Porter (Casual)
Salary: £14.90 per hour
Location: St Edmund’s College, Cambridge
Contract type: Casual
Are you someone who enjoys variety in your workday, thrives on delivering excellent customer service, and takes pride in keeping a community safe and supported? Eddie’s is looking for reliable and proactive individuals to join our friendly but busy Porters’ Lodge team.
The Porters’ Lodge is at the heart of the College, acting as the main point of contact for students, Fellows, staff, visitors and guests. Porters play a vital role in the day‑to‑day running of the College, ensuring safety, security and smooth operations at all hours.
Our Porters work across all shift patterns, mornings (06:30–15:00), afternoons (14:30–23:00) and nights (22:30–07:00), providing a consistent, high‑quality service to the College community. This means you’ll draw on a wide range of skills, from customer service and communication to security awareness, problem‑solving and calm decision‑making.
As a casual Porter, you will have the opportunity to choose shifts on a first‑come, first‑served basis, giving you flexibility to work around your other commitments and select the hours that suit you.
Job responsibilities
- Greeting visitors and acting as the first point of contact, both virtually and face‑to‑face.
- Delivering excellent customer service to students, guests and staff, including check‑ins and access control.
- Responding to emergencies across all shifts, including security incidents, fire alarms and first‑aid situations.
- Contacting facilities support out of hours when required.
- Checking vehicle parking permissions, issuing notices and reporting as appropriate.
- Supporting College security by monitoring activity on site, conducting patrols and maintaining awareness of individuals on the premises.
- Challenging unknown persons where necessary to maintain a safe environment.
- Handling deliveries, sorting and franking post.
- Recording cash receipts and storing financial information securely.
- Processing meal‑card top‑ups.
- Supporting College events and assisting with start‑ and end‑of‑term procedures.
The Successful candidate
The successful candidate will be calm under pressure, confident working independently and able to respond to students and guests with empathy and professionalism. Strong prioritisation skills are essential, as you will often be managing multiple issues at once.
Essential experience
- Customer service, reception or conference/hospitality experience.
- Confident use of Microsoft Word, Excel and IT systems.
Desirable experience
- Experience in a college, security or site‑safety environment.
- An SIA licence is desirable
In addition to a competitive salary and a supportive team, you will also receive:
- A daily allowance for food and drinks*
- Free on‑site parking (subject to availability)
- Generous pension contributions
- Access to a wide range of retail and restaurant discounts
- Use of the on‑site outdoor gym
- Death‑in‑service benefit
- Access to LinkedIn Learning and the Business Disability Forum
How to apply
Please send your CV and a cover letter to the HR Team at hr@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
Closing date for applications: 01 March 2026
Interviews will be held throughout the period that the advert is live and may continue after the closing date.
For informal enquiries about the role, please contact the Head Porter, Frank Gelder, at head.porter@st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk.
In applying for this role, you will provide personal data which the College will process in accordance with its data protection obligations and its Data Protection Policy.
Any offer of employment is subject to evidence of your right to work in the UK and the receipt of satisfactory references.
Please note that this role is not eligible for visa sponsorship, as it does not meet the required criteria.