Retail and Visitor Experience Ranger

Moors Valley offers a truly unique working environment, set in a beautiful forest location. With free staff parking, on-site facilities and a strong sense of community, it’s a place where no two days are the same. The variety of activities and visitors creates a dynamic, engaging atmosphere, and being based at such a popular destination provides the chance to connect with nature, and be part of something that genuinely enhances people’s wellbeing and enjoyment.

We’re looking for a passionate and motivated retail professional to lead the Gift Shop at Moors Valley Country Park – a key role within a busy, visitor-focused team. This is a brilliant opportunity to combine your retail experience with a varied, people-centred role in the heart of nature.

About the park:

Moors Valley is located on the Dorset–Hampshire border and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. It offers adventurous play areas, walking and cycling trails, a Go Ape! high ropes course, a narrow-gauge steam railway, and a wide range of wellbeing activities. The Ranger team also deliver educational school sessions and activities, operate a bike hire service, mini golf course, run events, and manage a successful Visitor Centre and Gift Shop.

What you'll be doing:

You’ll take the lead on all aspects of our high-performing Gift Shop, which features over 2,000 stock lines from more than 40 suppliers and sees over 60,000 sales per year. This includes stock selection and purchasing, merchandising, budget management, retail security, and identifying new opportunities. You’ll also help train the wider team on processes and performance, ensuring the shop runs smoothly and remains a key part of the visitor experience.

A wider contribution:

Alongside your retail duties, you’ll be part of the park’s day-to-day operations. This includes supporting site checks, assisting with lost child procedures, and contributing to the general running of the park.

What we’re looking for:

• proven retail experience, ideally in a fast paced setting
• strong customer service skills in a public-facing environment
• excellent organisation and communication
• confidence managing stock, suppliers, and budgets
• a hands-on approach and willingness to support wider park operations

This post will involve working 37hrs per week, spread over 5 days, to include varied weekends and evenings. You must be willing to wear a uniform and work during school holidays.

Internal candidates expressing an interest must do so by: 08.04.25, via email; [email protected]. 

Interviews for external candidates would be expected to take place the week commencing 05.05.25.

For an informal confidential discussion about this role, please contact Kerri Downton 01425 470721. 

We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.

At Dorset Council we:

• provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents
• have ambitious aspirations
• are excited about our future
• care about Dorset and all the people who live here
• know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success

You will:

• have access to a range of employee benefits 
• be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed
• have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression

We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation.

We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role.

We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments.

This role is UK based and we will need to establish your Right to Work as part of the appointment process.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant.

Find out more about how to apply.