Audience Engagement Team Member [Brooklyn Museum, NY]

The Brooklyn Museum is seeking individuals with a passion for visitor experience and a deep knowledge of art history to work on a groundbreaking new initiative, ASK Brooklyn Museum. Through this program, we seek to improve our visitor experience by empowering visitors to ask us questions and get answers through our new mobile app. Team members act as a conduit for sharing information with visitors which include facilitating interactions with objects and answering visitor questions about our collection and exhibitions both through the app and in person.

Team members will gain a broad understanding of the Museum’s collections and exhibitions. ASK team members have a focused collection area and are responsible for sharing that knowledge with the rest of the team. Team members are responsible for researching works in the collection and creating study resources for objects on view and in special exhibitions. The team works regularly with other departments including curatorial, education, visitor services, and technology.

Duties will include participating in the day-to-day interactions with visitors including engaging in conversations about art, inviting participation in using the app, helping get users started, and answering questions about the Museum and collection in a fast-paced environment. Team members are accessible to the public and may need to field questions in person while simultaneously chatting with visitors via the app.

This is an experimental program and we make changes and improvements based on testing and evaluation. This might include the physical work environment, the methodologies for engagement, and the way technology is used to interact with visitors.  Team members need to embrace change and fluidity to roll with the ongoing nature of this iterative project.

Other duties as assigned. A uniform may be required.

STARTING DATE:     Immediately. Position through December 31, 2015 with a possibility of extension through reapplication.

WORK SCHEDULE:     Part-time, 15-20 hours, flexible schedule during Museum’s open hours, which are Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm and Thursdays 11:00am-10:00pm. The First Saturday of each month, we are open 11:00am-11:00pm.

The successful candidate for this position will have at least two years of professional art museum, gallery, or related experience and must demonstrate the ability to make scholarly information accessible and engaging to our diverse audiences. A broad interest and strong academic background in art history, a passion for engaging museum visitors around art, and a warm and approachable demeanor is required. An understanding of how to use multiple resources to enhance the visitors’ personal experiences with art in a museum setting is a must. The successful candidate will thrive in a varied pace environment, comfortable working on an interactive project that requires flexibility and change, enjoy working directly with visitors, work well as part of a team, and be a multitasker who is cool under pressure.

The position requires computer and mobile device literacy and excellent touch-typing skills (55+ wpm).  Customer service experience desired.  Bilingual or multilingual individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. M.A. in art history or related field required, current graduate students seeking such a degree are welcome to apply. Art history focus on the following concentrations preferred: Arts of the Americas or Ancient Egyptian art.

Reports to: Audience Engagement Team Lead