Visitor Experience Representative, On Call
OVERVIEW: If you enjoy interacting with people and sharing your excitement and enthusiasm for visual arts, Seattle Art Museum has the perfect position for you! We seek highly competent, enthusiastic individuals with a knack for providing exceptional customer service and exceeding sales goals to join the Visitor Experience team as an On Call Visitor Experience Representative. Ideal candidates exhibit a high degree of professionalism, are friendly and calm under any circumstance, and think on their feet. In this role you support and uplift the arts in our community and help create that unique Seattle Art Museum visitor experience!
FLSA STATUS: Non-exempt
REPORTS TO: Visitor Experience Assistant Manager
COMPENSATION: $20.44 / hour
BENEFITS: On-call employees are able to enroll in our company’s 403b retirement plan. Employees will also accrue sick leave at a rate of .0385 per hour worked. Additional benefits include access to fitness facility, discounts at SAM museum shop and MARKET, and two SAM guest passes.
HOURS: Must be available to work one set day per week, and must be available to work that day when called to do so. We may provide additional hours for high-volume days, extended hours, and vacation coverage. The successful candidate would have open availability to work seasonal holidays, and Wednesdays – Sundays at all locations.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
Customer Service: Provide exemplary customer service. Be friendly, engaging and welcome all museum visitors and members. Be knowledgeable about the museum and able to enthusiastically provide information about current exhibitions, programs, and events. As a Visitor Experience Representative, you are crucial in highlighting the museum and everything it offers so visitors maximize their experience.
Ticket & Membership Sales: Perform the following duties, and coach others when they are not performing these procedures properly. Actively promote the museum to sell tickets and memberships to incoming visitors using membership and ticketing sales language. Maintain working and up to date knowledge of our ticketing and membership software, Tessitura. Encourage lapsed and renewing members to continue their membership using advanced understanding of our membership levels. Maintain working knowledge of our discounts and community programs in order to convert ticket and membership sales effectively.
Opening Preparation: Assist in preparing the ticketing desk and lobbies for opening. Count and set out assigned register tills, Set-up stanchions and signage, and perform other duties as assigned to prepare for the day’s business.
Closing Preparation: Close your till by counting all payment methods, make sure your membership paperwork is accurately filled out, and document and report any discrepancies to the Visitor Experience Lead.
Explain and Enforce Membership Policies: Monitor the number of people entering on a single membership and explain reciprocal membership privileges. Look up membership information within our ticketing and membership software Tessitura.
Maintain Cash Drawer: Use proper cash handling skills to make sure your drawer is accurate and tidy. Perform till count in and count out to assist VX Leads in managing cash for each day.
Daily & Ongoing Projects and Tasks: Monitor supplies & ticket stock and relay low levels to the Visitor Experience Lead. Proactively ask the Lead for projects to be completed during down times and follow up to ensure completion.
Coat Check: Work in the coat check area, knowing all processes and procedures involved. Provide excellent customer service to those that need to check their coats, umbrellas, bags, and any other large or prohibited gallery items.
Fourth Floor Operations: During special exhibitions monitor and regulate the entrance to our Simonyi Special Exhibition Galleries, being aware of current gallery capacity, and communicate regularly with security in gallery space to monitor visitor traffic. Implement stanchioning and line management of gallery entrance as needed.
Teamwork: Appropriately seek and value peer input, communicate and collaborate effectively, and interact with the Frontline staff and Volunteers in a positive, professional, and constructive manner. Perform VX Representative duties as needed. This means being willing and able to work in coat check, on the 4th floor, as ticket scanner, or on the ticket desk as needed.
Understand, Uphold, and Abide by SAM Policies: Deliver high-quality work by adhering to the Visitor Experience department policies and expectations, VX customer service standards, ticketing policies, Membership policies, discount guidelines, and overall SAM institutional policies. Adhere to directives from Visitor Experience Management and SAM leadership. Conduct yourself with professionalism in the workplace at all times.
Communication: Conduct yourself with proper workplace communication etiquette, engaging in a professional manner. Communicate operational questions, concerns, and feedback to Visitor Experience management. Engage with all visitors, staff, and volunteers with professionalism. Adhere to proper workplace email and communication etiquette. Responsible for checking work email and Slack channels for updates when on site.
Flexibility: Perform duties at all SAM locations as needed. Be prepared to fill in as a breaker for various Visitor Experience positions. Dress for indoor and outdoor duties. Flexibility to work special events such as SAM Remix, Party in the Park, etc. required.
Other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
High school graduate or equivalent related experience.
1+ years of experience in a customer-oriented environment with a focus on sales or ticketing required.
Outgoing personality and excellent social skills.
Excellent customer service skills. Ability to maintain a positive approach when dealing with difficult internal/external customers in a consistent, professional manner.
Ability to learn and adapt quickly in a constantly changing environment.
Excellent written and oral communication skills and etiquette.
Demonstrated proficiency with and accuracy in using MS Office.
Ability to learn Tessitura, the museum’s database and ticketing platform, is essential.
Strong general math skills, including the ability to handle cash-related transactions accurately and ethically.
Ability to take initiative and prioritize multiple competing tasks; possess excellent time-management skill and ability to work under pressure at a fast pace.
Ability to work with close attention to detail and to maintain confidentiality.
Ability to work professionally and tactfully to support management decisions in a positive, professional manner.
WORKING CONDITIONS: Work areas are mostly inside, in a climate-controlled office environment with light to moderate background noise.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
Sitting/Standing/Walking: Approximately 75% of time is spent seated while working at a desk. Balance of time (approximately 25%) is spent standing or moving around the work area. Ability to stand for extended periods of time when assisting at Museum events.
Communication: Clear and effective verbal and written communication in English with volunteers, donors, members, the public, and co-workers is necessary.
Vision: Corrected vision close to 20/20 is necessary to effectively use the computer screens.
Moving: The ability to move up to twenty pounds on occasion is necessary for moving files, equipment, and supplies. Must be able to regularly position self to access files.
Office Work: Ability to effectively and regularly operate a cash register, computer, keyboard, and other office productivity machinery, such as copy machines and printers, and ability to inspect, prepare and use paperwork, files, equipment, and supplies is necessary.
Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is committed to ensuring that all employees and volunteers enjoy a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming workplace. SAM is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, honorably discharged veteran or military status, retaliation or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. The Seattle Art Museum will consider applicants who may need a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential functions/duties. Please contact the Human Resources Department at HR@seattleartmuseum.org for additional information or to request reasonable accommodations for the application or interview process.
SAM is dedicated to racial equity and strives for employees, volunteers, and interns who are passionate, qualified, and offer diverse perspectives. SAM prioritizes racial equity in the workplace because we know that people of color are the most impacted when it comes to inequities. We are particularly interested in engaging with historically under-represented groups in the museum field as we strive to be inclusive and equitable. SAM is responsive to cultural communities and experiences, and our strategic plan goals address the role art plays in empowering social justice and structural change to promote equity in our society.
We encourage you to submit an application, even if your experience doesn’t feel like a 100% match with the position. We know applying for a job can be intimidating, and research tells us that womxn and folks of color are less likely to apply if they don't see themselves meeting every single qualification. We encourage you to apply, even if you feel unsure about whether you meet every requirement in this job post. You could very well be a great fit for this role or others.
Though we'd love to be able to reply to every question that crosses our desk, due to the high volume of applications we receive, our HR team is unfortunately unable to offer a response to inquiries requesting search status updates, inquiries about hiring timeline, or requests to be put in touch with directly with the Hiring Team. If your experiences and capabilities are well suited to an open role, our Recruiter or the Hiring Manager will reach out directly to schedule an interview. Thanks for your understanding!