Description

As a member of the Visitor Services team, the Front Desk Lead is a front-facing customer service position and is the first point of contact for Hands’ On Children’s Museum (HOCM) visitors. They are expected to promote an exceptional customer experience while selling tickets, memberships, and store purchases. This position provides reservations and membership support and can effectively communicate information in person, through email, and over the phone. They facilitate a welcoming and positive experience for HOCM visitors by modeling HOCM's mission, vision, and values. 

This key role provides support and leadership to Front Desk reception staff and volunteers at the direction of and in the absence of the Front Desk Manager/Supervisor. The Front Desk Lead contributes to museum & front desk operations and visitor safety by understanding and enforcing museum policies and procedures and through a strong working knowledge of HOCM’s point of sale system. They are a collaborative and respectful part of the HOCM team with excellent communication and interpersonal skills who can quickly & effectively respond to a dynamic, changing work environment. 

The Front Desk Lead possesses a strong understanding of museum programs and operations and assists the front desk and other museum staff by answering questions and providing on-the-spot training. Works with Visitor Services and Café Managers/Supervisors to troubleshoot and resolve daily museum staffing or customer service issues. This position may be required to provide backup coverage for café, store, or reservations. 

Workplace Values

Achieving our mission requires great people who actively demonstrate our core values.

Compensation & Benefits: $18 - $20 per hour, medical, dental, and vision, employee wellness program, paid holidays and time off, a 401(k) retirement plan, and lots of adorable children. See benefit details for this position here.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, 3 professional references, and a bullet point list noting how your experience and skills match the requirements of the position. 

About Us:

The Hands On Children’s Museum is located on the picturesque East Bay waterfront in downtown Olympia. We are a nationally known family learning destination and the most visited children’s museum in the Pacific Northwest hosting more than 300,000 visitors each year. Our mission is to stimulate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills through rich, interactive learning experiences. We believe that all children deserve respect and the opportunity to learn, regardless of their ability to pay, which is why the Museum works hard to serve more than one-third of its annual visitation through the Inspired Learning for All initiative. The Museum is recognized as a national Museum for All and won a Noyce Foundation Bright Lights Award for bringing art and science education to underserved populations.

Voted a “Best Place for Kids” for more than a decade, the Museum offers a state-of-the-art LEED Gold facility with 150 indoor exhibits, a half-acre Outdoor Discovery Center, Art Studio, a MakeSpace for tinkering and inventing, café and gift shop, and award-winning education programs including camps, workshops, preschool, parenting classes, field trips, community outreach and family support programs.

 For more information, please visit our website at www.hocm.org

The Hands On Children’s Museum exhibits, education programs, and employment are available to all without discrimination.

Requirements

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

· Bachelor’s Degree preferred, relevant work experience may substitute.

· 1-2 years progressively responsible experience in a retail and office setting, including experience supervising staff or as a lead and meeting sales goals.

· Ability to work in a noisy, crowded environment for extended periods of time.

· Ability to work with individuals from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds.

· Excellent cash handling and customer service skills.

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

· Excellent initiative and problem-solving skills.

· Excellent office skills including word processing; e-mail; record-keeping and multi-line phone system. 

· Ability to proficiently use museum POS system to sell tickets, merchandise, memberships, and manage constituent records with a high degree of accuracy.

· Proficiency with Microsoft Office software, including Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

· Weekend availability – this position usually works 1 weekend day each week.

· Excellent project coordination skills; multi-tasking and prioritizing 

· Able to work independently with limited direction in a fast-paced environment with a great deal of flexibility.

· Must be reliable and detail-oriented.

· Ability to work in a team setting with a high degree of daily communication required. 

· Must care about and value the viewpoints of the other team members and organizational mission.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to walk, stand, read, speak loudly, hear customers, and use a radio and computer in a noisy environment. 
• Must be able to remain sitting at a desk for long periods of time or repeatedly sit and stand.
• Must be able to type for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds.