What are the responsibilities and job description for the Guide and Guest Services Specialist position at Thomas Jefferson Foundation?
About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation has a twofold mission of preservation and education, and was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the Foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson's world and ideas, and sharing the history of everyone, enslaved and free, who lived and labored at Monticello. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience.
Guide and Guest Services Specialist (Full-Time)
Purpose:
$19.00 per hour
Schedule:
This position is scheduled to work Thursday through Monday, with regular days off on Tuesday and Wednesday.
We will look to you to:
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation has a twofold mission of preservation and education, and was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the Foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson's world and ideas, and sharing the history of everyone, enslaved and free, who lived and labored at Monticello. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience.
Guide and Guest Services Specialist (Full-Time)
Purpose:
- To bring history forward by connecting Monticello’s past – with emphasis on Thomas Jefferson as a nation builder, Monticello as a plantation powered by the labor of enslaved men, women and children, and the site’s architecture and material culture– to modern audiences. To serve as an informed, friendly ambassador to visitors whether onsite or online.
- To facilitate the guest experience at Monticello, primarily by assisting movement of guests on the property including screening guests for prohibited items, directing guests to the Mountaintop, controlling access to the Mountaintop, orienting, and organizing guests for tours, and facilitating guest parking at related locations.
- To be a role model for PT and volunteer Guest Experience staff members and to further the mission and vision of TJF through project work.
$19.00 per hour
Schedule:
This position is scheduled to work Thursday through Monday, with regular days off on Tuesday and Wednesday.
We will look to you to:
- Provide consistent and high-quality service to Monticello guests at every contact point during their visit.
- Develop and conduct interpretive, interactive talks and/or tours indoors, outdoors, and digitally for varied audiences.
- Provide informal interpretation through conversations with guests in a variety of historic and modern spaces.
- Respond to different groups of visitors (school children, families, adults, first-time visitors) by varying tour content and technique.
- Display initiative in pursuing additional topics for advanced study during work shifts when not engaging with guests.
- Decide when it is necessary to summon assistance from Monticello supervisors and managers.
- Embody EVP Core Values – visitor focus, provocative interpretation, and unity of effort - in daily work.
- Perform security screening and bag inspection of all guests for prohibited items prior to guests boarding a shuttle bus or accessing the trail to the Mountaintop.
- Ensure that all guests have a valid ticket and that it is scanned at the Bus Boarding area.
- Greet and orient guests while providing them with the information they need to make the most of their visit and reach their destination safely and efficiently.
- Provide guests with information about Monticello and related programs and exhibits.
- Perform additional duties as assigned such as mentoring staff, responding to guest correspondence and creating related reports, or assisting with inventorying and restocking supplies.
- Broad and thorough knowledge of American history.
- Excellent speaking skills, especially the ability of succinct expression.
- Excellent interpersonal skills—must be able to demonstrate empathy for each visitor and help them feel that Monticello is a place meant for them.
- Ability to perceive and express the complexity of Monticello’s history – home of the author of the Declaration of Independence and a plantation powered by enslaved labor – and its contested nature today.
- Ability to work well as part of a team meeting multiple demands and changing situations.
- Ability to address and/or resolve guest complaints through established procedures and effective collaboration with team members.
- Must be able to stand for periods up to 120 minutes
- Must be able to work inside and outside in all weather conditions for up to 8 hours with breaks included
- Must be able to speak at an acceptable volume for at least five hours per day, with breaks included, and sometimes with ambient noise in the background.
- Must be able to climb and descend at least 75 steep, narrow stairs inside the house at one time.
- Must be able to climb and descend at least 20 stairs on a regular basis throughout the day.
- Must be able to walk on uneven and sloped ground.
- Some lifting of wheelchairs, brochure boxes, strollers, etc. (up to 40 lbs.) is necessary.
- Regular weekend work and some evenings and holidays required.
- B.A. degree required with a major in relevant field or equivalent work experience.
- Excellent benefits package (including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) retirement savings plan plus 6% match, life insurance, and more!).
- Fitness club membership discount.
- Discount in the Monticello Café, gift shop, and Monticello online catalog.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – free for employee and dependents.
- $500 employee referral bonus.
Salary : $19