Emily Dickinson Museum Guide

Amherst has taken a leadership role among highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities in successfully diversifying the racial, socio-economic, and geographic profile of its student body. The College is similarly committed to enriching its educational experience and its culture through the diversity of its faculty, administration and staff.

Job Description:

Amherst College invites applications for the Emily Dickinson Museum Guide position. The Emily Dickinson Museum Guide is a part-time, casual position with no benefits. The expected salary range for this job opportunity is: $16.75 to $17.75.

The salary offered will vary based on a number of factors, including but not limited to relevant education, training, and experience, tenure status, and other nondiscriminatory business considerations.

Guides are responsible for facilitating the Museum’s primary public program, providing rich and engaging tours of the historic Dickinson homes. Guides welcome diverse visitors to the Museum and provide essential visitor services as greeters and tour monitors.

Guides complete a training course of approximately 60 paid hours over the course of several weeks. Training includes completion of at-home reading assignments, attendance at weekly training sessions, and observation of guided and audio tours. Guides participate in enrichment and training activities throughout the year, including mandatory monthly guide meetings.

Guide shift lengths vary from 3 to 8 hours. Typical shifts include giving guided tours and supporting the tour program in ways such as monitoring tours, greeting visitors, selling tickets and merchandise, and assisting with miscellaneous museum needs when not giving tours. The number of shifts worked per week may increase or decrease seasonally, based on Museum needs. Additional shifts for group tours and other programs may be added to regular shifts depending on operational need and guide availability.

Summary of Responsibilities:

Tours

• Prepare and deliver an individualized guided tour using Museum guidelines and resources.

• Maintain an interest in Dickinson studies and scholarship

• Guide for group tours and special programs

• Attend monthly all staff meetings, and any additional professional development or content trainings offered by the Museum, such as inclusivity trainings and an annual field trip

Visitor Services

• As a Greeter in the tour center, orient visitors to the Museum and its programs, contribute to an inclusive and welcoming environment

• As a Monitor, support guides by helping to keep tours moving through the tour route in a timely fashion

• Assist visitors who wish to join or leave their group or those who have special needs

• Alert the Tour Center Coordinator in the event of an emergency situation

• Open and close historic rooms at start and end of day

• Contribute to preservation of historic houses and collections by promoting safe visitor behaviors and inventorying collections objects on display at open and close

• Operate the point-of-sale system in the tour center to sell tour tickets and merchandise as needed

• Assist with upkeep of shop inventory, presentation of public spaces, miscellaneous housekeeping or clerical tasks as needed

Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or equivalent

• Interest in Emily Dickinson, literature and/or history

• Demonstrated customer service, public speaking, verbal communication, and interpersonal skills

• Schedule flexibility and adaptability to meet operational needs, including ability to work weekends consistently from March to December

• Commitment to creating successful visitor experiences for all of the Museum’s diverse visitors

• Successful completion of required reference and background checks

• An acceptable criminal offender records information (CORI) check

Preferred

• Experience or interest in working in historic house museums

Interested candidates are asked to submit a resume and cover letter online at https://amherst.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/Amherst_Jobs. Please be sure to upload all requested documents prior to clicking Submit. Applications cannot be revised once submitted. (Current employees and students should apply by clicking on the Jobs Hub icon from their Workday home screen.) This position will remain open until February 23rd. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and applicants are encouraged to submit as soon as possible.

Amherst College is committed to an inclusive hiring process and will provide reasonable accommodations for candidates throughout the application and interview process upon request.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.