The Akron Art Museum is hiring a Museum Guide - Part Time

SUMMARY:

This position is the first point of contact for visitors and provides information about the museum and exhibitions. Museum Guides foster a welcoming, inclusive, and comfortable environment for all visitors. Works as part of a professional, service-oriented team, promoting the museum, supporting cultural experiences, and generating revenue at the Museum Shop and Visitor Services Desk. The staff also assists the security team in protecting the museum, employees, and visitors against theft and accidents. Guides visitors to follow expected safety and social distancing protocol.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Visitor Experience:

Welcome, greet, orientate, and direct visitors at front desk or in galleries as assigned. Provide outstanding guest service and build long-term guest relationships.
Develop a thorough knowledge of museum operations and keep current with museum programs and special events through resources such as the museum’s website, social media sites, weekly e-blast, Outlook calendar and publications.
Be familiar with and able to facilitate discussions around the artists and exhibitions, current and upcoming.
Know and able to discuss the building’s physical layout and architectural features.
Review daily schedule of events and communicate relevant information to other staff/hosts as needed.
Answer the museum’s main telephone line, dispense general information or transfer calls to appropriate staff members. Communicate through email with appropriate staff members.
Operate computer programs including admission and customer relations system and proficiency with MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
Track visitor information and attendance in database system.
Sell memberships and share membership benefits.
Conduct day-to-day shop activities such as processing transactions through the point-of-sale system, proper and accurate cash handling, performing opening, closing duties, and maintaining cleanliness and neatness of workspace to proper standard.
Assist with processing and shipping orders placed from outside the Shop, checking in merchandise, restocking merchandise, resetting displays, and conducting annual physical inventory.
Upkeep of the space around visitor experience desks and galleries during shift, including tidying lobby and gallery areas, refilling brochure racks, and notifying maintenance as needed.
Attend ongoing meetings, trainings, and professional development opportunities.

Gallery Engagement and Interpretation:

Engages gallery visitors in connecting with, engaging with, and understanding artworks in the. museum’s collection and special exhibitions. Engagement techniques include games, role-playing, sensory exploration, and conversation facilitation.
Assist visitors in hands-on studio spaces.
Participate in training on the museum’s collection, specialexhibitions, classroom management, museum best practices and other relevant topics. Training will take place approximately 6 times per year and museum guides will be paid for this time.
Assists in data collection related to gallery audiences.
Helps maintain collection gallery engagement supplies.

Museum Protection:

Observe visitors in the gallery and take proactive action as needed to prevent potential damage to artwork.
Gently and respectfully remind visitors of security concerns (no touching, no food or drinks, no large bags, etc.) Encourage questions and discussion of the artwork.
Have visitors place large bags and other objects inappropriate for the galleries in lockers.
Inspect art objects, labels, and lights/furnishings for signs of change or damage.
Report damage or change in condition of objects immediately to the Collections Manager, security staff and Visitor Experience Asst. Manager. Completes incident reports as needed.
Alert security staff as needed to ensure a safe environment for artwork and visitors.
Maintains a basic understanding of our emergency, radio, and art handling procedures.
Assist in disaster and emergency situations with evacuation and crowd control.
Attend training sessions on emergency protocol, radio etiquette and procedure, and reporting incidents.
Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS and CHARACTERISTICS:

High school diploma or GED preferred. Customer service and/or public engagement experience is required. Excellent verbal communication skills with the ability to be both friendly and authoritative. Ability to communicate effectively with individuals of varying social and cultural backgrounds, excellent rapport with children and adults. The ability to work well as part of a team; good interpersonal skills; creativity, energy, and enthusiasm. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations, resolve complaints with tact and courtesy, and de-escalate challenging situations. Ability to anticipate, intervene, and prevent potentially harmful circumstances to artwork. Dependability, flexibility, and adaptability in a dynamic event-driven environment. Attention to detail and the ability to stay alert for long periods of time in a quiet environment. Knowledgeable in standard computer applications and programs, e.g., Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Outlook email. Maintains a neat appearance and good personal hygiene. Safety-oriented. Appreciation of art is required. This is an hourly position requiring availability for weekend, evening, and possibly holiday shifts.