Museum Guide, Edith Farnsworth House Historic Site (Part Time)
National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Plano, IL
- $15.00 per hour
- Permanent
- Part-time
- Interpret the site, its architecture, landscape, and/ or artifacts through interactive experiential tours that encourage visitors to better understand and appreciate the site within historical and contemporary contexts.
- Engage visitors in active observation, discussion and synthesis during guided tours.
- Respond to different groups of visitors (adults, school children, families) by varying tour content and techniques as appropriate.
- Convey the mission of the individual site and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, including announcing current initiatives and upcoming programs and events.
- Provide exceptional customer service to all site guests and interact positively and professionally with site colleagues.
- Assist in monitoring collections security (buildings, objects, grounds) and visitor safety, responding calmly and professional to emergencies and promptly notifying supervisor of incidents or unsafe conditions.
- Attend all required in-service training sessions and contribute insights drawn from tour experiences and visitor response. Participate actively in training programs and other opportunities to expand site knowledge and strengthen interpretive skills.
- Assist as needed with visitor services and operations, including visitor orientation, answering phones, shop retail and ticket sales.
- Assist as needed with educational activities, special events and other additional duties and responsibilities.
- Some experience in public speaking, presenting educational or promotional information to the public, or other customer service role. Previous experience as an educator, guide, tour leader or related role preferred; experience in a museum or historic or cultural setting a plus.
- Knowledge of and enthusiasm for history, architecture or other cultural topics related to the site preferred.
- Effective and engaging presentation skills. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with ability to speak and read English fluently. Bi-lingual fluency (in English and Spanish or other language) a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with culturally diverse audiences, and audiences of varying age.
- Basic problem solving skills, including issue identification and prioritization.
- Ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic work environment
- Ability to continually develop skills related to use of rapidly changing technology and communications best practices.
- Entrepreneurial spirit and skill set a plus.
- Ability to work weekends holidays evenings
- Ability to work outdoors in varying weather conditions.
- Minimum physical requirements include but are not limited to: Ability to stand for periods up to 90 minutes; walk over uneven terrain; climb stairs;
- BA or equivalent work experience required; studies in history, architecture or other topics related to specific site programs preferred.