Visitor Assistant
Salary: Real living wage
Contract type: Temporary (five contracts)
Reporting to: Visitor Experience Manager
Team: Operations
Who are we?
We are Scotland’s design museum. Designed for everyone, firing imaginations and sparking curiosity in design across Scotland and around the world. At V&A Dundee we are on a mission to inspire and empower through design.
Design shapes our world, it's part of everyday life and it's everywhere. We are a museum with energy and have a vision of the future where everyone is inspired through design and recognises its far-reaching impact in our lives.
We are a welcoming place for people of Dundee to explore design and to use as an everyday part of their city, as well as inviting visitors from around the world. We are part of the V&A family of museums that celebrate creativity in all its forms from across centuries, for everyone.
As the face of V&A Dundee, our Visitor Assistants facilitate a world-class experience for our visitors, in a safe, secure and accessible environment, supporting our vision to inspire people through design. Working across our galleries, welcome areas and ticketing positions, our Visitor Assistants will:
Put the Visitor journey at the heart of everything that they do, creating a positive and memorable experience for all visitors and providing a tailored welcome as they arrive at the museum.
Greet visitors proactively as they enter our galleries, offering assistance and being present and available to answer queries and share knowledge and stories.
Be immersed in and develop a deep understanding of our building, objects and exhibits, to speak confidently and engagingly about these with our visitors.
Take pride in the museum’s appearance, see every day through the eyes of a visitor and question everything that does not look, or work perfectly.
Contribute to the commercial function of the museum, by upselling exhibition tickets, promoting museum programme and event attendance, encouraging donations and engagement with the retail and catering offer.
To be a confident, proactive, approachable and visitor focused individual, helping visitors to engage with the museum and collections, whilst maintaining a consistent, engaging and professional manner at all times.
To develop an extensive knowledge of the museum’s layout, exhibitions, activities, and the surrounding local area, to provide tailored service of the highest standard.
To encourage visitor participation with a broad range of public programmes available at V&A Dundee, such as educational and family activities.
To be a responsible and visible presence for an area of the museum on a daily basis, actively walking the galleries, carrying out invigilation duties and ensuring the safety and security of the exhibitions, objects and visitors.
To work comfortably as part of the team, developing an understanding for the importance that each colleague plays in delivering the overall visitor experience, and communicating confidently to ensure this is achieved.
Ensure that the museum is always presented to the highest standard, carrying out light cleaning, tidying and maintenance duties as required.
To be security conscious and diligent, ensuring in depth knowledge and co-operation with all museum security procedures.
To be able to respond quickly and efficiently to all incidents, near misses and emergency and evacuation procedures, by clearing and securing areas when necessary and ensuring the safety of visitors and colleagues by reporting issues through the appropriate channels.
To promote equality, diversity, and inclusion within the museum, ensuring that visitors and colleagues are treated with respect and dignity, and to actively contribute to developments that support the museum strategy for widening access.
To be committed to and promote health and safety, ensuring familiarity with all the museum's health and safety policies and procedures.
To be always presentable and approachable, wearing the uniform pieces provided whilst in all public areas.
To attend training courses as required.
To comply with all the museum’s HR, retail, cash and stock handling procedures.
To carry out other ad hoc duties, instructions or reasonable requests required by the business by the Management team within the Visitor Operations Department.
Essential
A customer service focused individual with previous experience in delivering a positive visitor experience or customer service in a commercial or hospitality role.
Able to anticipate different visitor needs and tailor services accordingly.
Communication skills, including spoken English.
Sales experience including ability to proactively introduce additional products or services to visitors, upselling and maximising sales.
The ability to promote all business initiatives of V&A Dundee, including ticket sales, exhibitions, events, retail, gift aid and donations.
The ability to work both under front line pressure and in quieter areas of the museum whilst maintaining a positive and flexible approach, adapting quickly to new information and providing an efficient and effective service at all times.
Clear understanding of security issues with the ability to be alert to potential dangers or vulnerable areas, regarding security and safety of both collections and the public at all times.
Able to follow procedures in relation to emergency situations and to react sensibly to unforeseen circumstances and to follow procedures in an emergency security situation.
A reliable, punctual and trustworthy individual with high levels of common sense. Ability to operate with minimum supervision and able to adapt to new or changing situations. Must have a sense of responsibility and initiative in all tasks undertaken.
Smart self-presentation.
Desirable
Experience of working in a museum or visitor attraction.
Working knowledge of a Ticket System.
Deadline for applications: no later than 17.00, 22 September 2024.
We are looking to hire for three separate contracts and welcome five Visitor Assistants to our team, all contracts require working in our Museum in Dundee.
Contract 1: 21 hours per week working across seven days a week.
Contract 2: 16 hours per week working set days from 11:00 - 15:00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Contract 3: 16 hours per week working set days from 11:00 - 15:00 Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
As part of your application please let us know what contract you would like to apply for.
We offer a generous package including 38 days holiday, pension scheme, company sick pay, entry to V&A Dundee paid exhibitions and many more discounts and benefits.
We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage applications from everyone and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or any other protected characteristics.
V&A Dundee is aware that working more flexibly is a central element of attracting and retaining disabled people in the labour market. We encourage you to apply if you define yourself as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (including deaf or neurodivergent).
If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, such as receiving the interview questions in advance or documents in an alternative format, please let us know via the email below.
If you have any issues with your application, please email: hr@vandadundee.org