Specialist Craftsperson

We’re looking for a bench joiner in the early part of their career, already qualified and with solid workshop experience behind them, to join the Specialist Craft Team at Park Farm. You’ll make and conserve joinery for some of the most historically significant buildings in the country, working alongside master craftspeople who will help you take your skills further than most workshops can.

Working pattern for this role is Monday-Thursday 8-4.30 and Friday 8-1.30, weekend and bank holiday working is not required.

You’ll be part of the Trust’s Specialist Delivery Team: a flexible resource of specialist skills and expertise. Park Farm is one of the Trust’s Specialist Crafts Centres, a fully equipped joinery workshop in West Wycombe serving National Trust places across London and the South East. We are a small team of experienced joiners and apprentices. The work is varied and technically demanding: box sash windows, panelled doors, entrance gates, staircases and garden furniture for historic houses, castles and gardens in the Trust’s care.

One week you may be setting out a curved sash from a rod, the next surveying or fitting at a property. This is a workshop-based role. Your contractual place of work will be Park Farm, with regular travel to National Trust places to survey, remove and install joinery. This can be discussed further at interview stages.

As part of our specialist conservation team, you'll use your craftsmanship and technical skills to create and repair high-quality joinery for some of the National Trust's most treasured places. Working from initial drawings through to finished pieces, you'll make bespoke joinery using a range of hand tools and workshop machinery, helping to care for historic buildings and ensure they can be enjoyed for years to come.

A key part of the role will involve conserving and repairing historic joinery, carefully retaining as much original material as possible while creating sympathetic repairs that blend seamlessly with existing features. You'll assess the most appropriate repair methods, supported by experienced colleagues, and contribute your expertise to the long-term care of our properties. You'll also support the planning and delivery of projects by preparing cutting lists and material requirements, carrying out site surveys, and removing or installing joinery across our places.

Whether working in the workshop or on site, you'll maintain high standards of safety, keeping accurate records of work completed, materials used and time spent on projects. Working collaboratively with colleagues, apprentices and volunteers, you'll help share skills and knowledge, contributing to a positive and supportive learning environment. Through your work, you'll play an important role in protecting traditional craft skills and preserving our shared heritage for future generations.

You’ll be a trained bench joiner with a few years of good experience, ready for more demanding work. You don’t need decades behind you. You do need sound skills, care for accuracy and a real wish to become expert in traditional and conservation joinery.

• • An advanced craft qualification in bench joinery (City and Guilds or NVQ Level
  3) or equivalent experience
• • Proven bench skills and safe, competent use of woodworking machinery
• • Some experience of repairing old buildings or working in a heritage setting, and an appetite to learn much more
• • A Gold CSCS card, or willingness to gain one
• • Up-to-date health and safety knowledge and the confidence to make decisions on site
• • Good written and verbal communication, and basic IT skills for records and paperwork
• • A First Aid at Work certificate, or willingness to gain…