Vice President for Education and Visitor Experience

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is the world’s first children’s museum, a pioneer in the field of non-traditional education. Our mission is to actively engage children in educational and entertaining experiences through innovation and excellence in exhibits, program and use of its collections.  We encourage children to develop an understanding of and respect for themselves, others and the world around them through exploration of culture, arts, science and the environment.  The Museum is recognized for addressing the educational, cultural, and social concerns of youth and families in our diverse urban environment. The VP for Education and Visitor Experience will coordinate and provide leadership for the activities of the Museum’s departments of Education, Collections, Exhibits, and Visitor Services (the Program Departments). The Education Department delivers programs in natural science, early childhood, cultural studies, and for the afterschool program.  It is also responsible for the Museum’s live animal collections, greenhouse and garden, and library for children. The Exhibits Department handles maintenance of the galleries, visiting and traveling exhibits, and includes a repair shop as well as a large inventory of props. The Collections Department curates and manages a collection of almost 30,000 cultural artifacts and natural science specimens from all over the world, the Portable Collections program, and the Collections Central gallery and website.  The Visitor Services Department manages admissions, membership, calendar, shop, café, rental events, group reservations, and monitoring of the galleries.

Detailed responsibilities include:

• Direct and supervise the work of the departments; Education, Exhibits, Collections and Visitor Services.
• Work with the Program Departments to develop programs, exhibitions, and projects that will interpret the Museum’s mission in current terms and ensure a high-quality educational and entertaining experience for visitors; to create program schedules; to develop project proposals; to assist in fundraising efforts; to prepare and manage annual departmental budgets; and to prepare annual and long-range planning goals, objectives and strategies.
• Develop partnerships with schools and maintain communication between the Museum and the Board of Education; as well as private school systems, colleges and universities.
• Work with staff to develop programs that increase public access and use of the Museum collections.
• Communicate and represent the projects and priorities of the four departments and of the Museum to a variety of constituencies including Museum staff, public audiences, community groups, schools, other cultural institutions, and government and private funding agencies as necessary
• Strengthen partnerships and collaborations with community groups, peer institutions, and the field at large

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in a management position in a museum or educational setting, plus a background in museum education; 
• Excellent team leadership and interpersonal skills; 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Experience conceptualizing and writing project proposals for government and foundation grants and project management experience;
• Graduate degree in museums, education, or early childhood studies preferred;
• Familiarity, in addition, with visitor services, collections, and exhibition areas preferred.

Send cover letter, resume, writing samples, and salary requirement to:  Human Resources, VP for Education and Visitor Experience, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Avenue, Brooklyn, NY  11213.  Fax (718) 604-7442. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ,  Competitive salary and excellent benefits.  Equal opportunity employer.
 

KidShop Host

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum seeks a part-time KidShop Host, 10-20 hours per week. The person must be able to work weekends and holidays, and maintain flexible hours. Working in the Gift Shop, KidShop Hosts must provide courteous and excellent service to customers using knowledge of products and exhibitions.

Responsibilities:

• Communicates well with visitors and staff to maintain the highest standards of friendly, helpful, and responsive customer service at all times.
• Receives, unpacks, and shelves incoming merchandise.
• Matches merchandise received to invoices, checks for damages and identifies discrepancies.
• Prepares merchandise for sale in the KidShop. This includes, but is not limited to, packaging and labeling merchandise and posting signage.
• Restocks KidShop inventory and maintains appearance and organization of displays with an emphasis on cleanliness, aesthetic merchandising, attention to detail, and safety hazards.
• Operates computerized POS system to sell merchandise and answer customer queries.
• Follows store procedures under supervision for opening and closing, including cash reconciliation.
• Ability to support the fire marshal program.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• At least 2 years experience in a retail operation, preferably a museum store, or analogous experience sufficient to develop sales, inventory control and cash management skills.
• Possess a fun, friendly and gregarious demeanor.
• Ability to operate a computer cash register.
• Ability to bend, kneel and lift up to 30 pounds.
• Maintain a solid work ethic with the ability to multi-task.
• Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods of time.
• Employment contingent on Background/Fingerprint Check.
• High School Diploma/BA preferred.

Application Instructions:
Please email cover letter and resume as a single MS Word document or PDF attachment to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and indicate “KidShop Host” followed by your name in the subject line.

No phone calls please. EOE.

Visitor Service Host

The world’s first museum for children is searching for Visitor Service Hosts.  The Hosts will work in the following areas: admissions/cashier, coat check, and visitor assistance and maintenance on the museum floor.  The Hosts primary responsibility is to provide the best visitor experience possible. The Visitor Services Host is expected to greet visitors in a friendly, professional manner, and share information for each guests’ specific area of interest.  This is a temporary, part-time position, with an average of 8-20 hours per week.

Major Job Responsibilities:

• Maintain the highest standards of friendly, helpful, and responsive visitor service 
  at all times.
• Communicate well with visitors. Remain polite, courteous and helpful.
• Constantly circulate in your assigned area and be alert to visitor needs.
• Maintains museum floor and exhibits for all visitors.
• He/she will help communicate the Museum’s programs and services through daily interaction with the public.
• He/she will be a strong team player with a proactive attitude.

Additional Responsibilities based on assigned areas:

• Greet groups and individuals arriving for classes, tours, meetings, and events.
• Selling admission tickets and memberships.
• Answer phone inquiries and direct questions to appropriate staff as required.
• Assist with general crowd control and provide visitors with directions and advisement on areas to visit in the museum.
• Coat and bag check.
• Exhibit floor upkeep and positive visitor interaction.
• Light Housekeeping duties to keep the museum floor and exhibits clean and visitor ready at all times.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High school diploma or degree preferred.
• Flexible work-schedule a must, a minimum of 2 full weekends a month including holidays.
• Prior experience in retail, customer service, hospitality, or theater. Prior museum experience helpful.
• Super friendly personality, and you must like children
• Solid knowledge of computer operation.
• Must possess excellent verbal and communication skills.
• Ability to stand and walk around for extended periods.
• Average workweek is 8-20 hours.
• Ability to bend, kneel and lift up to 25 pounds.
• Background/Fingerprint Checks are completed on all employees

To apply, please forward your resume in a Microsoft Word attachment or PDF to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with “Visitor Service Host” in the subject line.