2023 Zoo Entertainments Host
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Position Overview & Specifications
2023 Zoo Entertainments Host
Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Leatherhead Road
Chessington, SURREY, KT9 2NE
United Kingdom
We are currently looking for Zoo Entertainments Hosts
Location: Chessington World of Adventures, Surrey KT9 2NE
Hours: Full time & part time, fully flexible. Fixed term contract to November 2023. Working weekends and bank holidays as required to meet the needs of the business.
Benefits: Hourly rate of up to £10.42, exclusive discount on our animal VIP experiences, ongoing training opportunities and a Merlin Magic Pass - 20 free tickets for you, your family and friends to enjoy all of our Merlin Attractions across the world, plus much more!
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is the UK's wildest adventure! With our Theme Park, Zoo, spectacular Hotels and Go Ape Courses, there are plenty of roaringly exciting career paths available. We're also a part of the Merlin Entertainments family - associated with attractions like SEA LIFE, LEGOLAND Parks, Madame Tussauds and more!
About the Role
We are looking for people to actively engage with our guests within our zoo areas, sharing educational and conservational facts about our animals. You will prepare and present public zoo areas ready for opening and maintain these high standards until we close.
Being an element of the Education Team; you will deliver engaging and family focused talks & presentations about a range of animals we have here in the zoo – we help support incredible animal conservation work globally, and we want YOU to tell our guests all about it!
The Zoo Guest Experience Hosts are essential to help us drive our education and conservation efforts – so if you fancy spending your day surrounded by some of our marvellous animals and interacting with our adventurers, this could be the role for you.
Daily tasks include:
Cleaning our sections to get them ready for guests at the start of the day and throughout.- Monitoring sections and interacting with guests all day.
- Performing talks and shows to educate the public about our animals.
- Performing as a character to engage children.
- Taking an animal out to meet the public.
- Learning scripts/ facts about our animals.
About You
Whether you want to embark on a full-time adventure with us, or just during the school holidays, we have something on offer for everyone.
We need our hosts to be confident in engaging guests throughout the day, our talks are attended by a large amount of guests so public speaking experience is encouraged! We also love finding ways to better engage our younger audience! We have hosts get into some amazing characters to make our educational aspects more kid friendly!
All we need is for you to come with the right positive attitude, enjoy working as part of a team and in a fast-paced environment, and be able to deliver a ROARsome experience to our Guests!
What’s Next?
If this sounds like something you could do, then complete our short application (no CV needed!)
You could then be in with the chance of an invitation to one of our hiring events where you could get the job on the day!
What’s on Offer?
- A competitive hourly rate
-
Access to Merlin benefits page with discounts on over 1000 fashion and electronic retailers, restaurants, and travel
- 25% discount in our on-site retail shops and restaurants
- 40% discount on Lego
-
Merlin Magic Pass - 20 free tickets for you, your family, and friends to enjoy all our Merlin Attractions across the world
- Ongoing training and development opportunities
Everyone Matters at Merlin
At Merlin, we welcome the world to our magical attractions and resorts every day, and we want to reflect that same multicultural mix inside our business too. We strive to create an inclusive and diverse workplace where people can be themselves, have the same opportunities and thrive together. Because at Merlin, everyone matters! Together, we work to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, no matter their age, race, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. Although we understand that we'll always be learning and growing, we aim to be the most inclusive and flexible employer in our industry.
Candidate Selection & Onboarding Process
Application & Resume Screening
Submit your tailored CV/Resume directly to the talent acquisition portal.
Technical & Competency Interviews
Virtual interviews with the hiring manager and multidisciplinary team.
Formal Offer & Benefits Negotiation
Written agreement outlining compensation, equity, retirement vesting, and relocation allowances.
Onboarding & Corporate Integration
Equipment provisioning, team orientation, and commencement of duties.
United Kingdom Right to Work & Skilled Worker Visa Guide
Employment in the United Kingdom requires legal Right to Work verified under the Home Office Points-Based Immigration System:
Sponsoring employers must hold an active Home Office A-rated Sponsor License and assign a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Role must meet the general minimum salary threshold (£38,700) or occupation going rate.
Continuous employment under Skilled Worker status establishes eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after 5 continuous years, leading to British Citizenship.
Candidate Preparation Blueprint: Culture & Entertainment
Based on transatlantic hiring benchmarks for 2023 Zoo Entertainments Host roles across Chessington World of Adventures's corporate sector, successful applicants typically excel across three core dimensions:
Demonstrated portfolio evidence, architecture/system design case studies, or validated professional certifications directly applicable to Culture & Entertainment.
STAR method competency responses highlighting cross-functional leadership, conflict resolution, and delivering measurable enterprise ROI under tight timelines.
Total compensation expectation aligned within the benchmarked £10 - £10 bracket, including retirement vesting and health parity.
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