MANAGER GALLERY OPERATIONS

Description

The Hammer Museum delivers exceptional experiences to a diverse audience of approximately 250,000 visitors annually. The Manager, Gallery Operations is responsible for building and managing a team of 3-4 part-time Leads and 70-100 part-time UCLA student Gallery Ambassadors to ensure visitors have a positive and safe in gallery experience while enjoying exhibitions and art works.

 

Responsibilities

This position will foster a culture that honors, respects, and strives to ensure the highest level of care for our diverse and varied visitors as well as the art work we present in our galleries. The successful candidate will create a welcoming environment by training staff to provide excellent hospitality, and make the visitor’s experience in the gallery a pleasant one. The successful candidate will build trust and work effectively across departments and divisions to ensure the Hammer gallery experience is among the top in the world.

Devoted to the public it serves, the Hammer’s Ambassadors Program provides visitors with enjoyable interactions with UCLA students while giving students meaningful work experience that fosters a renewable set of skills and commitment to social engagement. These students serve as representatives of the Museum and the University by greeting patrons, facilitating their visit, and providing information as needed. Hammer Ambassadors can be found in key visitor touchpoints such as welcome desks, galleries, public programs, store, and events. Students gain specialized knowledge and experience in customer service, art appreciation, art protection, sales, and other life skills that will prepare them for future employment.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5-years’ experience working in customer service management in a fast paced, demanding, and complex public setting; museum, food service, retail or hospitality experience preferred
• Demonstrated skill in recruiting, training, leading and supervising a large (50+) pool of part-time employees; preference for working with students and other temporary workforces
• Demonstrated leadership and experience interacting diplomatically with the public in a high- volume, continuous-public-contact setting; exceptional customer service skills; ability to exercise good judgment and resolve patron problems in a positive, professional, and courteous manner; ability to maintain calm demeanor in difficult and/or hostile situations
• Bachelor’s degree in communications, psychology, hospitality/business administration or related field, or equivalent experience
• Expert knowledge of customer service and asset protection best practices
• Background and passion for contemporary art, museums, culture, and social change
• Experience gathering, tracking, analyzing, and communicating performance data and related analytics
• Ability to delegate authority combined with willingness to work in a “hands on” manner and as part of a team
• Demonstrated ability to develop and administer effective and engaging training, coaching and employee development programs
• Excellent oral and non-verbal communication skills; strong written communication skills, including writing and editing
• Demonstrated skill in communicating professionally and effectively with all levels of staff to respond to needs, determine priorities, and manage expectations
• Highly skilled at organizing work, setting priorities, and following through on all projects and assignments with minimal direction; ability to meet multiple and conflicting deadlines with changing priorities and frequent interruptions in a fast-paced environment
• Polished and professional interpersonal skills to interact and effectively deal with Museum VIPs; Museum/University staff/students at all levels and of diverse backgrounds; outside vendors; and colleagues at peer institutions
• Skill in negotiating, exchanging ideas, information, and opinions with others to formulate policies and programs and/or arrive jointly at decisions, conclusions or solutions
• Ability to establish and maintain collaborative and team-oriented working relationships with staff in other Museum departments and at peer institutions
• Proven fluency in budget and labor hours projections, preparation, management, reporting and cost control
• Proven skill and experience using a PC and Microsoft Office Suite to execute daily tasks, and effectively communicate with staff, including but not limited to optimizing all aspects of Microsoft Outlook using Excel to manage, organize, analyze, and calculate financial information and numbers
• First Aid, AED, CPR and other emergency first responder certifications, as appropriate can be trained
• Physical abilities to the perform all core job functions and duties; ability to move quickly from one area of the museum to another; ability to walk; stand for extended periods; hear; talk; occasionally lift objects weighing up to 25 pounds; visual acuity including central vision, peripheral vision, close vision, and distance vision
• Ability to work frequent evenings and weekends; ability to work extended hours as needed
• Ability to present a professional demeanor and adhere to a business formal and business casual dress codes as required
• Demonstrated commitment to DEIA initiatives and effective communication strategies to support the Hammer Museum’s ideals of “…the promise of art and ideas to illuminate our lives and build a more just world.”

How to apply

Application: To view a full job description and apply, visit UCLA Career Opportunities and search the campus job openings for Requisition #34990. Please submit an online application as instructed. Due to the volume of resumes that we receive, we are regretfully unable to respond to phone calls and emails regarding the status of applications and the recruiting process.