Visitor Engagement Team Leader

Job Summary

Oversee the daily delivery and quality of visitor-facing educational experiences across Naper Settlement and supports the institution’s commitment to being a user-focused museum. The position supervises Museum Educators and volunteers. Position provides leadership, scheduling, training, coaching, and ongoing support for Museum Educators and volunteers.

Working collaboratively with Education Department staff and subject-matter specialists ensures that interpretation and educational experiences are engaging, relevant, accurate, accessible, and responsive to the needs and interests of Naper Settlement’s audiences. The position promotes user-focused principles and supports development, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of educational programs, visitor experiences, and educational events.

Job Scope

Supervises and provides leadership and support to Museum Educators and volunteers. Manages Museum Educator scheduling and coordinates volunteer placement to ensure appropriate coverage for school programs, public programs, special educational events, and daily visitor experiences. Leads ongoing training, coaching, and professional development for frontline educational staff and volunteers. Works collaboratively across the Education Department to maintain high standards for interpretation, visitor engagement, accessibility, and program delivery. Supports departmental goals related to attendance, visitor satisfaction, program quality, and volunteer engagement and retention, and earned revenue. 

Principle Duties and Responsibilities

1. OVERSEES and supports delivery of engaging, high-quality visitor experiences, including guided experiences, field trips, educational and public programs, special events, and daily interpretation throughout the museum campus. FACILITATES programs and visitor experiences as needed.
2. SUPERVISES Museum Educators and volunteers through regular communication, observation, coaching, feedback, and performance management. Establishes and reinforces expectations for visitor engagement, interpretation, professionalism, accessibility, and high-quality program delivery.
3. COMMUNICATES program information, schedules, procedures, interpretive updates, and departmental expectations to Museum Educators, volunteers, and appropriate internal stakeholders to ensure consistent and effective program delivery.
4. COORDINATES materials, supplies, reproductions, and equipment necessary to support visitor experiences and educational programming and MAINTAINS appropriate inventories.
5. MANAGES and SCHEDULES Museum Educators and coordinates volunteer scheduling and placement based on program needs, staff and volunteer availability, skills, and anticipated attendance. Maintains accurate scheduling and volunteer records and communicates staffing needs and changes effectively. OVERSEES weekend and evening educational operations and visitor experiences, providing leadership and support to Museum Educators and volunteers and ensuring appropriate staffing and consistent program delivery. Maintain accurate scheduling and volunteer record and communicates staffing needs and changes. 
6. LEADS onboarding, ongoing training, coaching, and professional development for Museum Educators and volunteers. Provides training in visitor engagement, interpretation, facilitation, user-focused practices, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), accessibility, and effective teaching strategies. Identify training needs through observation, visitor and staff feedback, program evaluation, and changing institutional priorities and provide staff and volunteers with the tools necessary to adapt experiences for a variety of audiences.
7. SUPPORTS the growth, engagement, and retention of Naper Settlement’s volunteer corps. Builds positive relationships with volunteers, identifies meaningful opportunities for involvement, supports recruitment and onboarding, and works to ensure volunteers feel prepared, valued, supported, and connected to Naper Settlement’s mission.
8. COLLABORATES with the Chief Historian and History Education Specialist to ensure historical interpretation and visitor experiences throughout the campus are accurate, relevant, engaging, and accessible. Supports Museum Educators and volunteers in effectively communicating historical content and incorporating updated research, interpretive approaches, and institutional priorities into visitor experiences. 
9. COLLABORATES with the Agriculture Education Specialist to ensure Museum Educators and volunteers have the training, content knowledge, resources, and support necessary to deliver STEM agriculture, environmental, and food-systems programming to a high standard.
10. OVERSEES and supports the planning, coordination, staffing, implementation, and evaluation, of special educational events and experiences, working collaboratively with Education Department staff and other departments as appropriate. 
11. CONDUCTS ongoing observation and assessment of visitor-facing educational experiences. Uses visitor feedback, staff observations, attendance and participation data, and program evaluation to identify audience needs, barriers to participation, staff training needs, and opportunities for continuous improvement. Uses findings to strengthen the quality and consistency of Naper Settlement’s educational and visitor experiences. 
12. COLLABORATES with the Director of Education and appropriate departments to communicate upcoming programs, visitor experiences, educational initiatives, and other information necessary to support institutional goals.

The above noted job description is not intended to describe, in detail, the multitude of tasks that may be assigned but rather to give the staff member a general sense of the responsibilities and expectations of his/her position. As the nature of business demands change so, too, may the essential functions of this position.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

Skills in written and oral communications, organizational and interpersonal relations.  Contract administration, negotiation and coordination skills are important.  Creativity, flexibility and ability to solve problems are a must.  Ability to work independently and within a flexible schedule.  Ability to motivate and lead staff and volunteers and be an effective team leader.  Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with the public, volunteers, staff and members.  Attention to detail is essential.  Ability to assess and manage competing priorities and work well under pressure; excellent time management skills. Experience with audio/visual equipment needed.

Essential Functions

1. Ability to work indoors/outdoors to manage and conduct tours and programs with necessary physical agility, optical, auditory, and manual dexterity.
2. Ability to work a flexible schedule, including regularly scheduled weekends, evenings, holidays, and special events as required by museum operations and programming.
3. Ability to walk, climb stairs, sit, stoop or stand for an hour or more at a time.
4. Ability to lift or carry objects weighing 20 or more pounds.
5. Ability to push or pull supply carts, equipment or machines.
6. Ability to proofread and check documents for errors.
7. Ability to operate a telephone and/or radio device to receive and send information.
8. Ability to work in an area that may be uncomfortable due to temperature variation, noise, odors, or other conditions.
9. Ability to work with equipment or perform duties that require extreme precautions to avoid injury.
10. Ability to read, comprehend and speak English and be able to demonstrate twelfth grade reading skills.

Minimum Education, Experience and Certification Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in museum studies, education, public history, or relevant field. Master’s degree in a relevant field or professional certification preferred. A minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in museum education, interpretation, visitor engagement, or a relevant field preferred. Demonstrated experience supervising, training, scheduling, and coaching staff and/or volunteers required. Experience developing, implementing, or delivering educational and public programs required.

Please see the detailed job description here.

Apply

To apply, please ensure you complete both of the following steps. Partial submissions will not be considered. No phone calls please.

Step 1: Complete the online application

Step 2: Send a resume and cover letter to [email protected]