Gallery Guide
Milken Institute
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Milken Institute in Washington, DC, seeks Gallery Guides for the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD). You will welcome diverse visitors, conduct tours, and support exhibitions within the historic Riggs Bank campus. Training provided; prior visitor service is a plus.
On‑site role with a collaborative team and a focus on stellar guest experiences. Ideal candidates bring a positive attitude, strong communication, and a willingness to adapt to a fast‑paced, visitor‑center
Qualifications
- A healthy sense of humor and the ability to engage with a diverse audience.
- Strong communication and commitment to outstanding customer service.
- Experience in visitor service at a museum, history center, science center, or public-facing cultural organization is preferred.
- Bonus if you have led tours or facilitated experiences for visitors.
- Ability to work a rotating schedule and stay punctual in a dynamic environment.
Responsibilities
- Provide a welcoming, engaging visitor experience from entry to exit for all visitors.
- Greet visitors and orient them to the Milken Center and plan their visit using the American Dream Experience.
- Distribute, sell, and validate tickets for general admission, special experiences, and public programs.
- Support visitors through security screening and assist security as needed to keep spaces safe.
- Monitor and manage visitor flow through entrances and galleries; welcome group visits with orientation.
- Facilitate tours and hands‑on activities for public programs; engage visitors during visiting hours.
- Support Gallery/Exhibition flow by communicating guidelines and reporting issues to staff.
- Attend daily operations meetings, follow post rotations, and assist with opening/closing duties.
- Assist with Holodeck Experience facilitation and related visitor interactions.
Skills
Job description
The Milken Institute is a globally minded, publicly supported, non-partisan, and nonprofit think tank headquartered in Santa Monica, with offices in Washington, DC, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. For the past three decades, the Milken Institute has served as a catalyst for practical, scalable solutions to global challenges by connecting human, financial, and educational resources to those who need them. Guided by a conviction that the best ideas, under-resourced, cannot succeed, we conduct research and analysis and convene top experts, innovators, and influencers from different backgrounds and competing viewpoints. We leverage this expertise and insight to construct programs and policy initiatives. These activities are designed to help people build meaningful lives, in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities.
The Milken Institute is a globally minded, publicly supported, non-partisan, and nonprofit think tank headquartered in Santa Monica, with offices in Washington, DC, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. For the past three decades, the Milken Institute has served as a catalyst for practical, scalable solutions to global challenges by connecting human, financial, and educational resources to those who need them. Guided by a conviction that the best ideas, under-resourced, cannot succeed, we conduct research and analysis and convene top experts, innovators, and influencers from different backgrounds and competing viewpoints. We leverage this expertise and insight to construct programs and policy initiatives. These activities are designed to help people build meaningful lives, in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities.
The Milken Institute’s events and programmatic activities, involve the exchange of ideas with leaders from around the world. The Institute hosts more than 200 events each year, with our annual flagship event, Global Conference, bringing together 4,500+ participants from around the world, featuring more than 900+ speakers throughout 200+ sessions over the course of the event.
The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD) at the Milken Institute is building its Visitor Experience team in its inaugural year. We are seeking Gallery Guides to bring the center to life and connect visitors with our new exhibition.
Guided by a conviction that the best ideas, under-resourced, cannot succeed, the Milken Institute conducts research and analysis and convenes top experts, innovators, and influencers from different backgrounds and competing viewpoints. The Institute is a non-partisan and nonprofit think tank renowned for convening people with talent and resources to address global challenges.
Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD), the newest center within the Institute, is catalyzing this work by building a new type of cultural center in the heart of Washington, DC. At MCAAD we celebrate the ideal of the American Dream and explore the ongoing challenges people face in pursuing opportunity, through exhibitions and programs. To accomplish this, we focus on four pillars of the American Dream: education, health, finance, and entrepreneurship. MCAAD’s physical home is a remarkable renovation of several 120-year-old historic bank buildings, including Riggs Bank, known as the "Bank of Presidents." The Center’s main halls are in the National Register of Historic Places, and our stewardship of the property—along with adjacent buildings on 15th St NW—showcase and honor the history of these buildings while adapting them for use as a modern cultural center with immersive exhibition galleries. There is a state-of-the-art theater, events and lecture spaces, a Holodeck Experience, and a store. The six-building complex featuring nearly 300,000 square feet of space also includes a conference center, recording and broadcast studios, and the Washington, D.C., headquarters of five centers of the Milken Institute.
WE are a dynamic, collaborative, and motivated team operating and invigorating the soaring halls of the Riggs Bank buildings as a place to imagine, explore, and expand the American Dream.
YOU are a friendly professional with a knack for providing stellar visitor service. You like talking to all kinds of people and sharing what you know. You can follow a plan but are also flexible when circumstances shift. You’re communicative and like working on a team.
Gallery Guides are the face of our visitor center, working directly with our visitors on the exhibition floor. From greeting guests upon arrival to sharing compelling stories on tours, Gallery Guides ensure that all visitors have a welcoming, safe, and fun experience. This role not only works with our visitors, but also with staff across departments to ensure smooth daily operations.
Gallery Guides will receive comprehensive training that includes exhibition content, operational processes, visitor experience best practices, and more. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with some experience in visitor services or someone who is just beginning their visitor experience career.
- Provide a welcoming, engaging, and excellent visitor experience from entry to exit for all visitors.
- Actively greet visitors and provide an orientation to the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream and help plan their visit through the American Dream Experience.
- Distribute, sell, and validate tickets for general admission, special experiences, and public programs through a ticketing system.
- Support visitors through security screening and support the security team as needed and appropriate to keep our spaces safe.
- Monitor and manage visitor flow through main entrances and exits, as well as galleries and exhibition spaces.
- Welcoming group visits, including student groups, with an orientation to the Center.
- Facilitate a variety of visitor engagements including tours, pop up activities, and object talks.
- Engage visitors in informal conversation about the exhibition and its content throughout visiting hours.
- Help lead hands‑on activities for public programs.
- Support facilitated group visits with the education team.
- Communicate MCAAD visitor guidelines with visitors as necessary.
- Support security staff in ensuring the safety and security of all visitors and staff throughout public spaces.
- Report any issues (exhibit repair, facility maintenance, other concerns) within galleries to team manager.
- Connect visitors with accessibility features and offerings.
- Attend daily morning meeting to receive notes, schedule, and other happenings that require visitor experience attention.
- Report key notes and metrics from the day including tour and talk attendance numbers, memorable visitor quotes, and operational successes or challenges.
- Follow daily rotation schedule closely, perform all duties specific to assigned posts, and follow operational protocols.
- Support the day-to-day operations of the Center, including opening and closing duties and collaboration with other departments and gallery or interactive care.
- Support check in and visitor flow for public programs and special events.
- Troubleshoot routine visitor-related issues and elevate challenging situations to a manager.
- Adhere to uniform guidelines.
- Stay up to date with communications from colleagues.
- Conduct operational support activities such as visitor feedback card inventory and routine disinfecting of high touch surfaces.
- Duties as assigned.
The Holodeck Experience is generally facilitated by Holodeck Hosts, specific team members with a flair for performance and specialized technical training by MCAAD staff. On occasion, Gallery Guides may be called to play a supporting role in its operation. These duties may include:
- Describe the experience and answer visitor inquiries
- Engage with visitors in a lively, friendly, and welcoming manner.
- Facilitate ticket sales and check in.
- Enter the Holodeck Experience in support of the "Lead Engineer".
- Adhere to safety and security guidelines for staff and visitors.
- Work with and clearly communicate with colleagues also supporting the Holodeck Experience, as well as the team at large including Visitor Experience, Exhibition AV, and more.
- Support requests from MCAAD staff for special visitors.
- The ideal candidate has a healthy sense of humor, a passion for engaging with others and thrives in a highly collaborative environment while taking ownership of own duties.
- You will thrive in this role if you are an enthusiastic communicator committed to providing outstanding customer service and passionate about offering best-in-class experiences.
- Ideal candidates have experience in visitor service at a museum, history center, science center, or public-facing cultural organization. Customer service experience in other fields is also welcome. Bonus if one has experience leading tours or facilitating experiences for visitors or guests. Internship experience will be considered.
- Gallery Guides adhere to a detailed schedule of rotating posts throughout the workday, requiring a high level of punctuality.
- A high level of adaptability to support the changing needs of visitors, groups, and the organization.
- Strong interpersonal and communications skills are required.
- MCAAD’s topical focus means a background and special interest in its mission and pillars is beneficial: health and science, education and learning, finance, entrepreneurship, plus unique aspects of the American journey (U.S. history, immigration, aspiration and inspiration, advocacy, democracy, civic engagement, community development, and more).
- The ability to quickly develop positive working relationships, support colleagues, be flexible, and thrive in a fast‑paced, fun and creative environment is a must.
All work will take place on‑site in our public visitor center. Availability on weekends, occasional evenings, and holidays is required. The working schedule for this role will be Thursday–Monday, 9:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Physical aspects of the role include the ability to stand or be on one’s feet for extended periods of time and move equipment, such as signage, chairs, or stanchions on a cart. All Gallery Guides must adhere to a team dress code. This role may require occasional work outdoors during busy seasons.
The statements herein are intended to describe the overall nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.
We are interested in qualified candidates who are eligible to work in the United States. Please note, we are not sponsoring visas at this time, being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment.
The Milken Institute is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or status as a veteran.
Every person at the Milken Institute is treated with respect, supported with resources and training, and exposed to a broad range of experiences. We foster a space for growth with opportunities to share knowledge and passion with both clients and colleagues. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. Our leadership is actively involved in our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and fostering a culture that creates opportunities for everyone.
- Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
- Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
- Paid Time Off (Sick & Select Public Holidays)
- Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
- Flexible Spending Account (FSAs)
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