Manager, Retail and Visitor Experience

Manager, Retail and Visitor Experience

The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world’s most influential metropolis. It engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the city’s past, present, and future. Founded in 1923, the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) showcases the city’s unique stories and cultural treasures. The country’s first and largest city museum, MCNY presents immersive exhibitions and programs at the intersection of history, popular culture, and art to 200,000 people annually, including 30,000 students and educators, fostering shared identity, civic pride and engagement, and social cohesion for New Yorkers. MCNY has been recognized as one of the leading museums in New York City by publications such as Condé Nast Traveler and the New York Times, with Time Out New York awarding MCNY “Best Museum” in New York in 2021.

The Manager, Retail and Visitor Experience will lead the Museum’s, admissions/visitor experience, and retail sales team. Reporting directly to the Director of Retail and Visitor Experience, this position is responsible for hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, and motivating a staff of approximately 10-15 part-time employees. Working in close collaboration with the Director of Retail and Visitor Experience, and other managers, this position is focused on maximizing visitor satisfaction and earned revenue.

Successful candidates must have excellent leadership, sales, organizational, interpersonal and communication skills. The ability to work collaboratively with other Museum departments, including Facilities, Education, Public Programs, Marketing, Finance, and Development is a must.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Manage staff of approximately 10-15 Visitor Services/Retail Associates.
• Manage weekly schedule, and Day Sheets, including coverage for after-hours events in conjunction with Public Programs, Groups, Events, Development and Membership departments.
• Supervise and maintain efficient daily operations, including accounting processes and reconciliations for opening and closing the shops and admissions, monthly income and expense reconciliations, etc.
• Track and respond to visitor feedback.
• Recruit, hire, train, and implement trainings, programs, and policies aimed at providing superior customer service.
• Conduct daily meetings with Shop and VE staff, to communicate daily happenings, promotions, discounts, museum programs, etc.
• Perform periodic reviews of cash handling protocols to ensure that all aspects of operations meet Museum standards.
• Manage scheduling of various institutional trainings and workshops for Visitor Services/Retail Team ensuring Museum operations continue without disruption.
• Maintain accurate reconciliation of and approve timesheets using the payroll system.
• Manage accounts with third party ticketing vendors, including timely updates to 3rd party websites about changes in hours, exhibitions, etc., and end of month redemption reconciliations.
• Meet weekly with the Director of Retail and Visitor Experience to provide feedback and establish priorities. Attend meetings with other departments as needed.
• Sell memberships and encourage staff to achieve or surpass membership sales goals.
• Ensure that staff comply with all departmental and institutional policies.
• Maintain updates to the Visitor Services/Retail Associate procedures files.
• Maintain adequate inventory of all Admissions desk and Retail supplies.
• It is expected that the manager will spend at least 65% of their time on the sales floor working directly with customers and staff.
• And other duties as assigned.

A successful candidate will have:

• A minimum of 3 years of experience in admissions/customer service and/or retail management, with a museum or non-profit background a plus.
• Must be able to provide a high level of customer service to all internal and external customers.
• Proven success managing and leading a dedicated staff.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Able to analyze and report on data, i.e., sales and attendance.
• Detail oriented and able to maintain integrity of ticketing system.
• Proven ability to handle a diverse workload and multiple priorities.
• Must be flexible, a TEAM player and ready to jump in when needed.
• Must be able to work collaboratively with various Museum departments and others.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office programs.
• Experience with Blackbaud Altru a plus.
• Experience with Shopify POS a plus.
• Bachelor's degree preferred.
• Merchandising/visual presentation skills are a plus.
• Schedule includes a weekend day, some holidays and occasional evening hours.

• A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and a passion for advancing equity and addressing structural racism within nonprofit organizations.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment:

This role requires traversing for 75% of the time and navigating office and museum environments. Proficiency in operating office equipment and occasionally lifting up to 50 pounds is essential, along with significant wrist, hand, and finger movements. Strong visual acuity (close, distance, color, and peripheral vision) is necessary for tasks like data analysis and computer use. Occasional outdoor work may be required. 

Benefits:

The annual salary for this position is $55,000-$60,000. The position offers a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, FSA, HSA, life insurance, 401K and a defined benefit pension plan, short and long-term disability, and an Employee Assistance Program, with options for critical illness insurance, accident insurance, legal services, and pet insurance. The Museum provides a paid time off policy that includes 10 days of annual leave, rising to 15 days in year 2, and to 20 days in year 3, plus 12 sick days per year and 12 holidays. Your employment relationship with the Museum qualifies you for free or discounted admissions to other participating cultural institutions.

The Museum of the City of New York is committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with staff as diverse as New York City and the audiences who are curious about learning more about its history and engaging in contemporary urban issues. Our staff members are dedicated to working towards a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring city museum in the world.

The Museum of the City of New York is an equal opportunity employer. As such, the museum provides equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants without unlawful discrimination with respect to age, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender identification or expression, marital status, military status or veteran, national origin, political association, political/personal convictions, predisposing genetic characteristics, race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and style), religion (including attire, clothing or facial hair worn in accordance with religious requirements), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions and transgender status), sexual orientation, socio-economic status, geographic location, philosophies, or any other classification protected by federal, state or local laws, in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, training, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-off, and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment. The Museum complies with applicable state and local law governing nondiscrimination in employment which prohibits discrimination and harassment against any employees, applicants for employment or interns, as well as contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants, other individuals providing services in the workplace or their employees in every location in which the Museum has facilities.