Visitor Insights Specialist

Oakland Museum of California; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 44,000 - 48,000; Part time

Job summary

Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) seeks a Part-Time Visitor Insights Specialist to enhance the gallery and garden visitor experience. You will provide welcoming service, assist with wayfinding, and help gather feedback while supporting a research-driven approach to visitor engagement.

You will conduct interviews, surveys, and observations, analyze data, and communicate findings to inform OMCA programs and exhibits. Flexibility for evenings/weekends is required.

Qualifications

• 1–2 years in customer service, hospitality, guest relations, or related field.
• English proficiency in speaking and writing; second language desirable.
• Ability to interact with diverse populations and maintain professionalism.
• Follows data collection and entry protocols precisely.

Responsibilities

• Provide visitors with a welcoming, high-quality experience and assist with wayfinding.
• Use evaluation techniques to engage visitors and facilitate interactions in galleries and garden.
• Record, analyze, and report on visitor feedback and complaints using VIS protocols.
• Collaborate with staff to implement participatory visitor research projects.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

English proficiency

Multilingual (Spanish/Chinese)

Data collection

Analytical thinking

Interpersonal skills

Observation skills

Team collaboration

Attention to detail

Tools

MS Office

Google Applications

iPads

Audio recorder

Job description

Overview

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA (OMCA) MISSION

We inspire understanding and empathy with stories and experiences of California’s art, history, and natural environment to build more equitable and connected communities.

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA (OMCA) VISION

We envision a just and vibrant future where our communities value and honor one another and the world around us.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Visitor Insights Specialist enhances the visitor experience at OMCA by providing a welcoming presence in the galleries and garden; offering excellent customer service; assessing conditions in the galleries and garden to ensure the safety and security of visitors and collections; creating a visitor feedback loop; and conducting rigorous evaluations and audience research projects. This position focuses on the visitor and their experiences, rather than the educational role of explaining exhibition content. The Visitor Insights Specialist is a facilitator and active researcher who uses evaluative thinking to both address the needs of visitors and inform the work of OMCA.

This is a Part-Time two-day per week (15 hours per week) position.

This position is exclusively represented and is covered by a collective bargaining agreement between OMCA and the OMCA Workers United, AFSCME Local 4510 (AFL-CIO).

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The following reflects OMCA’s definition of essential functions for this position, but does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. OMCA may assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.

INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support the Museum’s mission, values, vision, and core commitment to the visitor experience, community engagement, and institutional relevancy for the future
• Contribute to and support the OMCA strategic plan, annual priorities, and institutional initiatives such as diversity advancement
• Contribute to a positive organizational culture based on mutual respect, a spirit of collegiality, cooperation, and openness to many perspectives
• Participate in a culture of ongoing learning, collaboration, innovation, creativity, and community engagement
• All positions will have core functional responsibilities, cross functional team activation and learning and development as a core function of each role.

POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Customer Service

• Provide visitors with a quality experience using a high level of customer service, including welcoming visitors as they enter the campus and galleries; assisting with overall wayfinding and locating of amenities; and helping with visitor needs (multilingual materials, wheelchairs, etc.).
• Use evaluation techniques to serve an interpretive function in the galleries and garden. For example, engage visitors with questions or other prompts to encourage exploration of the galleries and gardens, model behavior (e.g., how to use exhibits), and encourage interactions among visitors. This role is intended as a facilitator and not an information source.
• Interact with disappointed visitors, listen to their issues to attempt to find a resolution, and use de-escalation techniques.
• Record and analyze visitor complaints/concerns/kudos/issues, inform staff who could address these issues, and follow-up with visitors as appropriate. Systematically record, track, aggregate, and analyze visitors’ complaints/concerns/issues using VIS protocols.

Maintenance Support

• Assess conditions of the galleries by constantly roving to ensure presentable conditions and safety of the objects, visitors, and other staff members.
• Monitor interactive features and power management of projectors, iPads, screens, etc. within the galleries to ensure they are working properly.
• Assist security in enforcing the gallery rules and communicate with staff via email any pressing issues that come up in galleries in terms of safety (of collection and of visitors) and technical problems needing immediate attention.
• Tidy hands-on exhibit elements to optimize visitor experience and safety.

Research Implementation

• Following all data collection protocols for all phases of evaluation and research:
• Collect paper- and/or digital-based visitor surveys
• Conduct visitor interviews
• Conduct visitor observations
• Record, enter, process, clean, and code quantitative and qualitative data per designed spreadsheets, databases, and rubrics.
• Maintain data collection logs and draft data recaps.
• Document, analyze, and maintain visitor talkback exhibits (e.g., History Now).
• With guidance from manager, co-develop and implement participatory visitor research projects to improve the visitor experience and inform future OMCA work.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE

• Ability to display and encourage visitor and internal customer service, take and share responsibility and treat others with respect.
• 1-2 years experience in customer service, hospitality, guest relations, or related field.
• English language proficiency in both spoken and written form; a second language (particularly Spanish or Chinese) highly desirable.
• Evidence of successful interactions with diverse populations.
• Ability to communicate in a clear and positive manner in chaotic surroundings.
• Attention to detail and ability to follow data collection and entry protocols without deviation.
• Ability to develop rapport with strangers to fulfill project and Museum objectives.
• Critical thinking and ability to be responsive to verbal and non-verbal cues in interviews.
• Analytical skills to assess problems and determine solutions.
• Knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Knowledge of Google applications (Sheets, Docs, Slides, Forms, Data Studio).
• Experience with digital devices (iPads, audio recorder) for data collection.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The environment may include:

• Museum environment involves both indoor and outdoor working conditions
• Ability to travel between OMCA locations, and other travel as required by position responsibilities
• Engage with diverse visitor populations for extended periods of time in the galleries or throughout the campus
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends

EEO STATEMENT

The Oakland Museum of California is dedicated to diversity, inclusion, accessibility and equity. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ability/disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We highly encourage our diverse community to apply for available employment, internship, fellowship and volunteer positions at the Museum, as we aim to ensure our staff reflects the diversity of our visitors and surrounding community. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, OMCA will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities.

COMPENSATION: $32.95