Visitor Experience Representative, Temporary Part Time

Applications due Friday, January 17th, 5pm PST

ROLE OVERVIEW: Come join SAM’s Visitor Experience team during the largest U.S. retrospective of contemporary artist, Ai Weiwei! We seek highly competent, enthusiastic individuals with a knack for providing exceptional customer service and exceeding sales goals. 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 a unique Seattle Art Museum visitor experience!

FLSA STATUS: Part Time-Variable, Non-Exempt       
REPORTS TO: Visitor Experience Assistant Manager  
COMPENSATION: $21.26 / hour
BENEFITS: Part Time Variable SAM Staff can participate in SAM’s 403b retirement plan, and begin receiving a guaranteed 3% employer contribution following 1 year & 1,000 hours worked. PTV Staff have access to paid time off for vacation, sick leave, bereavement leave, and jury duty per accrual and pro-rated schedules. SAM observes 11 holidays each year, and offers PTV Staff 1 paid floating holiday of their choice. PTV Staff also receive a Patron level membership to SAM, and a Tier III membership to the American Alliance of Museums, as well as access to an onsite fitness facility, SAM’s museum library, a no-cost Employee Assistance Program resource, a 20% discount at the SAM Museum Shop and a 10% discount at SAM’s MARKET cafe, and 8 Home Free Guarantee cab rides home per year.
WORKING HOURS: We're looking for someone to join us for a fixed term, February 3rd - September 7th, 2025, in a part-time variable capacity. This person would have 2-4 shifts per week (Wednesday - Sunday), depending on the week. Candidates must be available for the following days:

• On-site orientation and training: February 3rd – February 7th
• On-site Exhibition Training: February 12th
• Opening Weekend: March 15th & 16th
• Closing Weekend: September 6th & 7th

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. 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.
2. Ticket & Membership Sales: Actively promote the museum to sell tickets and memberships to incoming visitors. 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.
3. Opening and Closing 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. Close your till at the end of the day 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Access Control: Scan each visitor’s ticket before they enter the galleries to verify their ticket is valid and to ensure accurate attendance counts.
8. Fourth Floor Operations: Monitor 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.
9. 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. Be willing and able to work any VX post as needed.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Flexibility: Perform duties at all SAM locations as needed. Dress for indoor and outdoor duties. Flexibility to work special events such as SAM Remix, Party in the Park, etc. required.
13. Other duties as assigned.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR:

1. High school graduate or equivalent related experience.
2. 1+ year of experience in a customer-oriented environment with a focus on sales or ticketing required.
3. Excellent customer service skills. Ability to maintain a positive approach when dealing with difficult internal/external customers in a consistent, professional manner.
4. Ability to learn and adapt quickly in a constantly changing environment.
5. Excellent written and oral communication skills, and professional etiquette.
6. Experience using MS Office and Google Suite preferred. 
7. Ability to learn Tessitura, the museum’s database and ticketing platform, is essential.
8. General math skills, including the ability to handle cash-related transactions accurately and ethically.
9. Ability to take initiative and prioritize multiple competing tasks; possess excellent time-management skill and ability to work under pressure at a fast pace.
10. Ability to work with close attention to detail and to maintain confidentiality. 
11. Ability to work professionally and tactfully to support management decisions in a positive, professional manner.
12. Available during peak holiday seasons.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Exposure: Work areas are mostly inside, in a climate-controlled office environment with 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. 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 communication 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.
 

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Celebrating difference. At Seattle Art Museum, our members, visitors, and local community come from all walks of life, and so do our employees, volunteers, and interns. The plurality of our identities and experiences strengthens our mission: connecting art to life. Our mission and vision call us to be responsive to a multitude of cultural contexts and lived experiences, and as such, our Strategic Plan directly addresses the role art plays in empowering and elevating social justice movements, and promoting structural change to further equity in our society. SAM is particularly dedicated to racial equity in the workplace, because we know that people of color are the most impacted when it comes to both historical and present inequities. We know that equity is not a single fixed destination, it’s ongoing reckoning. As SAM continually strives to be a more inclusive and equitable workplace, we are particularly interested in engaging with those who have been historically underrepresented in the museum field. We are dedicated to building a diverse workplace, and a sense of belonging for each and every employee, because we know our organization is at its best when we celebrate difference.

SAM is an equal opportunity employer. We are an equal opportunity employer, and consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, sensory, physical, or mental disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. SAM is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures, and will consider candidates for employment who may need a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the job. Please contact the Human Resources Department at HR@seattleartmuseum.org for additional information, or to request reasonable accommodations for the application or interview process.

We encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to building a diverse workplace, and a sense of belonging for each and every employee, because we know our organization is at its best when we include, celebrate and embrace difference. 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 or exceeding every single qualification listed. 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.

Criminal background check. Employment at SAM is contingent upon successful clearing of both a federal and state criminal background check.

Want to learn more? If you haven't already, check out our Careers page for more on working at SAM.

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!

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Last updated on Dec 20, 2024