Gift Shop & Visitor Services Manager (Part-time)
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA)
Brooklyn, NY
About MoCADA
The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) uses the visual arts as a point of departure for exploring new artistic production across a variety of disciplines. Through exhibitions and programming, MoCADA incites dialogue on pressing social and political issues facing the African Diaspora, and fosters a dynamic space for the creation and continuous evolution of culture.
Overview of Position
The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) in Brooklyn, NY is seeking a Gift Shop & Visitor Services Manager. This person will be responsible for all aspects of curating and managing the day-to-day functioning of the museum’s gift shop, including managing part-time gift shop clerks to work the front desk, as well as managing space rentals, the museum’s membership program, and book signing events. Successful candidates will be highly artistic and familiar with current trends, and must have the vision and skills necessary to help drive traffic into the gift-shop and the museum. Candidate must also have experience working in a fast paced environment, and be comfortable playing an integral role as a member of a small team. Ideal candidates will be self-motivated and able to work efficiently and independently with little supervision.
This position requires close interaction and collaboration with other staff, volunteers, consultants, service providers, educators and advisors. Ideally the selected applicant will be both a self-starter who is able to work independently, and also a team player capable of working in conjunction with a small team.
Schedule
Part-time: Approximately 30 hours/ week*
General Hours
Tuesday: 10:30 am – 3:30 pm
Wednesday: 11:40 am – 7:00 pm
Thursday: 11:40 am – 5:00 pm
Friday: 11:40 am – 7:00 pm
Saturday: 11:40 am – 7:00 pm
Additional hours may be required occasionally for coverage of events (evening and weekends)
Responsibilities
Gift Shop:
Curate the museum store with unique merchandise, including books, jewelry, home goods, clothing, children’s items and MoCADA branded items
Manage and track inventory of all gift shop items and enter in register system, LightSpeed
Cultivate relationships with local, national and international artisans to add new products to the shop
Work within a budget to purchase all inventory for gift shop
Manage, schedule, and work closely with part-time gift shop clerks
Meet with programmatic staff members to learn about exhibitions, events and programs, in order to stay abreast of all museum activity
Work with and manage clerks to keep the gift shop impeccably clean, neat and organized
Organize regular sales cycle for all merchandise (How long do we keep items? When do they go on sale? etc)
Work independently to organize display of merchandise (including window display) in the shop per season / exhibition
Keep detailed and organized financial records of expenses and sales
Generate end of day reports, and train clerks to do the same
Create and maintain online store featuring select gift shop merchandise (15 to 20 items)
Promote online items
Membership:
Promote, manage and process museum’s membership program. This includes working with designer and marketing manager to develop a new membership brochure, selling memberships along with clerks at front desk and at all events, processing payments, and sending out new membership packages
Events:
Plan and execute one book signing event per month
Coordinate space rentals, and manage events which will occur occasionally on weekends and evenings
Visitor Services:
Field and transfer phone calls to appropriate staff members
Answer general questions by phone
Check the museum’s general email account daily, responding to inquiries and fielding other messages to appropriate staff members
Participate in bi-weekly staff meetings, planning meetings, and professional development as necessary
Greet all who enter the shop and speak knowledgeably and enthusiastically about museum history, mission and activities. Train clerks to do the same
Be responsible for overall appearance of the museum as a whole (gift shop, hallways, offices, bathroom, gallery), including ensuring we always have proper cleaning supplies in stock (garbage bags, paper towels, cleaning solutions, etc.)
Training docents on customer interaction and museum visitor services policy
Social Media
Maintain the museum’s social media accounts (including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr), capturing and finding images and sharing them with our networks
Work closely with programs and development departments to promote events and campaigns
Form new partnerships to grow MoCADA’s social media following
Qualifications
2+ years of relevant work experience (i.e., ,retail, esp. in a museum or cultural organization)
Ideal candidates will be familiar with local, national and international artisans related to the African Diaspora, and other avenues for building relationships and sourcing merchandise
Familiar with contemporary trends in accessories, art, fashion and literature related to the African Diaspora
Experience as a merchandise buyer
Experience with social media and online marketing, including Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter
Past experience as a sales associate or manager is a plus
Experience taking inventory in a retail setting is a major plus
Strong commitment to utilizing the arts for social justice
Project management skills: demonstrated experience in successfully coordinating multiple project activities, and managing project deliverables
Excellent organizational skills
Ability to multi-task in an extremely fast paced environment
Highly detail oriented and visually inclined
Outstanding interpersonal skills; cordial and energetic; demonstrated experience working in a multi-cultural team environment and comfortable working interdepartmentally as a member of a small team
Incredible ability to interact and communicate with diverse audiences
Great business writing and editing skills
Desire to play a key role in strategic planning of the museum as a whole is a plus
Fluent in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Docs. Basic skills in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign is a plus
Must be available to work one weekend day each week, and additional weekends and late evenings for events and management of space rentals
Bachelor’s degree required
How to apply
To Apply
Send cover letter, resume/CV, and 5 images of items you would propose curating into the Gift Shop to jobs@mocada.org
Subject heading “Gift Shop & Visitor Services Manager Applicant”
Applications accepted through January 31, 2016
Desired start date January 19, 2016
Candidates will be contacted by MoCADA only if an interview is to be scheduled. Please no phone calls.