Visitor Engagement Assistant

Status: Part-Time, 16+ hours a week average. 

Schedule: Weekend availability required. Additional hours during local elementary school district breaks/holidays. Additional hours may be available in other museum departments for qualified candidates. 

Wages: $17.00 - $20.00/hr, DOQ

About Hands On: 

The Hands On Children’s Museum is located on the picturesque East Bay waterfront in downtown Olympia. We are a nationally known family learning destination and the most visited children’s museum in the Pacific Northwest, hosting more than 300,000 visitors each year. Our mission is to stimulate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills through rich, interactive learning experiences. We believe that all children deserve respect and the opportunity to learn, regardless of their ability to pay, which is why the Museum works hard to serve more than one-third of its annual visitation through the Inspired Learning for All initiative. The Museum is recognized as a national Museum for All and won a Noyce Foundation Bright Lights Award for bringing art and science education to underserved populations.

Voted a “Best Place for Kids” for more than a decade, the Museum offers a state-of-the-art LEED Gold facility with 150 indoor exhibits, a half-acre Outdoor Discovery Center, Art Studio, a MakeSpace for tinkering and inventing, café and gift shop, and award-winning education programs including camps, workshops, preschool, parenting classes, field trips, community outreach and family support programs.

Position Overview:

As a Visitor Engagement Assistant, you will ensure all visitors have an excellent experience in the art studio and MakeSpace. This front-line staff position maintains the cleanliness, organization, supplies, functionality, and safety of the art studio spaces while engaging families and children and supporting their artistic endeavors. You will have the responsibility for oversight, opening and closing of the studio spaces when the Art Studio Coordinator is not present, and assisting the Coordinator when both are scheduled. In the absence of the VE Leadership, you will work with the Visitor Services Management Team to troubleshoot program and visitor issues. In this role, you may also process donated materials for the art studio and prep materials for future activities. 

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Must have weekend availability.
• Friendly, outgoing, and engaging personality.
• Bachelor’s Degree a plus, relevant work experience may substitute.
• Experience in providing educational programming for children.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent initiative and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent project coordination skills; multi-tasking and prioritizing.
• Able to work independently with limited direction in a fast-paced environment with a great deal of flexibility.
• Ability to work in a team setting with a high degree of daily communication required. Must care about and value the viewpoints of the other team members and the organizational mission.

Additional Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities preferred:

• Experience in providing educational programming for children, including craft make & take activities.
• Proficiency with silk screening or other arts, animation/cartooning, nature/garden programs, technology/electronic media, tools/basic engineering, a plus.

Essential Job Duties:

• Maintain cleanliness, organization, functionality, etc. of Art Studio spaces.
• Engaging with children and families
• Opening and closing Art Studio spaces.
• Works with the Art Studio Coordinator daily. 
• Prep materials for future projects. 
• Must be able to perform work duties in an environment with noise and crowds.
• Must be able to use walkie-talkie system for communication with other staff members.
• Physical Requirements Include:
• Stooping, kneeling, bending, standing, squatting/crouching, pushing/pulling, climbing up and down stairs and step ladders, and reaching above the shoulders.
• Lifting boxes, chairs, and stools up to 25 lbs.

Workplace Values: 

Achieving our mission requires great people who actively demonstrate our core values.

 To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 professional references.

Compensation & Benefits: $17.00 - $20.00/hr, DOQ, medical, dental, and vision, employee wellness program, paid holidays and time off, a 401(k) retirement plan, and lots of adorable children. Benefits vary by number of regularly scheduled hours worked, length of employment, and employment status. See the benefit details for this position here. 

For more information, please visit our website at www.hocm.org 

The Hands On Children’s Museum exhibits, education programs, and employment are available to all without discrimination.

Wage Description:

$17.00 - $20.00 per hour DOQ