Visitor Services Coordinator

OPEN DATE: January 11, 2025

CLOSING DATE: January 25, 2025 (This job will close once 100 applications are received which may be sooner than the closing date.)

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Indefinite

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY LOCATION: Washington, DC

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Open to all Qualified Applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

OVERVIEW

The Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum seeks one coordinator for the Visitor Services volunteer program. The Visitor Services Coordinator works with the Visitor Services team to manage volunteers, to communicate with the public, and to support daily operations and activities at the Museum. Visitor Services Coordinators work at both National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

This position is located in the Visitor Services Division of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Smithsonian Institution (SI). The purpose of the position is to maintain a successful Visitor Services program. The incumbent serves as Visitor Services Coordinator, specializing in museum-wide tours and reservations. They are responsible for day-to-day management of Visitor Services programs, including health and safety, customer service, volunteer management, volunteer scheduling, tour and program scheduling, communication with the public, and collaboration with all NASM offices in addition to many SI offices. The incumbent will uphold the Smithsonian, National Air and Space Museum’s philosophy, vision and core standards for visitor service, ensuring that the visitors’ “first and last impression” of their experience at the Museum is positive.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan, manage, and implement all elements of Visitor Services operations.
• Provide customer service for Museum visitors, staff, and volunteers.
• Manage the Tours and Reservations Office, including scheduling process and implementation.
• Lead scheduling of guided tours and educational programs.
• Schedule and maintain all statistical data for reserved guided tours and educational programs.
• Establish essential relationships and coordinate across the museum and greater Smithsonian to provide tours and reserved experiences to meet visitor and museum needs.
• Support visitor services volunteer programs.
• Provide direction and logistical management to a diverse group of people, establishing, implementing, and maintaining policies and procedures that ensure the smooth operation of the Visitor Services volunteer program.
• Maintain records of all volunteer activity and provide administrative support to all NASM volunteers.
• Oversee timed-entry operations, providing customer service for the public and support for contract staff team members, at NASM’s Washington, DC location.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

To qualify for this position, applicants must:

• Possess a bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from an accredited four-year college or university that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position; or
• Possess a combination of education (at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position) and experience which must have demonstrated (i) a thorough knowledge of the principles underlying the work of this position, and (ii) understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the methods and techniques applied in performing work in this position;
• Possess three years of specialized experience, which includes volunteer management and training in an informal education setting.

Required Specialized Experience:

• Skill in providing services and assistance to visitors of a museum, education center, cultural or historical site, recreation site, or similar facility which receives large numbers of public visitors.
• Knowledge and ability to manage and maintain large scale museum programming.
• Knowledge of the logistical, legal and ethical issues associated with managing volunteers.
• Ability to communicate verbally, and in writing, in a manner that is clear and easily understood by audiences of all ages.
• Knowledge of NASM’s programs and policies, sufficient to develop programs and visitor services that support initiatives of the Museum.
• Knowledge of program goals, priorities, and commitments in the area of public service.
• Problem solving skills exercising patience and tact, showing empathy but firmness to maintain Museum and Institution standards.
• Working knowledge and skill of information technology in order to use computer applications to prepare communications, presentation materials, and reports.
• Ability to de-escalate conflict with visitors regarding timed-entry requirements at the Museum’s Washington, DC location.

Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.