Visitor Services and Retail Manager

Job Description:

Reporting to the Associate Director of Museums, the Visitor Services and Retail Manager (VSRM) will provide front-line and operational support to all of the Museums, ensuring smooth operations and a meaningful visitor experience. The VSRM is responsible for providing exceptional customer service to visitors; managing the visitor services staff team; overseeing public areas in the Museum to ensure cleanliness, safety, and security; and organizing public and private events including wedding ceremonies. In addition, the Manager is responsible for supporting operations for the Museums’ retail presence, strengthening earned revenue streams. The Manager is often the first staff member to interact with visitors, and, therefore, must communicate knowledgeably and enthusiastically about exhibitions and other Museums’ activities, as well as lead exhibition tours. Creates an innovative visitor and retail experience by evaluating and effectively enhancing Visitor Services systems and procedures.

This position coordinates and supervises Visitor Services Attendants comprising of part-time employees and student workers. These tasks will include scheduling, training, evaluating performance, and assisting with recruitment and hiring. Other duties include tracking, analyzing, and reporting visitor data; managing shop orders and inventory in coordination with the University Store, and collaborating with the programing and education department to support Museum programming.

To achieve our mission as a liberal arts college, we continually strive to foster an inclusive campus community, which recognizes the value of all persons regardless of identity. Our department is committed to contributing to an educational environment that is rich with cultural, social, and intellectual diversity.

Essential and Related Functions:

• Works with the Associate Director to determine short- and long-term strategic plans to establish a presence on and off-campus to increase visitations to the Museums, including preparing and managing the operational and personnel budgets for the Visitor Services department.
  
  
• Must be able to respond to site emergencies during or after hours within 30 minutes for the purpose of resolving immediate concerns.
  
  
• Supervises, trains, and schedules front-line staff, including part-time employees and student workers to ensure the highest level of customer service. Greets and orients museum visitors alongside frontline staff. Implements and helps shape Visitor Services policies and procedures.
  
  
• Serves as the primary point person for group reservations, University Chapel events, scheduling, logistics and arrivals of general visitors.
  
  
• Provides secondary staff support at the Reeves Museum of Ceramic’s Welcome Desk.
  
  
• Responds to problems faced by frontline staff and visitors by contacting other museum staff members, security, etc. as appropriate.
  
  
• Responsible for updating website and social media platforms to ensure visitors are informed; track and analyze social media trends. Develops and prepares informational and promotional materials for visitors. These may include, but are not limited to, visitor guides and packets, special brochures, web-based materials, and social media content.
  
  
• In consultation with curatorial and programming staff, understands purpose, goals, and learning objectives for each exhibition to assist front-line staff with visitor engagement. Is knowledgeable of, and actively promotes, the museum’s exhibitions and programming. Circulates throughout the museum to monitor public spaces, respond to visitor questions, and implement visitor guidelines.
  
  
• Along with Associate Director, ensures all spaces are accessible and inclusive. Ensures that all signage is up to date. Works with custodial team to ensure public spaces, such as restrooms are clean and presentable.
  
  
• In collaboration with Associate Director, integrates AudienceView into a CRM system; develops and manages CRM system to ensure that both visitors and members are admitted to the museum in an efficient and welcoming manner.
  
  
• Leads the development, implementation, and communication of visitor data tracking including experience surveys, attendance trends, and technology usage reports. Helps facilitate visitor surveys and evaluation as needed, and works with Program Coordinator to ensure program and museum assessments align with visitor objectives and strategies.
  
  
• Designs, identifies, procures and displays a range of shop products in the University Store and Watson Galleries that create a positive and creative experience for visitors.
  
  
• Develops new products in consultation with curatorial and collections staff, and education staff that are age appropriate, program inspired, and culturally relevant to the Museums’ community and mission.
  
  
• In collaboration with University Store, monitors and maintains the online store functionality, product availability, inventory, and sales tracking.
  
  
• Creates and manages budget for retail operations; manages purchasing process and inventory control procedures. Implements proper retail inventory procedures and accurate record-keeping. Works with the University Store to conduct the end of fiscal year inventory.
  
  
• Coordinates all marketing and promotion efforts to improve sales and increase public awareness of Museum merchandise opportunities, including online presence, pop-up, and within University Store.
  
  
• Maintains all licensing relationships; Negotiates licensing agreements with current and prospective licensees.
  
  
• Other related duties as assigned.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree required. Strong knowledge of and interest in art, history, and culture is preferred. The ideal candidate will bring a creative entrepreneurial spirit to their day-today activities. Supervisory experience in related setting is preferred; must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Retail experience is advantageous.

The university requires employees to become fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and new employees must provide proof of at least their first shot prior to the first day of employment. Individuals may seek a medical or a religious exemption to the vaccination requirement.

Upload resume, cover letter, and list of professional references are required. You will be asked to provide contact information for professional references in the application questionnaire. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until position is filled.

External Applicants: Please upload your resume on the Quick Apply screen. Your application will automatically populate your resume details, and you may verify and update data on the My Information page. Add your cover letter and any other documents required for the position to the Resume/CV document upload section at the bottom of the My Experience application page. You will not be able to modify your application after you submit it. The My Experience page is the only opportunity to add your cover letter and supporting document attachments. The online application form requires you provide names and contact information for three professional references.

Current W&L Employees: Apply from your existing Workday account. Do not apply from the website. Log in to Workday. Click on the Career Application and select the Open W&L Jobs report. Locate the position and click Apply. Update your Education and Job History. Attach your cover letter and resume, and provide three professional references in the appropriate boxes. Refer to this Job Aid for additional guidance.

Physical Requirements:

• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling.
  
  
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
  
  
• Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
  
  
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
  
  
• Standing: Remaining upright on the feet, particularly for sustained periods of time.
  
  
• Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized. This factor is important if the amount and kind of climbing required exceeds that required for ordinary locomotion.
  
  
• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires full use of the lower extremities and back muscles.
  
  
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
  
  
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
  
  
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, drag, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.
  
  
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position to position. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires the substantial use of the upper extremities and back muscles.
  
  

Working Conditions: The worker is subject to both environmental conditions: Activities occur inside and outside.

Types of Work: Light work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. If the use of arm and/or leg controls requires exertion of forces greater than that for Sedentary Work and the worker sits most of the time, the job is rated for Light Work.

Work Schedule: This position requires the ability to accommodate a five-day workweek scheduled Tuesday–Saturday. Schedule is fixed on Thursday and Fridays from 10:30-6:30 and 9:30-5:30 on Saturday with greater schedule flexibility on Tuesday and Wednesday when Museums are closed to the public. Some evening hours are required.

Benefit Eligible

FLSA:

Exempt

Weekly Hours:

35

Minimum Pay:

$41,139.00

Pay commensurate with experience.

Washington and Lee affirms that diverse perspectives and backgrounds enhance our community. We are committed to the recruitment, enrichment, and retention of students, faculty, and staff who embody many experiences, cultures, points of view, interests, and identities. As engaged citizens in a global and diverse society, we seek to advance a positive learning and working environment for all through open and substantive dialogue.

Washington and Lee is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As such, we are interested in candidates who are committed to high standards of scholarship, performance and professionalism and to the development of a campus climate that supports equality and diversity in our faculty, staff and student body. Job description requirements are representative, but not all-inclusive of the knowledge, skill, and abilities needed to successfully perform this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.