Visitor Experience Associate – South Street Seaport Museum – Museum Studies

South Street Seaport Museum seeks enthusiastic and personable Visitor Experience associates to engage with guests and introduce them to our museum content.

South Street Seaport Museum, located in lower Manhattan, is dedicated to engaging guests in the story of New York and its port through interactive experiences with the museum’s fleet of historic ships, historic buildings and galleries, 19th-century letterpress print-shops, and large collection of artifacts. Learn more at seaportmuseum.org

Job Summary: As a Visitor Experience Assistant, you will assist in welcoming visitors to the museum during limited reopenings under Covid safety guidance, helping tell the story of the rise of New York as a port city and its critical role in the development of the United States. Visitor Experience Assistants are the face of the South Street Seaport Museum and are responsible for welcoming guests to the Museum’s outdoor spaces with energy and enthusiasm, helping guests follow safety protocols, answering guest questions, assisting with ongoing sanitation protocols, and assisting with retail operations. Essential to this role is engaging with diverse visitors including non-traditional museum-goers. The museum will have limited hours, probably on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and for a limited number of weeks.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Welcome visitors to the Museum and maintain a friendly, personable, and positive attitude.
Share introductory information about the ship Wavertree, and answer guest questions about ship and Museum, with warmth and enthusiasm.
Support the visitor experience of diverse guests, including non-traditional museum-goers.
As the season progresses, lead tours of below-decks areas and also of the lightship Ambrose, and provide interpretation on other parts of the museum campus.
Encourage guests to follow up with further engagement, including memberships, donations, mailing lists, reviews, and other activity.
Follow all Covid safety protocols for staff, and cheerfully assist guests in following guest safety protocols,, including mask wearing, social distancing, route following and traffic flow, and hand sanitizing. Be flexible as Covid regulations change.
Participate in ongoing light sanitizing procedures, as needed.
Provide socially distanced retail sales in a museum pop-up shop.
Help set up and take down signage, exhibits, stanchions, and other components at the beginning and end of the day
Respond to and resolve visitor complaints and concerns with patience and professionalism, including referring visitors to managers or other staff members as needed.

Minimum Qualifications:

Experience in customer service, preferably in a cultural institution and/or non-profit organization.
Interest in museums/cultural institutions, maritime and/or New York City history.
Interest in and ability to learn new content about Museum’s ships, the port of New York, and other content.
An ability to communicate well in public settings.
Professional and personable demeanor.
Flexibility and positivity in dealing with new experiences and people.
Responsibility in handling money and retail sales.
Must be available to work weekend hours (preferably both Saturdays and Sundays) as well as some Fridays.
Foreign language skills a plus–especially Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, and German.
Theatre or other public interaction and presentation skills are a plus.
History or education background a plus.

Physical Demands and 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 this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Ability to spend several hours walking and/or standing in indoor and outdoor public spaces.
Must be able to climb ladders and work outdoors in very hot and/or inclement weather. Job will require stooping, bending, and carrying weights of up to 30 pounds

Non-traditional applicants

and/or those with suitable alternatives to the above criteria are encouraged to apply. The Seaport Museum strongly encourages applications from members of groups underrepresented in careers related to museums; we seek to foster a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as New York City and our audience.

Part-time/hourly positions. No full-time positions available. This is a Temporary/ non-exempt position.

How to Apply:

Email resume and cover letter with “ Visitor Experience Associate” in the subject line to visitorexperiencejobs@seany.org. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

No phone calls please.

The Museum is committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as New York City and our audience.

South Street Seaport Museum is an equal opportunity employer. As such, the Museum provides equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants without unlawful discrimination with respect to age, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender identification, marital status, military status or veteran, national origin, political association, political/personal convictions, predisposing genetic characteristics, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, geographic