Trainee/Apprentice Kitchen and Interior Designer Chelmsford, England
Job description
About us
At Three River Kitchens we offer a complete kitchen design and installation service, incorporating the very best in furniture, appliances, ergonomics and customer care. Our Chelmsford kitchen showroomoffers a welcoming space with multiple displays full of exceptional design inspiration, as well as our experienced design team ready to guide you through the process and help you to achieve your dream kitchen installation.
We work with some of the best and most reliable kitchen, appliance and product brands, and take great care in helping you choose the right products to make your kitchen design work.
In addition to our kitchen design and installation services, we also offer building services, kitchen extensions through to full house building. Our team is skilled in project management and can provide a single point of contact for your entire project.
From initial discussions, through site survey, design presentation, design revision and full, clear quotations, we will make the process as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
We are looking for someone to join our kitchens and interiors business as a trainee/apprentice kitchen and interiors designer with a clear, 3-4 year career progression to becoming a Senior Design Consultant and potentially Showroom Manager including an accredited Kitchen Design apprenticeship with LEAP Apprenticeships & Early Careers through an online course as part of your full-time employment.
We will give you full training and experience at running a showroom, managing clients, designing kitchens and interiors to a client’s brief and all aspects of the administration and self-management involved to do the job at the highest possible level, in line with our position at the higher end of the market.
As an ethically minded business, we are looking for someone with confidence, motivation and excellent organisational and self-management skills that can work effectively with clients in a professional and unaggressive manner. We treat our colleagues, contractors, suppliers and clients with respect and integrity and expect our staff to carry this through to everything they do whilst giving the highest possible levels of customer service.
We take pride in our friendly, relaxed but highly productive working environment and understand the importance of a good work/life balance with great working hours, competitive pay and a bonus scheme from day one of your training into the future.
We will be requiring you to submit a video instead of a CV and believe that the right person for the job is not necessarily the person with the right experience or grades but, more importantly, the person who fits the business and is willing to work hard, learn and push themselves to be the best they can be.
You will:
- Learn how to conduct site surveys, take accurate and detailed measuring, take concise and detailed briefs from a client, and manage client expectations.
- Attend and be involved in client meetings both on-site and here in our beautiful showroom.
- Learn how to produce accurate estimates and visually attractive designs.
- Learn how to produce and manage customer paperwork and associated administration.
- Learn a vast array of product, industry, and design knowledge.
- Meet and liaise with suppliers, contractors, and manufacturers.
- Learn how to manage and run a luxury showroom.
- Learn how to consult with customers from their initial contact/showroom visit, through to practical completion of a project.
- Learn how to use both CAD and hand drawings to facilitate our design work.
- Learn how to produce accurate estimates and work to a budget throughout the design process.
- Be involved in the installation and finishing of jobs on-site through liaison with our installations manager and teams.
- Learn the basics of specifying construction work, electrical installations and associated works.
- Learn how to create beautiful interiors that bring joy to our clients.
General Responsibilities:
Maintaining a professional appearance and positive attitude to customers, suppliers, and colleagues.
Assisting with keeping the showroom smart, inviting and customer-ready in terms of general maintenance and cleaning.
Assisting with client meetings including occasionally making tea/coffee, serving biscuits and being an important part of our client-facing design team.
To promote the business and see yourself as increasing turnover, efficiency, and profitability by being a part of our team.
Assisting with other duties as required – This can sometimes involve light cleaning, emptying bins, collating samples and literature and other menial tasks.
Key Skills Required for this role:
- Confident Communication - with staff and clients
- Punctuality
- Organisational skills and time management
- A calm and patient approach to your work
- A sense of three-dimensional space and design style
- Leadership skills – We will swiftly want you to be confident in your role
- Problem-solving
- Some degree of technical knowledge, basic mathematic skill and an understanding of computers
- Above all else, we need you to be driven, engaging, communicative, sensible, positive, and willing to learn!
Salary:
The chosen candidate will receive £18,000 p/a basic with an OTE for year one of £21,000-£23,000.00 p/a with a view to reaching an OTE of £40-50,000 p/a by year 4 of your employment.
Hours & Expectations:
Our opening hours are Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm but we would expect you to be in the showroom for 9:45am and, depending on the workload, you may need to stay late as and when it is necessary to get the work done. We would like you to work 5 out of the 6 days a week including most Saturdays - We are flexible with our approach to the working day though and happy to talk through your specific requirements.
Occasional international travel may be involved and there may be early or late meetings to attend – These will always be scheduled in advance where possible.
Applications:
Please send your contact details and a short (5-10min) video of yourself talking about why you think you would be suited to the role. You may also include a CV or similar document with your personal details if you wish.
(Please do not fret about the video – it doesn’t need to be a Hollywood production! It is just to give us an idea of who you are and whether you would be right for the role.)
Please submit your video submissions to: [email protected]
Job Types: Full-time, Apprenticeship
Salary: £18,000.00-£23,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Employee mentoring programme
- Flexitime
Schedule:
- Flexitime
- Monday to Friday
- Weekend availability
Supplemental pay types:
- Bonus scheme
- Commission pay
Work Location: One location
