Animal Experience & Party Leader
| Posting date: | 31 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £24,316 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 17 August 2025 |
| Location: | Barnsley, South Yorkshire |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Barnsley College |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | REC2227 |
Summary
Animal Experience & Party Leader
Department: Land Based Industries
Salary: £24,316 per annum
Contract Type: Permanent Full time 37 hours per week
Reference: REC2227 | Closing Date: Sunday, 17th August 2025
The Opportunity
Based at our Wigfield Farm location, you’ll step into a brand-new role with the chance to shape and deliver a fresh, fun and engaging visitor experience. This is a great opportunity to bring your creativity and energy to a varied position that combines event planning, customer service, animal care and marketing – all in a unique and lively environment.
During the week, you’ll focus on planning, promoting and managing bookings for animal experiences and children’s parties. You’ll be the friendly and professional first point of contact for our families and visitors, handling enquiries and payments with confidence. You’ll work closely with the wider team, including kitchen and animal care staff, to make sure everything is well-organised and runs smoothly.
On weekends and during school holidays, you’ll bring the experiences you’ve planned to life. You’ll welcome children and families to the farm, guide them through their visit, and deliver interactive, hands-on sessions with a range of animals. You’ll also play a key part in preparing the animals for these events, including halter training and helping them feel comfortable around people.
Wigfield Farm, our centre for Land Based Studies, is open seven days a week and offers a welcoming environment for the public to explore. You’ll be part of the farm rota, which includes weekend work, and you’ll need to feel confident working with agricultural animals and equipment whilst following health and safety procedures.
This is an exciting new chapter for Wigfield Farm, and you’ll be right at the heart of it. With your enthusiasm, initiative and strong sense of responsibility, you’ll help create memorable moments for our visitors and play a key role in developing this new experience.
About You
You bring energy, fun and professionalism into everything you do. You love working with people and animals – especially children and families – and you know how to create engaging, memorable experiences. Whether you're answering enquiries, planning a birthday party, or leading a hands-on animal session, you stay calm, friendly and organised under pressure.
With at least two years’ relevant work experience, you’re confident in what you do and know how to handle a busy, visitor-facing environment. You’ve spent time working directly with the public and have strong front-facing customer service experience. You’re approachable, helpful, and always ready with a smile.
You’ve worked with a wide range of animals – including exotics, farm livestock and small animals – and you understand the importance of proper handling, welfare and preparation. You’re confident with halter training and handling, and you’re comfortable working around agricultural animals and equipment.
You’re practical, hands-on, and always thinking ahead. You communicate clearly with colleagues and visitors alike, and your interpersonal skills help you build great relationships with people of all ages. You know how to deliver engaging sessions with good presentation skills, keeping both children and adults interested and involved.
Health and safety are second nature to you – whether you're interacting with animals, managing bookings, or supervising groups. You're proactive, take pride in your work, and always aim to keep things running smoothly and safely.
Weekend work and school holiday events don’t faze you – you bring the same energy and enthusiasm to every day. If you're looking for a role where no two days are the same – and where your passion for animals, people and organisation truly shines – this could be a great opportunity for you.
Below is a list of some of the key skills, qualifications and experience we are seeking for this exciting opportunity.
Required
• Level 3 qualification in an animal-related discipline or equivalent experience
• Maths and English at Level 2 or willingness to work towards
• Health and Safety qualification or willingness to work towards
• Paediatric First Aid or willingness to obtain
• Minimum 2 years’ relevant animal care experience
• Experience with various species (exotics, farm livestock, rodents)
• Experience in front-facing customer service
Closing date for applications is Sunday, 17th August 2025. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early depending on the level of interest.
Barnsley College is committed to creating a dynamic and diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all candidates regardless of their gender, disability, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or faith. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview. The College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure from DBS.
Please be aware that it is a Criminal offence to apply for this post if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity in connection to children.
Department: Land Based Industries
Salary: £24,316 per annum
Contract Type: Permanent Full time 37 hours per week
Reference: REC2227 | Closing Date: Sunday, 17th August 2025
The Opportunity
Based at our Wigfield Farm location, you’ll step into a brand-new role with the chance to shape and deliver a fresh, fun and engaging visitor experience. This is a great opportunity to bring your creativity and energy to a varied position that combines event planning, customer service, animal care and marketing – all in a unique and lively environment.
During the week, you’ll focus on planning, promoting and managing bookings for animal experiences and children’s parties. You’ll be the friendly and professional first point of contact for our families and visitors, handling enquiries and payments with confidence. You’ll work closely with the wider team, including kitchen and animal care staff, to make sure everything is well-organised and runs smoothly.
On weekends and during school holidays, you’ll bring the experiences you’ve planned to life. You’ll welcome children and families to the farm, guide them through their visit, and deliver interactive, hands-on sessions with a range of animals. You’ll also play a key part in preparing the animals for these events, including halter training and helping them feel comfortable around people.
Wigfield Farm, our centre for Land Based Studies, is open seven days a week and offers a welcoming environment for the public to explore. You’ll be part of the farm rota, which includes weekend work, and you’ll need to feel confident working with agricultural animals and equipment whilst following health and safety procedures.
This is an exciting new chapter for Wigfield Farm, and you’ll be right at the heart of it. With your enthusiasm, initiative and strong sense of responsibility, you’ll help create memorable moments for our visitors and play a key role in developing this new experience.
About You
You bring energy, fun and professionalism into everything you do. You love working with people and animals – especially children and families – and you know how to create engaging, memorable experiences. Whether you're answering enquiries, planning a birthday party, or leading a hands-on animal session, you stay calm, friendly and organised under pressure.
With at least two years’ relevant work experience, you’re confident in what you do and know how to handle a busy, visitor-facing environment. You’ve spent time working directly with the public and have strong front-facing customer service experience. You’re approachable, helpful, and always ready with a smile.
You’ve worked with a wide range of animals – including exotics, farm livestock and small animals – and you understand the importance of proper handling, welfare and preparation. You’re confident with halter training and handling, and you’re comfortable working around agricultural animals and equipment.
You’re practical, hands-on, and always thinking ahead. You communicate clearly with colleagues and visitors alike, and your interpersonal skills help you build great relationships with people of all ages. You know how to deliver engaging sessions with good presentation skills, keeping both children and adults interested and involved.
Health and safety are second nature to you – whether you're interacting with animals, managing bookings, or supervising groups. You're proactive, take pride in your work, and always aim to keep things running smoothly and safely.
Weekend work and school holiday events don’t faze you – you bring the same energy and enthusiasm to every day. If you're looking for a role where no two days are the same – and where your passion for animals, people and organisation truly shines – this could be a great opportunity for you.
Below is a list of some of the key skills, qualifications and experience we are seeking for this exciting opportunity.
Required
• Level 3 qualification in an animal-related discipline or equivalent experience
• Maths and English at Level 2 or willingness to work towards
• Health and Safety qualification or willingness to work towards
• Paediatric First Aid or willingness to obtain
• Minimum 2 years’ relevant animal care experience
• Experience with various species (exotics, farm livestock, rodents)
• Experience in front-facing customer service
Closing date for applications is Sunday, 17th August 2025. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early depending on the level of interest.
Barnsley College is committed to creating a dynamic and diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all candidates regardless of their gender, disability, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or faith. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview. The College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure from DBS.
Please be aware that it is a Criminal offence to apply for this post if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity in connection to children.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.