Visitor Services Assistant

University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 23,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Wisconsin-Madison's Chazen Museum of Art seeks a front-line Visitor Services Assistant to welcome visitors, answer questions, and guide them through resources and policies. The role collaborates with staff, security, and student workers to support exhibitions, events, and programming.

The position mixes front desk duties with gallery oversight, including wayfinding and safety checks, while providing essential administrative support and reporting to the Visitor Services Manager.

Qualifications

• 1+ year of professional experience in customer service or similar field and/or working with visitors in a public setting.
• Excellent communications skills.
• Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.

Responsibilities

• Greet visitors and provide information about the museum's resources, policies, and layout.
• Monitor safety of visitors and artwork in the galleries.
• Reinforce museum policies regarding food, bags, touching artwork, etc.
• Coordinate with security and visitor services staff to ensure smooth daily operations.
• Greet groups on arrival and assist with stowing belongings.
• Submit reports to the Visitor Services Manager regarding incidents and visitor issues.

Skills

Customer service

Communication skills

Multicultural sensitivity

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

Job description

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category

University Staff

Employment Type

Terminal (Fixed Term)

Job Profile

Customer Service Representative

Job Summary

The Chazen Museum of Art seeks a front-line representative responsible for establishing the initial interaction with visitors to the Chazen Museum of Art. This position will work closely with other members of staff including the Visitor Services Manager, student workers, and security officers, helping carry out the Chazen's mission by ensuring all visitors to the museum feel welcomed, supported, and informed of all museum resources available to them. Visitor Services Assistants also provide support for security and other museum operations such as exhibitions, events, and programming.

A typical day will be split between the front desk (greeting visitors, familiarizing them with the Chazen's resources and policies, answering phones, responding to visitor questions) and the collection and exhibition galleries (monitoring spaces for visitor and artwork safety, wayfinding, engaging with visitors). Throughout the day, this role will coordinate with student team members, keep in close communication with our on-site security officers, and inform the visitor services manager of any issues.

KEY DUTIES

• Embody excellent visitor service skills to welcome and include visitors, and to inform them of the museum's layout, collections, exhibitions, and events.
• Monitor safety of visitors and artwork in the galleries.
• Reinforce museum policies regarding food, bags, touching artwork, etc.
• Communicate with security officers and other visitor services staff to ensure smooth daily operations.
• Greet groups as they arrive and assist with stowing their belongings.
• Submit reports to Visitor Services Manager regarding incidents, questions, and visitor issues.
• Act as role model for student staff, including leading shadowing shifts for incoming student Visitor Services Assistants.
• Complete regular gallery inventories.
• Assist with opening and closing procedures as needed.
• Provide administrative support for Visitor Services, including answering phones, restocking materials at the Visitor Services Desks, monitoring exhibition materials, entering attendance data, and assisting with museum surveys.
• Help visitors with general Madison-related inquiries and wayfinding as needed.
• Provide occasional staffing and logistical support for public programs.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Troubleshoots and resolves issues in a timely and professional manner
• Monitors and maintains work areas and supplies to meet customer and operational needs
• Processes customer transactions and may take payments following established policies and procedures
• Guides and trains staff and student workers
• Provides exceptional service, answers questions, or provides information in a specific subject area to (internal, external) (customers, donors, stakeholders) based on set material or standards
• Organizes, distributes, and maintains relevant work unit procedures, polices, and updates to ensure accuracy and relevancy of delivered information

Department

Chazen Museum of Art

Anticipated work week

Tuesday through Saturday, 40 hours per week. Some weekday evenings required.

Compensation

The starting rate for this position is $20.50/hour but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. Please review the summary of benefits for more information.

Required Qualifications

1+ year of professional experience in customer service or similar field and/or working with visitors in a public setting.

Excellent communications skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in an arts, education, community, or non-profit setting.

A commitment to supporting the Chazen's vision and goals related to visitor experience, including knowledge of and sensitivity to multiculturalism and diversity.

The ability to interface with many different roles on campus and engage across communities and identities.

Physical Demands

• Sitting/standing
• Walking
• Moving tables and chairs
• Pushing carts

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.

Contact Information

Serena Boman, HR Generalist, [e-mail]

Institutional Statement on Diversity

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.