Cafe / Front of House Assistant

Love great coffee, meeting new people, and working in a stunning countryside location? Join the café team at the Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre!

Café / Front of House Assistant
Salary: £13.45 per hour
Hours: Part time, Flexible 
Contract: Casual, 0-Hours
Location: Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre, Winlaton Mill, Gateshead, NE21

About Us

Operated by Groundwork North East & Cumbria, a charity committed to creating stronger, greener and healthier communities, our Heritage Centre is set within the beautiful steep-sided Derwent Valley, with an abundance of natural woodland, rare and iconic wildlife and a hidden heritage of British sword making and a world leading iron and steel industry.

Our modern café is the perfect place to fuel up before or relax after a day of exploring. From hearty breakfasts and seasonal lunches to delicious home-bakes, all made with locally sourced ingredients, there’s something to suit all tastes.

About the Role

We are recruiting for a: Café / Front of House Assistant.

We're looking for a friendly, flexible and customer-focused individual to help create memorable experiences for our visitors. Casual hours available, supporting our busy weekends, holidays and special events.

Nestled in the heart of the beautiful Derwent Valley, the Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre is a truly unique destination where heritage, nature, creativity and community come together. Surrounded by ancient woodland, rare wildlife and some of the North East's most spectacular landscapes, our Heritage Centre welcomes visitors from across the region to enjoy events, workshops, guided walks, talks and, of course, our popular café.

We're looking for an enthusiastic Café / Front of House Assistant to join our friendly and passionate team.

What You'll Be Doing

As part of our vibrant café team, you'll help create an exceptional experience for every visitor by:

• Welcoming and serving customers with a smile
• Preparing and serving hot and cold beverages
• Operating the till and handling transactions
• Delivering excellent customer service at all times
• Maintaining high standards of cleanliness, hygiene, and food safety
• Supporting the smooth day-to-day running of the café

What We're Looking For:

• Previous experience in a catering, hospitality or customer-facing role would be an advantage
• Friendly, outgoing and enthusiastic
• Passionate about providing excellent customer service
• Comfortable working in a busy, fast-paced environment
• Flexible and willing to take on a variety of tasks
• Honest, reliable and a great team player
• A positive can-do attitude is essential.

More Information:

This is a casual, 0-hour contract, offering flexibility with no fixed weekly hours.

Flexibility is key in this role. As a casual team member, you'll help support the café during our busiest periods, including weekends, school holidays, special events and occasional evenings. We're looking for someone who enjoys a varied schedule and can adapt to the changing needs of a busy visitor attraction.

Availability for weekend shifts and occasional evening work is essential.

Why Join Us?

• Work in one of the North East's most unique visitor attractions
• Be part of a welcoming and supportive team
• Enjoy a varied role where no two days are the same
• Help showcase locally sourced produce and the best of the region

Join us and help create memorable experiences in one of the North East's most inspiring destinations. Complete your application today!

Closing Date: Tuesday 25th August 2026
Please note, should we receive a high volume of applications, we may look to close the role early, therefore we recommend an early application.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

We want you to be yourself at Groundwork and we value everything that makes you unique. We recognise and celebrate your difference and together we make Groundwork a special and great place to work. As a Disability Confident employer we offer a guaranteed interview to applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role.

At Groundwork we ensure that we provide a safe environment for adults, children and young people to take part in any activity or service that we organise. We are committed to creating a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and comprehensive process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all the people we appoint are suitable to work with our children, young people and adults

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

No agencies please.