Visitor Experience Assistant (Part Time)

Please Touch Museum; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 22,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, PA seeks a Visitor Experience Assistant to welcome visitors, guide families, and support learning programs. The role emphasizes engaging with children and providing exceptional service across exhibits, tickets, and memberships, including operating the Carousel with safety procedures.

This position requires weekend availability, strong communication skills, and a commitment to the Museum’s mission and DEIBA values. AFSCME Local 397 bargaining unit member.

Qualifications

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, Museum Education/Museum Studies, Hospitality.
• At least 2 years’ experience in customer service.
• Ability to independently think critically and problem solve in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent time management, ability to multi-task and finish tasks with minimal instruction.
• Comfort speaking in front of groups of children and adults.
• PA Act 153 clearances required before hire.
• COVID-19 and flu vaccinations as a term of employment.

Responsibilities

• Greets and orients visitors and provides wayfinding with a friendly demeanor.
• Support Museum Learning programs and guide play-based experiences for families.
• Operate Carousel and ensure safety procedures.
• Facilitate play-based experiences in Food & Family exhibit and restock props.
• Assist Admissions with tickets, memberships, and wayfinding.

Skills

Customer service

Public speaking

Time management

Multitasking

Attention to detail

Education

Early childhood education

Museum Education/Museum Studies

Hospitality

Job description

Anticipated Schedule: : Saturday & Sunday; 8:30am-5:00pm

Pay: $18.21/Hour

Reports to : Manager, Museum Learning

Position Summary: Visitor Experience Assistants (VEAs) welcome visitors to the Museum and engage with children and families in the exhibits, facilitating positive play-based learning experiences. Visitor Experience Assistants provide customer service throughout the Museum floor through their knowledge of daily programming, Museum exhibits, ticketing/membership offerings, and wayfinding. VEAs take the lead in engaging with visitors in the Food & Family exhibit and Carousel operations, and providing age-appropriate exhibit engagement opportunities that create memorable experiences for children and their families.

This position is part of the AFSCME Local 397 bargaining unit.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Greets and orients all visitors, provides wayfinding, and communicates daily happenings to visitors with a positive, friendly, and engaging disposition.
• Support Museum Learning programs and guides experiences that encourage Families to discover, imagine, get curious, and learn through play together in the Museum’s exhibits.
• Operates Museum’s Carousel; ensures safety procedures are being followed by all visitors.
• Facilitates play-based experiences for families in the Museum’s Food & Family grocery store exhibit, including restocking props throughout the day.
• Assists Admissions with processing tickets, membership sales and wayfinding.
• Assists Museum Learning and Admission staff in maintaining daily opening/set up and closing/clean up procedures.
• Ensures that each visitor receives outstanding service by providing a friendly environment, including greeting, and acknowledging every guest, maintaining outstanding standards, solid product knowledge and all other components of visitor service.
• Ability to detect, assess, identify, and observe surroundings to make sound judgments, along with the ability communicate verbally, comprehend, and decipher information accurately, using a two- way radio and telephone.
• Models exemplar customer service, discretion, and professionalism in all interactions with visitors and staff.
• Maintains a positive Museum environment by enforcing Museum policies and procedures, communicating any potential or active problems to the appropriate Museum staff and security through the approved channels, and providing basic first aid if needed.
• Interested and curious about history, play-based learning, and sharing knowledge to diverse audiences.
• Track performance metrics.
• Support group admissions as needed.
• Write clear, detailed incident reports and related documentation as needed.
• Knowledgeable about Museum membership and actively promotes memberships.
• Maintains a good standing attitude and work ethic while providing excellent visitor service and strives to maintain harmonious relations with staff.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, Museum Education/Museum Studies, Hospitality.
• At least 2 years’ experience in customer service
• Equivalent combination of experience and/or education that has led to the development of comparable skills, abilities, and perspectives.
• Ability to independently critically think about issues and problem solve and in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent time management skills, proven ability to multi-task, can independently execute a task from start to finish with little or ambiguous instructions, attention to details.
• Must be comfortable and proficient speaking in front of large and small groups of both children and adults.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills required. Experience effectively speaking with children and families from diverse backgrounds.
• Flexible, can easily adapt to new policies and procedures.
• Ability to read and comprehend instructions, short correspondences, and memos.
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• CPR and First Aid Certified preferred.
• Availability to work on weekends, evenings, and holidays in addition to weekdays.
• Ability to embrace and demonstrate the Museum’s Mission, Values, and DEIBA Commitment.
• Must have PA Act 153 clearances (PA criminal history, FBI fingerprints, and PA Child Abuse) completed prior to hire.
• All employees are required to have COVID-19 vaccination, and flu vaccination, as a term and condition of employment.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS & ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Is regularly required to use hands.
• Must be able to reach with hands and arms.
• Must be able to use hands and fingers continuously.
• Able to remain stationary for extended periods of time.
• Is frequently required to stand and walk; will frequently be required to move from one
  position to another.
• Ability to perform the physical requirements of the position, i.e., pushing, pulling,
  reaching, bending, squatting, kneeling, and climbing.
• Required to talk and hear.
• Able to see and read computer screens.
• Able to read fine print and/or normal size print.
• Ability to walk up and down flights of stairs; and stand for periods of time every day.
• Ability to lift and/or move up to 10 – 20 pounds.
• Ability to climb stairs.
• Ability to grasp objects, type, pick up objects, move objects or hold objects

ENVIRONMENT

• This job is performed in a public and office environment. The employee must be able to focus on assigned tasks where activity and interruptions are constant and demanding.
• Visitor facing environment.
• The individual performing this job must be comfortable in an environment where people are coming and going regularly.
• The noise level in the work environment is typically moderate but ongoing, noise level may be overstimulating at times.

The statements in this job description are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being executed by the employee assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of the position or individual. Other duties may be required in addition to those outlined.