The Associate Director of Visitor Experience collaborates with staff across the institution to provide strategic-level oversight of all visitor experience functions and ensures that our frontline staff delivers the profound sense of welcome that is central to the OMCA brand. This position leads a team with vision for and focus on a visitor experience that satisfies guests, encourages membership sales, and provides a warm welcome for all. The position also participates in and supports ongoing efforts to ensure visitor safety and institutional accessibility.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The following reflects OMCA’s definition of essential functions for this position, but does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. OMCA may assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons. 

INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support the Museum’s mission, values, vision, and core commitment to the visitor experience, community engagement, and institutional relevancy for the future
• Contribute to and support the OMCA strategic plan, annual priorities, and institutional initiatives such as diversity advancement
• Contribute to a positive organizational culture based on mutual respect, a spirit of collegiality, cooperation, and openness to many perspectives
• Participate in a culture of ongoing learning, collaboration, innovation, creativity, and community engagement
• All positions will have core functional responsibilities, cross functional team activation and learning and development as a core function of each role.

POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy, Leadership, Administration

• Provide strategic-level oversight of all visitor-experience related activities and programs. Participate in and help drive institutional planning that touches on all aspects of visitor welcome and wayfinding, customer service, and sales. 
• Envision and deliver a visitor experience that sets the standard for Museum welcome. Leverage best-in-field practices to ensure all visitors feel seen, respected, and comfortable in the Museum. 
• Recruit, train, supervise, and mentor visitor experience staff.
• Manages an active training and communication schedule and communications systems for VE staff and volunteers to be informed and updated on current and upcoming exhibitions, programs, and other museum activities.
• Provide strategic level oversight of store/e-commerce operations including supervising, training, and scheduling staff.
• Actively deploy resources and improve processes in order to achieve efficiencies/cost savings. 
• Develop and document all policies and procedures relevant to VE operations in alignment with OMCA’s institutional policies.
• Work closely with members of the Senior Director’s Council and relevant staff to maintain financial and data integrity, ensure onsite and online sales and satisfaction performance targets are met and tracked via the development and implementation of a broad system of departmental performance metrics, reports, and tracking systems. 
• Assemble and analyze relevant admissions data, and prepare and deliver weekly, monthly, and other reports as requested, detailing VE activities and sales.
• Develop and maintain budgets in alignment with goals and sales targets.
• Oversee the development and set-up of admissions and ticketing software, acting as a Siriusware super-user; work with IT to prioritize, test, and implement updates to ticketing software as needed. Leading efforts for Tessitura implementation and maintenance for the VE department 
• Enhance and expand group tour program to meet and exceed financial goals and group visitor satisfaction; create financial forecasts for group sales.
• Participate in museum-wide task forces and project committees, including for exhibitions and programs on an as-needed basis.
• Provide information for the preparation of grant proposals; visitor research and evaluation activities.

Customer Service, Sales, and Safety

• Work collaboratively with Sr. Director of Marketing, Communications and Visitor Experience and the Director of Facilities and Safety to ensure that all front-line staff (Ticket Retail Associates, store, café, garage and security staff) reflect, at all times, the profound sense of welcome that is the core of the OMCA brand.
• Work closely with the Senior Director of Marketing, Communications, and Visitor Experience as well as teams across the organization, continuously improving visitor satisfaction metrics.
• Keep abreast of best practices in the field of customer service/sales and leverage innovative strategies in support of institutional goals.
• Design and implement staff training sessions to ensure that all front-line staff can effectively engage audiences from a wide range of backgrounds around OMCA’s uniquely relevant, timely, and sometimes challenging exhibition/program content. 
• Create and implement strategies designed to drive additional revenues by suggestively selling add-on experiences, encouraging repeat visitation, improving membership conversion rates, working with the digital communications team to ensure a superior e-commerce experience, and building out strategies for increasing group sales. 
• Drive improvements in visitor data collection efforts that will positively impact the Museum’s ability to more effectively target its offerings and increase sales. 
• Work with the Director of Facilities and Security Manager to implement and conduct training and periodic reviews of all security and emergency procedures.
• Oversee the daily appearance of the visitor services area; coordinate with operations staff to ensure all visitor spaces are maintained appropriately; participate in decisions around signage and wayfinding.
• Oversee event signage placement; oversee line management strategy on busy days.
• Participates in efforts and trains staff in order to make the institution increasingly accessible to people with disabilities and to people for whom English is not a primary language. 
• Supervises and trains front-line staff on cash handling and control, record-keeping, data entry, and accounting systems related to admissions and other sales transactions.
• Create sales and service scripts that reinforce the museum mission while achieving performance targets, working with membership, and marketing to support business goals.
• On behalf of Visitor Experience, establish and maintain strong communications and meet regularly as liaison between representatives of the Museum retail store, the parking garage, and the Museum Cafe, Town Fare. 
• Establish processes and procedures to support day to day operations.

Visitor Communication and Advocacy

• Responds to telephone, voicemail, written, and e-mail inquiries for information regarding visits, tours, accessibility, etc. Inform visitors of pertinent admissions policies, and sends out admissions collateral and museum brochures as appropriate.
• Coordinates with communications staff and staff in various departments to respond to visitor inquiries and to ensure accurate and excellent customer service to museum visitors, document visitor comments and inquiries in appropriate systems.
• Serves as an advocate for the visitor while simultaneously promoting the welfare of the Museum; communicates with a variety of visitors with diverse interests and abilities to ensure a positive museum experience, resolves visitor complaints to the mutual satisfaction of the visitor and the museum.
• Assists any special interest groups, in order to provide a unique on-site experience. 
• Collaborates with staff in recommending on-site signage and other forms of communications to help guide and inform visitors regarding program schedule of activities and locations.

EXPERIENCE

• Ability to be a strategic thinker and ability to deploy and align organizational strategies and objectives.
• Ability to deliver results, facilitate and influence others and problem solve beyond temporary solutions.
• Ability to model and encourage visitor and internal customer service, take and share responsibility, and treat others with respect.
• Brings 7+ years of related experience managing a visitor/public customer service operation with a demonstrated track record of success.
• Has at least 3 years supervisory/lead experience.
• Studies in business administration, marketing, non-profit management, or museum studies preferred.
• English language proficiency in both spoken and written form; proficiency in a second language (particularly Spanish or Chinese) desirable.
• Ability to analyze production and administrative problems, evaluate alternative solutions, and recommend or adopt effective courses of action.
• Working knowledge of visitor service principles, practices and procedures; knowledge of principles of supervision and training.
• Working knowledge of administrative principles and methods, including goal setting, program development and implementation; conflict resolution experience, leadership, team-building and motivational skills, and a professional and flexible manner.
• Ability to establish and maintain working relationships with staff, volunteers, and members of the public; exercise tact and diplomacy at all times; demonstrate an understanding of protocol and sensitivity to cultural diversity needs.
• Working knowledge of financial record-keeping practices and procedures as well as the principles and practices of budgeting and accounting.
• Excellent attention to detail and exceedingly well-organized.
• Working knowledge of computer systems and applications with proficiency in computerized electronic POS/ticketing systems (Tessitura experience a plus), Microsoft Office, Google Suite.
• Communicate effectively orally and in writing; prepare and deliver presentations and written materials appropriate for diverse program platforms, including public presentations, training programs, on-line activities.
• Working knowledge of equity and diversity practices.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The environment may include:

• Museum environment involves both indoor and outdoor working conditions
• Ability to travel between OMCA locations, and other travel as required by position responsibilities
• Engage with diverse visitor populations for extended periods of time in the galleries or throughout the campus
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends

EEO STATEMENT

The Oakland Museum of California is dedicated to diversity, inclusion, accessibility and equity. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ability/disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We highly encourage our diverse community to apply for available employment, internship, fellowship and volunteer positions at the Museum, as we aim to ensure our staff reflects the diversity of our visitors and surrounding community. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, OMCA will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities.

COMPENSATION: $92,450 - $92,450