City Centre Ambassador

City Centre Ambassadors – providing business and community support to Cardiff City Centre

Cardiff Business Improvement District (BID) is a brand new business led initiative for Cardiff City Centre. With a £7.5m budget allocated over five years to deliver improvements to Cardiff, this is a great opportunity for a team of business and community support ambassadors looking to play a significant role in making the capital city even more welcoming and vibrant, whilst also ensuring businesses have greater influence on how the centre is managed.

The Ambassadors scheme is one of the BID’s flagship projects and we are therefore recruiting a new team of City Centre Ambassadors to provide a high profile presence through patrolling the BID area daily, liaising directly with businesses, local authorities, agencies, city centre workers and visitors.

The role

Business Support

Your role as a City Centre Ambassador is to ensure that businesses located in the capital such as John Lewis, Boots, Motorpoint Arena, Marks and Spencer, and the Cardiff Museum, to name just a few, receive the best services in terms of cleanliness and maintenance contracts, security, marketing and promotion, business support and other communications. This will include visiting BID businesses on a daily basis, and ensuring that each levy payer is receiving the services provided by the BID.

Community involvement

Ambassadors will also be the eyes and ears on the street with the ultimate aim being to improve the visitor experience through providing a helpful, welcoming and informative source of information.

You will also work closely with the local authority in terms of identifying street cleansing and waste issues, and with Police and crime and safety partners to identify, report and act as a deterrent for any anti-social behaviour, unlawful trading, begging or potential criminal activity. This role will include a direct link to the local authority CCTV and traffic management operators.

Key Responsibilities

* Maintaining regular contact with BID levy payers and relaying any pertinent information to the BID management – visiting a minimum of 10 businesses every shift.
* Representing the BIDs values and service, staying aware of the BID’s activities and special events.
* Ensuring BID management is aware of any business openings or closures within the BID area.
* Carrying out specific liaison duties as required by the BID management or its partners as requested by BID management – e.g. distributing literature, conducting surveys.
* Forging relationships with city centre partners and passing on relevant information for action, e.g. street cleansing / waste, health and safety issues, graffiti, failed street lights, ‘sharps’, street begging & drinking etc.
* Contributing to the provision of an extensive and daily presence around the city (and outskirts that fall within the BID area) in all weather conditions to maximise contact with businesses in the area. This presence should aid impromptu communication with businesses and members of the public.
* Assisting in the reduction of unlawful trading and business crime by working with Police, PCSO’s, CCTV operators.
* Presenting a warm welcome and a positive view of the city centre to its visitors and workers.
* Keeping up-to-date with and providing visitors with accurate information about the city centre in general, and the retail and leisure offer in particular.
* Promoting responsible citizenship in respect of litter, graffiti and related issues, paying strict attention to personal responsibilities in the areas of risk management and health, safety and welfare, both in terms of self and others.
* Providing a supervisory and line management role for apprenticeships, volunteers and other trainee or voluntary support to the Ambassadors scheme.
* In time the role has the potential to include civil enforcement powers following appropriate training being provided.

Skills, Experience and Abilities

You should be able to demonstrate:

* Experience in a busy customer service environment, preferably in a supervisory capacity.
* High degree of self-motivation and the ability to inspire others and lead by example.
* Excellent interpersonal, communication and organisational skills.
* Confidence in managing your own busy workload and co-ordinating / task others within the service.
* Effective listening and observational skills with an ability to deal with sensitive and confidential matters on occasion, and follow policies and procedures.
* Confidence in recording information and producing written reports / responses as required using Microsoft Office and other systems provided.
* The ability to speak Welsh or a second language is not essential but would be an advantage.
* An enthusiasm to undertake training and other supervisory duties as required by the post.

Personal Qualities

We are looking for a team of people to represent Cardiff – successful applicants will be helpful, polite, honest, hard-working, proactive, confident and most of all, have a passion for Cardiff.

Work Pattern:

There will be a flexible shift working pattern, which will require you to work 5 days out of 7, including weekend and bank holidays, mornings and evenings. Extended hours including night time cover on key week days, during the Christmas period and at the time of major city centre event will also be part of the role.

Training will be provided, which will include short periods away from Cardiff to gain experience of similar ambassador schemes in the UK.

How to apply

CV applications and one page supporting statement identifying your suitability for the role should be sent by Friday 28th October 2016. Further information about Cardiff BID including the business plan and the job description can be downloaded from.

This advertisement is placed on behalf of our client; Cardiff BID Ltd & The Mosiac Partnership. The recruitment and selection process will be controlled by the client.