CHATSWORTH AND THE DERBYSHIRE ESTATE

Chatsworth, home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, is set in the heart of the Peak District in Derbyshire, on the banks of the river Derwent. Home of the Cavendish family since the 1550s, it has evolved through centuries to reflect the tastes, passions and interests of successive generations.

Chatsworth House has 30 public rooms for visitors to explore and also houses the Devonshire Collection, one of Europe’s most significant private art collections. The 105-acre garden is famous for its rich history and includes historic and modern waterworks and sculptures. The surrounding 1000-acre park designed by Lancelot “Capability” Brown, is one of the most iconic and historic man-made landscapes in Britain. The working farmyard offers people of all ages the opportunity to handle animals, learn about food production and find out more about a working farm and its animals. The woodland adventure playground includes slides, a trampoline as well as water and sand play.

Each year Chatsworth hosts a number of special events including the international horse trials, the country fair and Christmas market; and from November the lower floors of the house are transformed for the annual Christmas displays.

The Chatsworth House Trust was set up in 1981 by the Devonshire family. A registered charity, its principal purpose is the long-term preservation of the house, its art collection, garden, woodlands and park for the benefit of the public.

The Derbyshire Estate is made up of Chatsworth House, Garden and Farmyard, parkland, farms, shops, restaurants and cafes. It has an excellent reputation for hospitality and we also have many holiday cottages set in beautiful locations across the estate and in the Peak District. From converted stone barns to the Hunting Tower, all the buildings that form our holiday cottage collection have their own special history and atmosphere.

Find out more about Chatsworth by visiting our website –chatsworth.org

We employ more than 800 people within Chatsworth and the Derbyshire Estate in many different sectors. We value our employees - to understand more about the training and benefits offered when working within Chatsworth and the Derbyshire estate please go to benefits and culture.

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Explore the type of roles available in each sector.

CHATSWORTH HOUSE, GARDEN AND FARMYARD

• Visitor Experience Assistant - in this post you will welcome our visitors to Chatsworth, providing directions and information outdoors or working on the pay desks in the house, garden and farmyard. These are generally part-time jobs, usually working between 10am and 6pm three to five days a week during the open season (March – January).
• Guide - in this post you will learn all about the art collection and from your position on the visitor route through the house you will engage with our visitors providing information and answering questions. You will also learn how to deliver talks and tours. These posts are seasonal, working three to five short days each week.
• Housekeeping - we have two teams, one team works full days on a job share or full week basis and concentrates on the specialist conservation and cleaning of the collection, for which training is provided. The second team works in the mornings on the visitor route and the offices making sure everything meets our high standards.
• Collections - there are many different roles within the Collections department, from archivist to curator, who all are experts in their own field and to join the team you would normally have experience and/or education in a specialist area. We help people gain experience by providing placements and some voluntary opportunities.
• Gardener and parkland management - the garden at Chatsworth has a large team of gardeners and garden volunteers, while the domain team are specialists who manage the hedges, streams and walls of the park. You can join the garden or domain team as an apprentice or with previous horticultural experience.
• Security - our security officers are responsible for the security of Chatsworth and also greet important guests. You will normally join this team with previous experience.
• Education - education is important to us. The Education team are part of the larger Chatsworth House Trust and work hard to provide indoor and outdoor educational opportunities across all sectors. Full and part-time roles exist across the team and you will normally require experience or qualifications in this field to join us.
• Farmyard and playground - this is a fun place to work but can be physically demanding as you will provide care for all our animals as well as educational talks and workshops for children. You will need a love of and interest in both animals and children to work in this department. Training can be provided.
• Events - there are many events at Chatsworth – large and small. Those such as weddings and business conferences are managed by the Catering team, based in the Stables. The house events team manage outdoor events, such as the Christmas market. We employ experienced event organisers as well as offering training positions on occasion.
• Development - this is a small department dedicated to raising funds to support the charity. In this role, you will have the opportunity to deal with clients such as our major sponsors.
• Maintenance - we have a skilled team of in-house maintenance professionals, including electricians, carpenters, plumbers, painters and general maintenance. We have apprentice positions as well as skilled posts.

The Derbyshire Estate is 15,000 acres, it encompasses approximately 500 tenanted properties, and provides work in many traditional rural jobs as well as support roles which help the estate run smoothly. The roles include:

• Fisheries - working on the river Derwent, managing the river for fishing and as a wildlife habitat.
• Farming - we have two in-hand farms on the Derbyshire Estate, an arable farm and a livestock farm, where we raise our own cows and sheep, some of which supply our restaurants and estate farm shop.
• Forestry - this team looks after our extensive woodland as well as providing logs and kindling for sale and internal use. The team are working hard on new plantings to help the environment. Roles are for skilled and apprentice posts.
• Game keeping - the traditional role of game keeping (mainly pheasants on the Derbyshire Estate) is handled sensitively by a small team of highly skilled people.
• Rural estate management - this team manage the upkeep and letting of residential, commercial and agricultural properties on the estate. We have support administrative staff and specialist land agents in these roles. We offer a training position each year for land agents.
• Rural buildings management - this is a small team of surveyors and contract managers who organise the preservation and repairs of all our properties. We offer a one year trainee position every year.
• Chatsworth Health Club - our gym and swimming pool are staffed by a team of qualified fitness instructors and swimming teachers.

We have two large retail shops, as well as the award-winning estate farm shop and café, selling an upmarket range of gifts and local speciality produce, including meat from our farms and flowers from our garden. The roles include:

• Customer service assistant - you will provide exceptional customer service and be willing to work and learn about all departments and the products sold within them. Jobs are permanent, full or part-time and generally include a weekend day. Casual work is also available.
• Butchers - the estate farm shop butchers are highly skilled, cutting down from carcasses, dealing with a variety of meats and game and creating speciality products. We offer training in our butchery.
• Buyers - our buyers are specialists in either food or giftware.
• Chefs - we have several restaurants on the Derbyshire Estate, from quality self-service to fine dining and we are always looking for chefs who meet our values to join our happy teams. Apprenticeships are also available.
• Bakers - much of our bakery produce is made in-house for our fantastic afternoon teas and other special events. We also provide training for bakers through apprenticeships.

We employ many people behind the scenes, who help make our visitor experience exceptional or support our teams and businesses. They include:

• Finance - we have a team of management and specialist accountants and finance assistants working from the estate office.
• Human resources - HR professionals covering the whole of the Devonshire Group are based in Derbyshire and Yorkshire. We have recruitment specialists, employment law advisors, and administration and generalist roles.
• Health and safety - we take health and safety seriously and our H&S team covers the whole of the Devonshire Group, travelling to locations and providing advice as well as reporting on safety targets.
• IT - our in-house IT department have varied and interesting roles, supporting the whole of the Devonshire Group. Apprenticeships are available.
• Training and employee engagement - we are proud of the training and development we offer our employees and our small team are always busy improving our service. We have both experienced and development roles.
• Marketing - the small marketing team are crucial to the success of the charity. They have varied roles, with the opportunity to be involved with many interesting projects and exhibitions.

“I couldn’t think of a better place to start my career after graduating from University. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in a variety of projects which has allowed me to develop and work on different skills. The people I work with are incredible, and the commute over the rolling fields and hills isn’t bad either!”

Anna, Training & Compliance Administrator

“I really enjoy range and diversity my role offers. The people I work with, both in the team and throughout the Estate, contribute to a warm, friendly atmosphere and ‘family’ culture. My role as a vision and values champion allows me to meet people from across the estates, to share ideas with management and colleagues which promote the core values and principles which are at the heart of the group.”

Paul, HR Systems Administrator and core values department champion