Visitor and Event Coordinator

West 4th Strategy; New London (CT); On-site; USD 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

National Coast Guard Museum in New London, CT seeks a Visitor & Event Coordinator to manage visitor experience metrics, front-of-house logistics, and execute museum, community, and military events. You will produce run of show documents and supervise setup/teardown, serving as the on-site contact during evenings and weekend events to ensure safety and guest satisfaction.

Requirements include a bachelor’s degree and 2–4 years in event planning or front-of-house museum operations, plus proficiency

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related field.
• 2–4 years of experience in event planning, hospitality, or front of house museum operations.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, event registration systems, and scheduling software.
• Experience managing visitor flow, crowd control, and ADA compliance.
• Experience sourcing, negotiating, and supervising third party event vendors such as caterers, AV, florists, and rentals.
• Familiarity with local fire codes, occupancy restrictions, and safety regulations.
• Experience gathering, tracking, and translating visitor feedback into actionable experience improvements.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates approved museum public programs, recurring operations, and authorized events, including coordination with the National Coast Guard Museum Association.
• Tailors event and visitor support plans to participant demographics within approved budget, space, safety, staffing, and policy parameters.
• Produces comprehensive run of show documents, layout designs, and scheduling parameters, and supervises physical setup, transition, and teardown of equipment.
• Acts as the primary on site point of contact during evening and weekend events, enforcing building protocols such as prohibiting food and drink in gallery spaces, and establishes SOPs for these procedures.
• Deconflicts scheduling between daily gallery visitors and private or public events.
• Executes, collects, and analyzes visitor surveys to pinpoint areas of friction.
• Ensures frontline guest service teams effectively promote museum and USCG historical messaging.
• Tracks authorized event costs, vendor invoices, and cost allocation documentation.
• Maintains the master institutional calendar.

Skills

Public events coordination

Visitor experience management

Vendor negotiation

Project planning

ADA compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in hospitality management, public relations, marketing, or a related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Event registration systems

Scheduling software

Job description

Visitor & Event Coordinator

ROLE

We need an experienced Visitor and Event Coordinator at the National Coast Guard Museum (NCGM). The NCGM is a new 80,000 square foot national museum in New London, Connecticut, built to honor the history and missions of the U.S. Coast Guard and expected to welcome roughly 300,000 visitors a year. In this role, you will serve as the primary face of the institution, managing visitor experience metrics and front of house logistics and executing recurring museum, community, and military events. You will produce run of show documents and layout designs, supervise event setup and teardown, and act as the primary on site point of contact during evening and weekend events. This is a full-time opportunity. We can offer a competitive salary, and a comprehensive benefits package.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinates approved museum public programs, recurring operations, and authorized events, including coordination with the National Coast Guard Museum Association.
• Tailors event and visitor support plans to participant demographics within approved budget, space, safety, staffing, and policy parameters.
• Produces comprehensive run of show documents, layout designs, and scheduling parameters, and supervises physical setup, transition, and teardown of equipment.
• Acts as the primary on site point of contact during evening and weekend events, enforcing building protocols such as prohibiting food and drink in gallery spaces, and establishes SOPs for these procedures.
• Deconflicts scheduling between daily gallery visitors and private or public events.
• Executes, collects, and analyzes visitor surveys to pinpoint areas of friction.
• Ensures frontline guest service teams effectively promote museum and USCG historical messaging.
• Tracks authorized event costs, vendor invoices, and cost allocation documentation.
• Maintains the master institutional calendar.

BACKGROUND/REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in hospitality management, public relations, marketing, or a related field.
• Two (2) to four (4) years of experience in event planning, hospitality, or front of house museum operations.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, event registration systems, and scheduling software.
• Experience managing visitor flow, crowd control, and ADA compliance.
• Experience sourcing, negotiating, and supervising third party event vendors such as caterers, AV, florists, and rentals.
• Familiarity with local fire codes, occupancy restrictions, and safety regulations.
• Experience gathering, tracking, and translating visitor feedback into actionable experience improvements.

HIGHLY DESIRABLE SKILLS/EXPERIENCE

• Excellent customer service and problem solving skills during high stakes or fast paced public events.
• Experience coordinating complex, multistakeholder functions, including senior military and political protocols.
• Attention to event layout, setups, and aesthetic alignment that respects adjacent gallery environments.

LOCATION

• New London, Connecticut – National Coast Guard Museum

CLEARANCE

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must pass a federal background investigation and meet facility and system access requirements

CLIENT

• United States Coast Guard – National Coast Guard Museum

HOURS

• 40 hours per week. 8 hours per day

EMPLOYMENT CLASSIFICATION

• Employment Classification Eligibility – W2

COMPENSATION

• Salary range: $60,000 – $70,000
• Benefits: Benefits package includes options for health, dental, and vision insurance coverage; 401k contribution options. Full benefits brochure available for review.

West 4th Strategy is an Equal Opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, age, marital status, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, pregnancy, political affiliation, military or veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by federal or state law.

Other Considerations:

This position is W-2 only; no Corp-to-Corp or 1099 candidates. Relocation will not be offered. As a condition of employment, selected candidates must complete and receive favorable adjudication from a federal government background investigation as required by the client. Individual’s primary workstation is located in an office area. The noise level in this environment is low to moderate. Regularly required to sit for extended periods up to 80% of the time; frequently required to move about to access file cabinets and use office equipment such as PC, copier, fax, telephone, cell phone, etc. Occasionally required to reach overhead, bend, and lift objects of up to 10 lbs. Specific vision abilities required by this job include the use of computer monitor screens up to 80% of the time.