Position Overview
The Public Programs and Visitor Experience Coordinator welcomes, connects, and engages visitors in a wide range of opportunities with the Spencer Museum of Art. In collaboration with museum colleagues, KU and regional community partners, the person in this position co-creates and assists with public and member programming for adult and intergenerational audiences. Overseeing visitor experience activities, this position provides exceptional customer service to visitors, serves as front-line support at the Welcome Desk one weekend day per week and Thursday evenings, as well as additional support as needed. The Coordinator supervises the Visitor Experience team members, including student staff and volunteers. Key to this position is connecting visitors with Museum resources, deepening relationships with current audiences, and cultivating new audiences. This position is part of the Public Practice team and reports to the Deputy Director for Public Practice and Curatorial.
Job Description
Events & Public Programs (50%)
- Develop, coordinate, implement, and evaluate public programs in a variety of formats to engage college student, adult, and intergenerational audiences in collaboration with Museum colleagues as well as campus and community partners.
- Collaborate with Advancement colleagues to develop and implement signature programs and experiences for Friends of the Art Museum members and prospects.
- Manage on-the-ground logistics and overall support for public programs and events, including welcoming and thanking attendees upon arrival and departure.
- Oversee and assist with set up and striking equipment for public programs and events.
- Manage vendors for programs and events, including catering orders, rentals, and other hospitality-related services.
- Create, update, and track records, including attendance and other statistics, for programs and events in the Museum's collection database, MuseumPlus, Outlook shared events calendar, and other community calendars.
- Coordinate with Creative Services and Communications colleagues on promotional and related materials for programs.
- Ensure accessibility and assist with accommodations for programs and gallery experiences to support the inclusion of all visitors and participants.
- Conduct and assist with gallery visits as needed.
Visitor Experience/Welcome Desk (30%)
- Oversee all Welcome Desk operations, including creating and maintaining an inclusive, accessible, open environment for visitors and staff.
- Manage onsite operations at the Museum's Welcome Desk during Thursday evening public hours, Saturday public hours, and other weekday/weekend hours as needed.
- Serve as one of the first points of contact with visitors, communicating knowledgeably and enthusiastically about the Museum, its activities, and resources.
- Capture visitor motivations, interests, affiliations, and feedback and create detailed weekend visitor reports to share with key staff.
- Perform opening and closing procedures and oversee front-of-house public areas, including maintaining cleanliness, organization, and safety.
- Monitor visitors in galleries, answer questions, gather feedback, and help develop and conduct visitor surveys.
- Conduct daily check-ins with Public Safety staff regarding visitor experiences.
- Maintain open lines of communication with Public Safety Officers regarding visitor experiences.
- Provide feedback and recommendations regarding visitor experience issues.
- Available onsite Sundays from 11:45 am to 5:15 pm, and available Thursday evenings 4:00-8:00 pm. Welcome Desk hours are subject to change with any changes to public hours.
Supervision and Administration (10%)
- Supervise, schedule, recruit, hire, train, and motivate Visitor Experience student staff and Visitor Experience volunteers.
- Develop and manage budgets for public programs and visitor experience needs.
- Assist in answering main line telephone calls and assist callers with general information.
Retail and Membership (5%)
- Oversee merchandising and signage of Museum Shop.
- Oversee and conduct transactions for on-site sales.
- Submit daily batch reports from Museum Shop sales to accounting staff.
- Maintain book room organization and restocking of Museum Shop merchandise.
- Facilitate and process membership transactions and donations and communicate transactions to Advancement colleagues.
- Collaborate with Advancement colleagues to promote on-site membership sales and encourage free-will admission contributions.
Other Duties as Assigned (5%)
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree plus three (3) years related experience OR high school degree plus seven (7) years of related experience.
- Minimum of six (6) months of experience developing and managing public programs or events, including planning, logistics, promotion, and on-site coordination, as described in the resume or cover letter.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat Pro, demonstrated by previous job duties or certifications, as evidenced by application materials.
- Available to work Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursdays until 8:00 p.m, plus occasional evenings and weekends with advance notice. Availability must be affirmed in the application or interview.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree.
- Minimum of three (3) years of experience in visitor services, education, or public programming at a museum, gallery, cultural institution, or similar organization, as detailed in the resume or cover letter.
- Minimum of six (6) months of experience supervising support staff and/or volunteers.
- Documented experience processing sales and transactions, such as operating a point-of-sale (POS) system or handling cash/credit card payments, as evidenced by application materials
- Experience using database programs (e.g., donor, membership, or ticketing systems) for data entry, retrieval, or reporting, with specific systems and tasks described in application materials, as evidenced by application materials.
- Demonstrated attentiveness to visitor or customer motivations and needs, evidenced by relevant examples in application materials and/or supported through interview responses or references (e.g., resolving customer concerns, improving service experiences).
- Evidence of flexibility, responsibility, self-motivation, and independent task management, such as holding positions requiring unsupervised work, handling multiple tasks under deadlines, or managing individual projects or shifts, as outlined in application materials.
- Experience working with diverse audiences across age, cultural, and ability groups, with examples provided in application materials (e.g., through education, programming, outreach, or customer service roles), and a demonstrated enthusiasm for inclusive engagement.
- Proven ability to communicate clearly and effectively in one-on-one and small-group settings, supported by examples in application materials (e.g., tours, presentations, team collaboration) and assessed during the interview and/or reference checks.
- First Aid/CPR/Mental Health First Aid Certified.
Additional Candidate Instructions
In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:
- Cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications.
- Resume
- List of three (3) professional references
Only complete applications will be considered.
Application review begins July 8, 2025, and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants are identified.
Advertised Salary Range
45,000 - 48,000
Application Review Begins
Tuesday July 8, 2025
Anticipated Start Date
Friday August 1, 2025
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University of Kansas
Jun 17, 2025