Visitor Experience Associate

Position Summary:

The Visitor Experience (VEX) Associate strives to foster a welcoming and engaging environment to ensure guests of all backgrounds and abilities can make personal connections to history. VEX Associates are almost always the first people visitors meet and have the important responsibility and opportunity as the face of the institution to plug visitors into all the Missouri Historical Society has to offer. The primary goal of each visitor interaction is to create a meaningful experience that encourages repeat visits, excitement about the history of St. Louis and, in turn, a desire to support the work of the Missouri Historical Society via membership, donation, or volunteering.

This hybrid position sits on the closely coordinated VEX and Sold on St. Louis (Museum Shop) teams, focused on creating memorable and exciting experiences for our visitors during every moment of their time inside the Missouri History Museum.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work individually and as a team to foster a welcoming and engaging environment so all guests can make personal connections to history.
• Proactively interact with guests at many points during their visit, from the moment they enter the doors through the moment they head back out into Forest Park.
• Stay current on all MHS exhibitions, events, and programs. 
• Assist visitors with wayfinding through the Museum and Forest Park.
• Follow best practices in accessibility to ensure that visitors of all backgrounds and abilities experience facilities and exhibits.
• Assist in daily shop operations – assist with cleaning, organizing product, restocking product, making sales, maintaining shop displays, filling orders, and managing customer holds and requests.
• Complete retail sales, membership, and donation transactions via the Shop’s point of sale systems.
• Assist inter-departmental staff in facilitating our signature events and programs by helping with traffic flow and activities, communicating with other staff to ensure safety of visitors and proper use of facilities, and aiding with other duties as assigned.
• Assist security and collections staff in keeping artifacts safe by helping visitors understand our gallery guidelines.
• All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED.
• Prior experience working with the public.
• An adaptable, engaging, and welcoming presence with a visitor-centered mindset.
• Flexible schedule allowing for weekend and evenings hours.
• Experience working in a cultural attraction and retail experience are preferred, but not required.

Skills:

• A desire for and enjoyment of conversation and interactions with the visiting public.
• Ability to handle occasional high stress situations with the public, anticipating and addressing problems with professionalism and empathy.
• Ability to inclusively work with diverse audiences including making accommodations for people with disabilities.
• A team player.
• Strong communication skills.
• Ability to comfortably use or learn to use Windows-based computers, tablets and laptop devices and software associated with the role, including TAM retail software, Altru, and Outlook.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced environment in which schedules and details are often changing.
• A passion for St. Louis, its history, and its people.