It is now easier than ever to become a volunteer at the Bluebell Railway.

If you are interested in volunteering, you can contact our dedicated volunteer coordinator Graham Aitken by emailing: volunteer.coordinator@bluebell-railway.com

We will then talk to you about the roles you are interested in and arrange a visit so you can find out more.

There are over 50 roles that can be undertaken by volunteers, and these are shown on the following list, which also gives broad details of any qualifications or skills needed, or preferred.

We also require a commitment from you to attend regularly, usually a minimum of twice a month, although this will depend on which role you undertake. Note that some roles are only required on specific dates or periods and this information will be clarified when you are contacted to discuss you preferred role.

Our Find Out More Days are back in 2022! Visit our webpage to find more.

 

Finance Director

As a PLC Board member, the Finance Director has the professional responsibility for the management of the company’s trading and to oversee the work of the Finance Manager and to assist the other departments where financial advice is required. This involves the management of the budgets together with provision of the year- end financial statements, to liaise with the auditors and to produce the annual cashflow budget for Board approval.

The Finance Director would be required to attend Board meetings and to provide monthly board reports incorporating comparisons with budgets and recommend actions required to ensure the company’s cashflow remains on budget; profit and loss accounts on special events and products; and oversee the company’s insurance and banking relationships.

The applicant would be expected to have a current knowledge of UKGAAP and VAT legislation and will be required to correspond with outside governing bodies.

This is a volunteer post that carries no remuneration or specific hours of duty. However, the successful applicant will require sufficient time and flexibility to effectively undertake this role and have the appropriate accounting competences to meet the professional requirements of the position.

If you believe you have the right qualifications and experience for this job please send your CV to lisa.boyle@bluebell-railway.co.uk or contact 01825 724884.

 

Safety & Assurance Director

As a PLC Board member, the Safety and assurance Director has professional responsibility for ensuring implementation of the requirements of the safety management system across the railway and for the strategic direction of the department.

A key function of the role is to Chair the Bluebell operating and safety review group and also to act as lead contact with regulatory authorities

The Safety Director delegates day to day management of the department to the Safety Compliance Officer.

This is a volunteer post that carries no remuneration or specific hours of duty. However, the successful applicant will require sufficient time and flexibility to effectively undertake this role and have the appropriate technical competences to meet the professional requirements of the post.

If you believe you have the right qualifications and experience for this job please send your CV to lisa.boyle@bluebell-railway.com

 

Personnel Director

The successful applicant will be responsible for leading the organisation’s HR function for paid staff and volunteers, designing, and directing learning, and development programs and employee engagement.

To develop a strategy for the Bluebell railway around Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) working with the Board and managers.

The Personnel Director is expected to attend board meetings and contribute to the company’s business decision-making.

This is a volunteer post that carries no remuneration or specific hours of duty. However, the successful applicant will require sufficient time and flexibility to effectively undertake this role and have the appropriate qualifications to meet the professional requirements of the post.

If you believe you have the right qualifications and experience for this job please send your CV to lisa.boyle@bluebell-railway.com

 

Catering Volunteers

Question…

What could be better than either:

Sitting on a moving train in a buffet car and enjoying the passing scenery whilst partaking of a refreshing tea/coffee/soft drink/alcoholic drink, and perhaps a small snack

OR

Enjoying a drink, snack, or ice cream in the picnic garden at Kingscote station, whilst children are having fun in the playground

OR

Keeping calm in the buffet car at East Grinstead station with a welcoming drink and perhaps a snack, whilst awaiting the excitement of a steam train ride to discover the rest of the fabulous Bluebell Railway

Answer…

Being the person who provides the refreshments in all three of these options.

If you like interacting with people, providing a service that our visitors enjoy and making their day just that little bit more special this is the job for you.

Ideally, we aim to provide a small team of two people for the on-train buffet car and at both the Kingscote and East Grinstead buffets, so therefore ideal for spouses, partners, family members, friends or leave it to us to create the teams.

Perhaps you might already be a volunteer, if so, why not encourage your spouse, partner, family member or a friend to make up your own team of two, in addition to your normal volunteering activity.

With the 2022 running season about to get underway we are looking for 20 individuals, or 10 teams of two, to join our existing volunteers in making our visitors experience just that little bit more special.

Please contact the Volunteer Coordinator now at: volunteer.coordinator@bluebell-railway.com if you think that this would be just the job for you. A member of the Volunteer Catering Team will then contact you to answer any questions you might have and arrange a date for you to join us.

 

Track Safety Trainer

This is a volunteer post that carries no remuneration or specific hours of duty although the successful applicant will require to commit around 2 days each month to effectively undertake this role.

The staff Track safety training dates are agreed and published 6+ months in advance and require the trainer to commit to these dates in order to meet the programme.

The successful applicant will have experience and qualifications in training delivery, Candidate assessment and also a good knowledge railway safety training principles and of the Bluebell Railway to enable them to interact effectively with candidates.

The role involves the preparation, delivery, candidate assessment and subsequent administration tasks of new and refresher track safety training, primarily PTS but may include Lineside Photographers, PICOW (COSS or SWL1 equivalent) ES (SWL2 Equivalent) where the candidate is suitably experienced.

The post could suit a retired or partially retired trainer or assessor who has the necessary skills to do the job.

If you believe you have the right qualifications for this job and would like to discuss the opportunity informally in the first instance, then please contact lisa.boyle@bluebell-railway.com for an application form.

 

Volunteer Sleeping Accommodation Coordinator

The successful applicant will be responsible for managing the sleeping accommodation at Sheffield Park Station.

This will include overseeing the booking process, routinely check the facilities are well maintained on a weekly basis and the house rules are being followed and report any building defects.

This a volunteer position that carries no remuneration or specific hours of duty but requires a reasonable time commitment.

Please contact Lisa Boyle on 01825 724884 or email lisa.boyle@bluebell-railway.com for further information.

Estates Manager

We are recruiting a volunteer Estates Manager to improve on the management of the Bluebell Railway’s land ownership.

Reporting to the Infrastructure Director, the post holder will be responsible for all aspects of estate management, including:

• Dealing with boundary issues and encroachments, including up-dating Land Registry documentation if necessary.
• Managing leases (residential & commercial), licences and any land sales. This could include dealing with negotiations.
• Preparing and maintaining a database of wayleaves, easements and licences.
• Advising and assisting with applications for planning consent.
• Preparing Board reports and papers.

The post carries no remuneration or specific hours of duty. However, the successful applicant will require sufficient time and flexibility to be present at the railway to effectively undertake this role and will have experience in estates management and related activities.

If you believe you have the right qualifications for this job and would like to discuss the opportunity, please email your CV and contact details to lisa.boyle@bluebell-railway.com or contact 01825 724884.

Carriage and Wagon Works

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Horsted Keynes	Mechanical Engineers	CV detailing qualifications or evidence of experience as, for example, fabricators, fitters, mechanics or welders.	On-site interview will be held to discuss qualifications and frequency of attendance
Horsted Keynes	Carriage restoration	Skills, or a willingness to learn woodworking, electronics, metalwork, painting and plumbing.	Regular
Horsted Keynes	Seat upholstery	Basic knowledge of woodwork and working with fabrics. Full training will be given.	Regular
Horsted Keynes	Goods van and wagon restoration	Skills, or willingness to learn of carpentry, metalwork and painting.	Regular

Catering

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Horsted Keynes, Kingscote and East Grinstead	Front of House	Interpersonal skills. Full training will be given.	Regular
On train	Buffet car attendants	Interpersonal skills. Full training will be given.	Regular
On train	Fish and Chip train stewards	Interpersonal skills. Full training will be given.	Regular – mainly Friday evenings
On train	Santa and SteamLights stewards	Interpersonal skills. Full training will be given.	Santa – December daytimes SteamLights – November and December evenings
On train	Great Northern Saloon stewards	Interpersonal skills. Full training will be given.	Occasional

Commercial

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Sheffield Park	Customer service assistants	Computer literate, organised, good communicator, methodical with excellent interpersonal skills.	Commitment to regular days and hours
Sheffield Park	On train guides	Customer facing – must be able to talk to people.	Weekly
Sheffield Park	Education coordinator and assistants	Skilled in communicating to primary and secondary school children. Must be able to communicate with interest and passion.	Weekly
Sheffield Park	Marketing assistants	Working knowledge of Serif for graphic design. Ability to talk to customers and act on feedback. Skills in developing and delivering training programmes.	Weekly
Sheffield Park	Speakers to give talks and lectures about Bluebell	Good knowledge about our railway and a confident speaker to businesses, clubs and rest homes. Skills in developing and delivering training programmes.	Occasional
Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes	Wedding assistant	Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to help with the setting up before and clearing up after each wedding.	Occasional
Sheffield Park	Santa assistant	Help with decorations, packing presents, stacking presents and delivering them to other stations. Own transport required.	Seasonal daytimes (November and December)
Sheffield Park	SteamLights assistant	As part of the delivery team for this event you will need to be able to undertake tasks in a timely and detailed fashion.	Seasonal evenings (November and December)
Sheffield Park, Horsted Keynes, Kingscote and East Grinstead	Events staff	Assorted roles such as meeting and greeting visitors, car parking attendants, and putting up and taking down tents.	Occasional

Infrastructure

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Horsted Keynes	Permanent Way engineers	Must be fit, able and willing to work outdoors undertaking tasks that include track maintenance and renewals, lineside clearance, lineside fencing and buildings maintenance.	Regular or occasional depending on activity
Horsted Keynes	Signal assistant technician	An individual who will enjoy working in a small team maintaining and faulting mechanical and electrical infrastructure. Must be reasonably fit and enjoy working outside, in inclement weather during emergencies. Ideally have experience in electrical and/or mechanical engineering, but positions are also available in more physical applications. Training in the black art of railway signalling is the department’s speciality.	Team usually meets daytime on Wednesdays and Sundays. There are currently no vacancies for Signal assistant technicians and a waiting list has been created. If this is a role that you are interested in, why not apply to join the waiting list and until a vacancy occurs why not consider applying for one of the other 50+ roles while you wait?
Horsted Keynes	Assistant telecommunications technician	An individual who will enjoy working in a small team maintaining and faulting mechanical and electrical infrastructure. Must be reasonably fit and enjoy working outside, in inclement weather during emergencies. Ideally will have experience in telecoms equipment.	Team usually meets daytime on Saturdays There are currently no vacancies for Signal assistant technicians and a waiting list has been created. If this is a role that you are interested in, why not apply to join the waiting list and until a vacancy occurs why not consider applying for one of the other 50+ roles whilst you wait?
Horsted Keynes	Electrician	Whilst electrical experience is desirable, full training will be given, if necessary	Weekly on a Wednesday between 1400 and 2000.
Sheffield Park, Horsted Keynes, Kingscote and East Grinstead	Friends of each station groups	General DIY maintenance group with skills in bricklaying, carpentry, electrics, gardening, painting and plumbing welcomed.	Regular

 

Loco Works

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Sheffield Park	Mechanical engineers	CV detailing qualifications or evidence of experience as, for example, machinists, fabricators, welders and fitters.	On-site interview will be held to discuss qualifications and frequency of attendance
Sheffield Park Atlantic House	Mechanical engineers	CV detailing qualifications or evidence of experience as, for example, machinists, fabricators, welders and fitters.	On-site interview will be held to discuss qualifications and frequency of attendance

 

Museum

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Sheffield Park	Stewards	A person who will enjoy welcoming visitors, both adults and children, to our exciting museum. (Knowledge of the history of railways is not necessary).	Regular
Holmwood/ Home	Archive team	Good communications skills, use of PC, basic knowledge of MS Excel. Ability and knowledge to catalogue photographs. Experience making high resolution scans of photos, negatives and slides. Experience using image editing software. (It is not necessary to have all of these skills.)	Regular (monthly) and as necessary at home to meet timescales

 

Operations

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Sheffield Park, Horsted Keynes, Kingscote and East Grinstead	Station staff	Interpersonal skills. Full training will be given.	Regular
Sheffield Park	Booking Office Clerks	Good interpersonal skills, plus a good head for figures, and a knowledge of the Railway so as to answer questions from our visitors and to sell them tickets	Regular
Sheffield Park	Passenger train guard	Must be a safety qualified member of station staff.	Regular
Sheffield Park	Goods train guard	Must be a qualified Passenger train guard.	Occasional
Sheffield Park, Horsted Keynes and Kingscote	Signal (wo)men	Must be a safety qualified member of station staff.	Regular
Sheffield Park	Engine cleaners	Full training will be given.	Regular
Sheffield Park	Fire (wo)men	Must be a qualified engine cleaner.	Regular
Sheffield Park	Drivers	Must be a qualified Fire(wo)man.	Regular
Sheffield Park	Shunters	Operations experience necessary with top up training given.	Regular
Sheffield Park	Carriage cleaners	Full training will be given.	Regular
Sheffield Park	Operations clerk	Good computer skills to maintain the Operations competency system – BROOSS,	Regular
On train	Travelling ticket inspectors (train guides)	Good interpersonal skills and willingness to speak to passengers about what to see and do at the Bluebell Railway.	Regular (From Spring 2022)

 

Personnel

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Sheffield Park	Personnel and admin assistants	Absolute discretion, an eye for detail and must be organised.	Regular

 

Retail

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Sheffield Park	Shop assistants	Excellent interpersonal skills and commercially minded.	Regular
Horsted Keynes	Shop assistants	Excellent interpersonal skills and able to work on own.	Regular
Online Shop	Shop assistants	Good working knowledge of computer and website skills and required to package and post online purchases.	Regular

Bluebell Railway Trust

Where	What	Qualifications/skills needed	Commitment
Sheffield Park/ Home	Funding Manager	Ability to work with the Trust Governors to help with finance ongoing restoration of heritage assets and in the future of the railway. Key attributes required are use of initiative, versatility and the ability to get on with people.	Regular
Sheffield Park/ Home	Management Accountant	Must be a qualified accountant or have extensive computerised accounting systems. Key attributes are experience of versatility and the ability to get on with people.	Regular