Museum Educator & Visitor Services Coordinator, American Swedish Historical
Museum, Philadelphia
Position: Museum Educator and Visitor Services Coordinator
The American Swedish Historical Museum (ASHM) was founded in 1926 to
preserve and present Swedish and Swedish-American history and culture to a
broad audience. The ASHM is the oldest Swedish museum in the United States,
and the only museum in the East to present the Nordic people¹s
contributions in the history of America contributions encompassing the
arts and humanities, industrial design, science and technology, from the
founding of the New Sweden colony in 1638 to the present day. The ASHM
fulfills its mission of sharing Swedish culture through permanent,
temporary and traveling exhibitions, public events and educational
activities.
Position Description:
The museum educator is responsible for developing and delivering
high-quality educational programs for children covering a variety of topics
from colonial history to Swedish literature to Swedish holiday traditions.
The educator is part of a 6 person full-time staff team and has the
opportunity to work on a diverse array of programming and projects. We are
looking for a self-motivated, creative, dynamic person who is at ease
working with audiences ranging from pre-schoolers to board members. As
visitor services coordinator, this staff person is also responsible for the
part-time staff who greet visitors and work in the gift shop and for
keeping attendance records.
Duties include:
School program development, scheduling and implementation for both on-site
and outreach programs.
Family program development, including hands-on components to exhibitions
Special exhibition programming
Conference planning
Developing, scheduling and giving tours of the permanent collections for
adults
Hiring, training, scheduling and supervising part-time visitor service
staff
Periodic visitor surveys
The Museum Educator and Visitor Services coordinator reports to the
Executive Director and supervises the part-time Visitor Service staff.
Regular work schedule is M-F 8:30-4:00. The museums regular schedule of
events and activities also requires evening and weekend work.
Requirements:
Education: Bachelor¹s degree in education or a humanities field required.
MA in museum education preferred.
Knowledge/skills:
Minimum: Must be creative and have the ability to design innovative
educational programs for diverse audiences; experience working with
electronic media and writing curriculum. Must possess excellent written and
verbal communication skills and reflect a polished, professional demeanor
in a variety of situations. Understanding of best practices in museum
education, ability to prioritize projects, strong written and oral
communication skills, strong skills with Microsoft Office suite, valid
driver¹s license, must be able to lift at least 50 lbs.
Preferred: Familiarity with Swedish history, culture and language.
Minimum Experience: 3 years experience in planning and presenting
educational programs, preferably in a museum setting. Completion of a
Master¹s Degree can be substituted for 2 years of experience.
Salary and Benefits: The ASHM is an equal opportunity employer. We offer a
competitive salary as well as medical and dental insurance and a 403b plan.
Application deadline is March 5, 2012.
To apply: Please send cover letter and resume via email to
tbeck@americanswedish.org or mail to
Tracey Beck
Executive Director
American Swedish Historical Museum
1900 Pattison Avenue
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19145-5901
No phone calls please.
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