Learning and Public Engagement Operations Coordinator

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Hours
28.80 hours per week

Start date
1 June 2026

About the Organisation

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) is a leading plant science institute, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a major visitor attraction. Our mission is to understand and protect plants and fungi for the well-being of people and the future of all life on Earth. We are working to end the unprecedented extinction crisis and to help create a world where nature is protected, valued by all, and managed sustainably. We will achieve these goals by drawing on our leading scientific research, unrivalled collections of plants and fungi, global network of partners, inspirational gardens at Kew and Wakehurst, and our 260 years of history.

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Operations Coordinator to join our newly formed Learning and Public Engagement team. Reporting to the Operations Manager, you will play a key role in delivering our mission by ensuring our inspiring learning experiences and events run smoothly, from booking and ticketing through to staffing, logistics and on-the-day delivery. You will be responsible for maintaining efficient operational systems, including ticketing and CRM processes, staff and volunteer scheduling, resource planning, and compliance.

Working closely with colleagues across Wakehurst, you will help deliver well-organised, high-quality programmes supported by strong data, effective collaboration and careful use of resources. You will have experience in event or operational support and an interest in helping people connect with nature. You’ll be confident coordinating activities in a customer-facing environment and able to manage several priorities at once. 

Well organised and detail-focused, you’ll take a practical, proactive approach to solving problems and keeping things running smoothly. You’ll enjoy working with people and take pride in delivering a high-quality visitor experience, with a strong focus on teamwork and getting things done in a busy environment.

Responsibilities

Operational Support across Wakehurst Programmes and Events

• Working collaboratively with the Learning and Public Engagement Operations Manager and Events Producer to:
  • Manage and support bookings for educational visits to Wakehurst
  • Provide support as required for ticketing set up and management for events and activities
  • Schedule staffing, including volunteer support, for educational visits, programmes and events
  • Schedule resources, including equipment and spaces for educational visits, programmes and events
  • Ensure that data is collected to feed into evaluation, financial and other types of reporting
  • Ensure that all events are allocated the resources, equipment and staffing required for successful delivery
  • Liaise with a range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure the smooth and safe delivery of events
  • Provide on-the-ground support for visits and events as required
  • Ensure events meet required safeguarding, Health & Safety and sustainability considerations
  • Use initiative to resolve problems and queries and recommend improvements to systems and processes to support effective learning and public engagement
  • Support the LPE Operations Manager in the creation of tools and development of processes to aid financial and visitor planning and tracking, ticketing, bookings and resource management

Administrative Support across Wakehurst Programmes and Events:

• Day-to-day administration, including financial, health, safety and safeguarding, completing checklists and writing incident reports
• Procurement of equipment and resources
• Data analysis
• Staff and volunteer rotas, expenses and payroll
• Maintain up-to-date information across LPE webpages as required

Training and Development:

• Attend Kew / Wakehurst training courses appropriate to the role.

Management of Resources Financial Responsibilities:

• Set up suppliers, raise Purchase Orders, and process invoices. & e-payment request forms.
• Ensure efficiency and value for money in the use of budgets and allocation of resources
• Track and forecast spending pertaining to resources and volunteer expenses
• Payroll
• Administration of relevant restricted funding, such as school travel bursaries

Management of People:

• Manage part of the pool of learning and events, casual staff, and volunteers

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Education & Experience Essential:

• Strong working experience and knowledge of I.T. systems, including e-mail, internet and Microsoft Office applications (Word and Excel)
• Experience of working successfully in a fast-paced, high-workload, customer service environment
• Experience of Health & Safety when working on public events and awareness of Safeguarding issues and practices
• Experience of working constructively as part of a team and the ability to identify where assistance is required, and use initiative to complete tasks with team members
• Experience in rostering and supporting teams of casual staff and volunteers
• Experience in financial systems, including invoicing and processing payments, procurement and monitoring of payments
• Experience working with ticketing systems

Specific Competencies:

• Excellent administration skills with attention to detail and accuracy
• Excellent planning, organisational and scheduling skills
• Excellent IT skills, Microsoft applications, and finance systems
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including clear and concise writing skills
• Adaptable, positive, and customer-focused with a ‘can-do’ approach. Evidence of planning, record management and organisational skills.
• Ability to prioritise multiple and potentially conflicting requirements effectively.
• Ability to demonstrate a can-do mentality when addressing obstacles, resolving issues, and making confident decisions to implement solutions.
• Ability to handle the multiple demands of a busy work environment.

Desirable:

• Interest in plant science, conservation and learning environments
• Experience working in outdoor learning programmes.
• Knowledge of plant science, conservation and learning environments

Required Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE standard (minimum 5 GCSEs including Maths and English) or equivalent

Compensation & Benefits

• Fantastic benefits package
• Opportunities for continuous learning,
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Healthy work-life balance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Wellbeing support, such as a cycle to work scheme
• Discounted gym membership.
• Competitive pension
• Employee discount scheme

Working locations

• Haywards Heath, West Sussex, United Kingdom

How to apply

• If you are interested in this position, please submit your application through the online portal.

Interviews

• Interviews are due to take place on 20th April 2026.

Policies

We are dedicated to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We are committed to interviewing disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

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