Interested in working at this year’s Abergavenny Food Festival? Find out how

Abergavenny Food Festival enjoys an exceptional reputation as a place for chefs, food businesses, journalists, farmers and food producers to come together. It is known for being an inclusive and welcoming event, delivering a delicious opportunity for people from all walks of life to explore and learn about food.

The festival is put on by a part-time team of eight and a small board, but over the festival weekend an additional 120 people are employed to steward, build and maintain sites, wash up, prepare food, recycle and clean.

Applications are now open for this year’s festival and vacancies are available in the following areas:

Festival Steward

Our festival stewards are there to ensure that the food festival runs smoothly. You are the eyes and the ears of the event and the main ambassadors for the festival. It’s a fun role and you’ll meet lots of people but you will be relied upon to work hard and make sure the public are kept well informed. Duties vary at each venue but may include giving directions, providing event information, manning road blocks and checking wristbands.

Box Office and Information Stand

Over the festival weekend we operate three large box offices where tickets and programmes are collected and sold. This is a popular post for those who enjoy meeting and talking to people. You must have strong numeracy skills and/or experience working in a fast paced environment as you will be responsible for providing good customer service, dealing with money and must remain calm under pressure.

Front of house, hospitality and catering

Front of house staff are required to help at different venues across Abergavenny. The role varies from serving food and drink and helping with cookery demonstrations to welcoming guests to private functions. You must be well- presented, confident and happy working in a kitchen environment. This job is perfect for those who have previously worked in hospitality or a catering environment or if you would like to gain some experience.

Recycling and Site Maintenance

Our recycling crew work hard to maintain the food festival site. It’s a hands-on role that requires you to be a positive and energetic team player. If you are interested in sustainability and the environment and would like to help keep Abergavenny clean, then please apply for this role.

Crew

We are on the lookout for practical, forward-thinking individuals to join our exciting events crew. We require dedicated individuals who enjoy working outdoors to a tight schedule and co-operating within small teams. Please note, crew positions will require you to get to and from site at unsocial hours as our event site is located in the rural town of Abergavenny.

Event crew will need to be available from 10th – 18th September. Working under the supervision of the Logistics Manager and Crew Team Leaders, your role will be to assist in all elements of the build and break of the festival from start to finish. This role is perfect for someone wanting to get their foot in the door of the event industry and who has practical, hands-on skills. Crew members will be expected to learn as they work with full on the job training provided. It is often necessary to work long hours, potentially during unsocial times in order to fulfil our event commitments. It is expected that all work should be carried out to the highest possible standards with crew members presenting themselves in a professional manner. After each day, certain maintenance and loading duties will be required of you. These will include but will not be exclusive of:

• Installation of all fencing (heras fencing and pedestrian barriers) across the festival site including pre-event signage (PPE, H&S, area closed to public/no public access signage)
• Erecting marquees for street traders
• Loading and unloading vans and trailers making sure that everything is stored in its designated area
• Cleaning or restoring any equipment that is dirty or damaged
• Re-loading vehicles in preparation for the next task ensuring that everything that will be required is present and correct
• Delivering essential items across site to replenish box offices
• Installation and take down of site wide signage from the signage plan under the direction of the signage Manager (Signage Team Only)
• Installation and take down of site wide decor from the décor plan under the direction of the décor manager (Décor Team Only)

Qualifications and Skills: Good time keeping and practically minded, UK driving licence, be physically able and capable of heavy lifting, willing to work long days, have a flexible approach to working hours

Desirable Skills: B+E driver’s license entitlement to tow a trailer, ability to read CAD plans

If you are interested in applying for any of the above positions, please submit an application form here.