.

Walsall Council takes seriously the responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all the children, young people and vulnerable adults entrusted to our care and it is our expectation that all staff will share this commitment. We will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

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