Historic Royal Palaces is the independent charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, the Banqueting House, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle & Gardens.

Departments Yeoman Body
Home Palace HM Tower of London
Status Established/Permanent
Estimated Start date 1 March 2023
Salary Circa £34,000 per annum inclusive of allowances
Salary Rate Per Annum

Days/Hours of work
Basic hours are 37 per week excl. meal breaks. 14 working days in every three-week block roster. Regular weekends and Bank Holidays. Required to work overtime and occasional night shifts.

About the role
Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) is the independent charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle. HRP's cause is to stir every spirit to inspire and promote change.

We currently have a vacancy for a new Yeoman Warder. As part of the Yeoman Body, your main responsibility will be to ‘stir the spirit’ of every visitor to HM Tower of London; you will conduct large parties around the Tower and bring its history and stories to life. You will also contribute to the safety and security of the Tower, support daytime and evening events and take part in ceremonial duties and parades.

About you
Yeoman Warders are civilian employees of Historic Royal Palaces and are appointed in their ceremonial role under the authority of the Constable of HM Tower of London. They are also Extraordinary Members of the Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard, the Sovereign’s ceremonial bodyguards.

Due to the Yeoman Warder’s unique status, there is strict eligibility for joining

To apply for this position you must:

1. Be a former Warrant Officer, class 1 or 2, (or the equivalent rank in other services) and in
exceptional circumstances, a Staff Sergeant, from the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force or
Royal Marines.
2. Hold the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
3. Have served within the regular armed services for at least 22 years

We are looking for excellent communicators who thrive in a busy customer-service environment and enjoy meeting new people every day.

For further information on our recruitment processes and about the role, please read additional supporting information.

Please include your CV and a Covering Letter in your application.

We expect the First Stage Interview / Open Day for shortlisted applicants to take place on 24th January 2023, though this may be subject to change. Interviews are
held in-person, at HM Tower of London. Start date to be confirmed depending on successful candidate's notice period.

Additional Information

Yeoman Warder Recruitment Guidance

HM Tower of London

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Yeoman Warder with Historic Royal Palaces, based at HM Tower of London. The following guidance will provide you with some further background information to the role, outline the recruitment process, and advise you of some of the expectations associated with the role of Yeoman Warder. We hope that this will provide you with all the supporting information you may need for your application, but please contact recruitment@hrp.org.uk for any further queries and we will be happy to help.

Background Information

1. The Tower of London is one of the country’s premier tourist attractions and in a normal year would be visited by around three million visitors. The Tower is managed by Historic Royal
Palaces (a Registered Charity since 1998), which is charged with the presentation, interpretation, conservation and maintenance of the Tower and the other four famous Royal Palaces in the London area – Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace State Apartments, Kew Palace and the Banqueting House Whitehall - as well as Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland.
2. Yeoman Warders are civilian employees of Historic Royal Palaces and are ceremonially appointed under the authority of the Constable of HM Tower of London. They are also Extraordinary Members of the Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard, the Sovereign’s ceremonial bodyguards.

Yeoman Warders’ duties include:

• Delivering the highest standard of customer service, aiming to ‘stir the spirit’ of every visitor;
• Conducting large parties of visitors around the Tower, relating its history and stories;
• Contributing to the safety and security of the Tower, its contents, visitors, staff and residents;
• Giving talks and providing information to members of the public;
• Taking part in ceremonial duties and parades.
• Supporting out of hours tours and events.

Reflecting their ceremonial role, Yeoman Warders take an Oath of Allegiance to the
Sovereign and are sworn in as:

• Members of the Yeoman Body
• Members of the King’s Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard in Extraordinary

Eligibility

The Yeoman body forms a unique part of our traditions and cultural heritage at HM Tower of
London. Candidates for appointment as Yeoman Warders must fulfil all the following:

• Be a former Warrant Officer or, in exceptional circumstances, Staff Serjeant (or service equivalent) from the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Marines
• Hold the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
• Have served within the regular armed services for at least 22 years
• Have a suitable level of fitness to carry out the fundamental requirements of the job profile.

Successful Candidates will be offered permanent employment contracts subject to:

• Successful reference and security checks
• Satisfactory completion of 6 months’ probation
• Occupational Health clearance.

• The current basic starting salary is approximately £28,810 per annum, however with allowances Yeoman Warders can expect a gross income of approximately £34,000.
• The basic conditioned working hours are 37 per week excluding meal breaks. Yeoman Warders are rostered to work a working pattern which has 14 working days in every three-week block. This working pattern includes regular weekends and Bank Holidays. In addition, Yeoman Warders are required to work overtime and occasional night shifts.
• Annual leave is 23 days per annum rising to 25.5 days per annum upon completion of 3 years of employment, and 26.5 days after completing 10 years’ service, plus 8 days statutory (Bank) holidays per annum.
• Outer uniform clothing to an agreed scale is provided free of charge.

Accommodation

• Yeoman Warders are expected to live within the Tower with their families and are provided with unfurnished residential accommodation. Newly appointed Yeoman Warders may expect to be offered residential accommodation following completion of their probation
• Most apartments within the Tower have 2 bedrooms, but there are a limited number of 3- bedroom apartments which may become available after a reasonable period of service as a Yeoman Warder.
• A charge is made for the accommodation provided, currently this is in the form of rent linked to a percentage (currently 8.5%) of pensionable earnings and is deducted direct from salary each month. Yeoman Warders are responsible for paying Council Tax to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in respect of their accommodation, and for paying for the utilities (gas and electricity) provided to them.
• Because of the restricted nature of the Tower there is a strict limit on the number of pets (particularly dogs) that can be allowed within the Yeoman Warders’ accommodation. Newly appointed Yeoman Warders may not be able to bring pets (particularly dogs and cats) with them but may have to wait until an existing Yeoman Warder with a cat or dog leaves the Tower.

Recruitment Process

Stage 1 - Application form

We are now only able to accept applications when we have a vacancy and are actively recruiting for a role. However, we do retain a list of contact details for people who have expressed an interest in the role and will inform you when we are about to advertise a vacancy to make you aware of closing dates. If you fit the criteria above and would like to be contacted about future vacancies, please sign up for a job alert here.

As part of our recruitment monitoring processes, we are only able to accept applications on-line through our website. The application can be found through the HRP website here and finding the ‘Yeoman Warder’ listed vacancy. Please note the closing dates, as we will be unable to accept application forms submitted after the deadline has passed. On the application form you will need to highlight how you meet the criteria, and you will also need to demonstrate how your skills and experience meet our role requirements. On our advert, we will state the desired start date of the role. It is important that you note this and are able to start within 6 weeks of this date.

Stage 2 – Familiarisation Day

Following a review and shortlisting of all submitted application forms, we will invite 12-15 of the highest scoring candidates to a Familiarisation Day at HM Tower of London. During this day you will learn more about the role of Yeoman Warder, have a short interview with the Chief Yeoman Warder and/or Yeoman Gaoler and Senior Tower of London management and meet some of the current Yeoman Warders. On joining the Yeoman body, following a successful probation period, you will be expected to live within one of our homes within the Tower of London. The familiarisation day will also give you the opportunity to find out more about becoming part of the Tower community, as we recognise that this is an important factor for you and your families in deciding whether to pursue your application.

Stage 3 –Interview & Assessment Half day

Following from the Familiarisation Day at HM Tower of London, we will then conduct a further short list and invite successful candidates to an interview and assessment centre, which will last approximately 2-3 hours. During the assessment half day, you will have the opportunity to ask any further questions about aspects of the role.

Assessment Format:

- In-depth Interview - This is a more in-depth interview than on the familiarisation day and assesses your suitability against the HRP Performance Framework qualities. Your interview is likely to be conducted by the Chief Yeoman Warder, Head of Operations and HR Manager.

- Presentation -Presentation style and delivery is an important skill in becoming a Yeoman Warder in
conducting visitor tours, so you will be required to deliver a presentation to an interview
panel, the subject of which will be decided by us.

- Informal chat - As well as joining the Yeoman Body, you will be joining HM Tower of London / Historic Royal Palaces (HRP). You will therefore get to meet some of the other staff from these teams that that the Yeoman Body work alongside– such as Warding, and Functions & Events. You will also be able to meet the Yeoman Serjeant who would be your line manager if successful in your application to become a Yeoman Warder.

Stage 4 –Meet with Tower Governor

Following from the interview and assessment half day at HM Tower of London, we will then conduct a further short list and invite successful candidates to meet with the Tower Governor and a Tower Senior Manager for a final interview.

Stage 5 - Following the Interview

We aim to advise all candidates the outcome of their interview within 3-5 working days. Successful candidates will under-go pre-employment checks prior to starting their role. For the first six months of their role, new Yeoman Warders are on probation, during which time their performance is monitored. Yeoman Warders are not allocated accommodation within HM Tower of London until successful completion of their probationary period. However, duty accommodation may be provided.

Further information regarding applications

Recruitment of Yeoman Warders happens on an infrequent basis and as such we only recruit for Yeoman Warders when there is a vacancy. We therefore cannot guarantee how often recruitment will take place. If you are interested in becoming a Yeoman Warder, we therefore suggest you register your interest in order for us to alert you to any vacancies that arise in order for you to submit an application.

Historic Royal Palaces is an equal opportunities employer and truly values a diverse workforce. Applications are welcome from candidates regardless of their background