Visitor Experience Associate (Part-time)

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Organizational Overview

The Museum of Us (formerly the San Diego Museum of Man) is located on the unceded ancestral homelands of the Kumeyaay Nation in what is now known as Balboa Park. Our mission is inspiring human connections by exploring the human experience—in all of its beauty and its messiness. With our community’s guidance, we’ve transformed an old-school anthropology museum with a legacy of colonial and racist harm into a human-centered museum that builds understanding, empathy, and belonging, and—in turn—the capacity to effectuate positive change. We’re a place for everyone, but especially for those who haven’t been able to tell their own stories in mainstream museums. We’re also a place for the new and future generations of museum-goers, who will continue to expect more from their cultural institutions. The driving force behind our work is developing better and better practices in what a decolonial and anti-racist museum can look like and then creating a ripple effect in the museum field (and beyond). Four interrelated themes loom large for us: Identity, Home, Wellness, and Justice. Every one of our projects/initiatives begins with an examination of whether (and, if so, how) the work is oriented around and informed by our decolonial and anti-racist commitments.

Position Summary

The Visitor Experience Association serves as the external face of the Museum of Us and is an integral member of the team. The core of the Part-Time Visitor Experience Associate role is providing guests with a positive and memorable experience. This position requires experience working with diverse groups of visitors, being a flexible team player to accommodate changing needs, and the capability to handle a fast-paced environment while providing a quality visitor experience. Duties include actively welcoming visitors to our space, selling museum admission and memberships, and providing information about museum exhibits and programs. The core function of this role is to support Tower Tour operations, ensuring that guests have a safe, pleasant, and memorable experience. This position is part-time, non-exempt, with a regular Friday through Sunday schedule, including holidays which are the busiest. The schedule may occasionally include evenings for programs and events.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Operations Manager, the Visitor Experience Associate is expected to work collaboratively with individuals throughout the Museum of Us and perform the following:

• Actively greet visitors and welcome them to the Museum of Us in a friendly and warm manner; employ customer service best practices with visitors, staff, and vendors.
• Support all California Tower Tour operations including welcoming and orienting guests, collecting signed liability waivers, assisting guests with locker access, and assisting or leading tours escorting guests up to the eighth floor of the California Tower.
• Promote museum programs, events, and exhibits. Provide information to visitors about Museum of Us and Balboa Park.
• Complete visitor sales transactions with a high level of accuracy. This includes processing cash, check, and credit card transactions, printing receipts and scanning external partner passes such as Go Pass and Explorer Pass.
• Maintain a clean and professional shared workspace at the main admissions desk, Evernham Hall desk, and occasionally Saint Frances Chapel desk.
• Immediately report facilities, exhibits, or software issues to ensure timely resolution and contribute to a high-quality experience for visitors.
• Perform regular walk-throughs of the exhibits to ensure consumable materials are stocked, exhibit surfaces are clean and tidy, and assist guests in the galleries.
• Assist with retail inventory, upkeep of displays, and other sales-related functions. Assist with the daily cleaning of exhibits, with special attention paid to interactives, knobs, handrails, and other frequently touched surfaces.
• Assist guests with any accessibility assistance requests and accommodate wherever possible, including providing wheelchairs and operating the wheelchair lift.
• Confirm that end of the day transaction reports is accurate and complete, including a daily reporting of admissions data.
• Collaborate with other museum departments to support the visitor experience, including occasionally working at after-hours events.
• Participate in all required museum training programs, work towards the museum mission, and uphold the museum values.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education/Experience

Experience, Education, or Skills Required:

• Experience working in museums and/or cultural centers preferred but not required.
• Experience working in hospitality, sales, or customer service strongly preferred.
• Experience with cash handling.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, customer service, and public engagement skills; enjoys working with people.
• Ability to remain calm in escalated interactions; experience deescalating and resolving customer service issues.
• Willingness to be CPR/AED and First Aid certified.
• Availability to work weekends and holidays required.
• Speaking a second language preferred but not required.
• High school diploma or equivalent.

ADA Notations:

• Indoor/outdoor working environment including sitting, walking, climbing stairs, balancing, crouching, stooping, and communication (talking/ hearing).
• Ability to move between all areas of the museum, some of which are widely spaced on uneven terrain and require regularly climbing several flights of stairs.
• Ability to lift and carry large/bulky items weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Vision requirements include close vision and ability to adjust focus.
• Noise conditions range from quiet to moderate noise.

Salary & Benefits:

• Hourly salary is $20.00 per hour.
• Regular schedule is 24 hours per week with most hours on a Friday through Sunday schedule
• Benefits for this part time position include:
  • Sick leave (5 days/year)
  • Three days of Community-Centered Leave to support and build community however defined
  • $100 in “Museum Bucks” for you to support your work-life balance
  • Birthday and Anniversary gift cards
  • Opportunity to participate in the Museum of Us 403b retirement plan with tax-deferred employee contributions beginning at any time
  • A human-centered and highly supportive environment, which encourages team members to bring their whole selves to work

Application Process:

We are hiring two candidates for Part-Time Visitor Experience Associate positions at this time. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2025. To apply for a Part-Time Visitor Experience Associate position, please email your resume and cover letter to recruiting@museumofus.org.