Job Listing: Museum Interpreter
St. Luke's Historic Church & Museum - Smithfield, VA
Closes - Open until filled.
Position Title – Museum Interpreter
Salary - from $11.00/hour
Job Type - Part-Time
To learn more and apply, click here.
Historic St. Luke’s Restoration (HSLR), doing business as St. Luke’s Historic Church & Museum, in Smithfield, is the oldest surviving church building in Virginia. HSLR interprets the early American pursuits of Religious Freedom and the separation of church and state as imbued in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. HSLR stewards the church building, its artifacts, and its stories to explain and stress the importance of the site’s place in U.S. History. HSLR is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit education and cultural history institution that does not receive any federal, state, or municipal funding.
Start Date: Training: Immediate Public Tours: 1 month from start date Purpose: To provide world-class experiences for international and domestic audiences at our 17th-century historic site.
Responsibilities:
a. National Association of Interpreters (NAI) Certificate of Interpretation is preferred, but not required. A desire to seek and secure certification is appreciated.
b. Conduct historical research to enhance site-wide understanding of historical events and context for the purpose of providing educational and focused guided tours. This includes studying required and recommended primary and secondary sources.
c. Learn and apply need-satisfaction, consultative selling techniques as applied throughout the customer service experience, from point of contact through exiting the site, including converting casual visitors into paid guided tour guests and gift shop patrons.
d. Secure guest contact information including name, address, and email address to recruit visitors as new stakeholders for future engagement.
e. Process cash, credit, and check payments through POS, cash register transactions.
f. Assist the Gift Shop Manager with gift shop maintenance and merchandising.
g. Secure 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor, Google, and Facebook.
h. Provide assistance to the Education Coordinator in event planning, outreach off-site group programming, and on-site group tour bookings.
i. Assist the Education Coordinator with soliciting and securing Group Tour bookings from special interest and motor coach companies.
j. Open and close site when on-duty.
k. Provide minor housekeeping on an as-needed basis.
l. Other tasks as determined necessary for operations.
Qualifications:
1. Proficiency with computers, cash registers and Point-Of-Sale (POS) systems.
2. Competency in customer conflict resolution as demonstrated through prior work or volunteer experience.
3. Effective public speaking skills as acquired through prior work or volunteer experience.
4. Passionate about lifelong learning and educating others.
5. Willing and eager to provide world-class customer service experiences to visitors from all over the world.
6. Willingness and ability to wear business casual attire when on-duty.
7. Must either be working toward, or have obtained, at least an Associate’s Degree from an accredited institution. A Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in History, Historic Preservation, Public History, Architectural History, Art History, Religious History, Constitutional Studies, American Studies, Religious Studies, or Archaeology is preferred.
8. Must provide your own housing and reliable transportation.
9. Willingness and ability to work Fridays and Saturdays, 16 hours per week, February through December. Other days and hours may be requested infrequently for Special Events or other staffing needs.
Pay Rate: $11.00 per hour, part-time, a non-benefits eligible position
Schedule: Fridays and Saturdays, 16 hours per week on average. Training will begin upon hire and be completed within a month. First public tour will be required one month after hire.