Museum Experience Manager - Del Valle

Description

Thinkery is where Austin’s children and their families come to enjoy play-based, inquiry-rich, hands-on learning experiences. We believe that innovative, play-based, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) learning experiences are a powerful way for children to develop problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and curiosity about the world around them. Our exhibits and programs encourage children—alongside their caregivers—to solve creative challenges, explore a variety of materials, and to develop new ways to complete unfamiliar projects. Through these activities, children gain the tools and confidence to develop and grow into enthusiastic, creative, lifelong STEAM learners and thinkers.

Position Summary

The Museum Experience Manager leads and supervises the team at Thinkery’s Del Valle location delivering the museum’s mission and core values through their consistent and playful approach to learning experiences, operations and customer service. This position provides leadership as the primary supervisor of daily operations and staffing at the Del Valle location and is involved in all functions relevant to maintaining guest and staff expectations.

Essential Functions

• Primary keyholder and daily floor supervisor (Del Valle Location): Serves as the main keyholder, responsible for opening/closing the facility, ensuring safety and security protocols are followed. Supervises daily operations, manages staffing, and resolves immediate issues related to museum operations.
• Ensures continuity of expectations for staff between locations: Works with MLL Museum Experience teammates to develop and provide both initial onboarding and ongoing training for staff at Del Valle. Provides accountability metrics and customizes performance and learning goals for new and current staff, ensuring alignment with location-specific needs and overall museum objectives.
• Maintains high quality museum operations: Oversees daily museum operations to ensure they meet high-quality standards and contribute to improving the guest experience. Implements collaborative systems to monitor and enhance operational performance, ensuring seamless guest engagement.
• Builds and maintains systems for staff feedback and engagement: Develops processes to collect staff feedback and fosters collaborative environments to enhance engagement. Uses staff feedback to refine operations, improve work culture, and drive better staffing outcomes.
• Assists in policy development and oversees implementation between locations: Contributes to the development of policies, procedures, and practices and ensures their consistent implementation across locations.
• Delivers and iterates on training, onboarding, and coaching for DV staff: Provides location-specific coaching, mentoring, and continuous training for the Museum Experience team. Works with HR and Experience team to adapt and improve onboarding and professional development processes at the Del Valle location.
• Manages team scheduling, staffing adjustments and timecard approvals: Oversees scheduling, ensuring staff availability matches budgeted staffing plans, projected attendance and museum needs. Uses HRIS software, to create and adjust schedules, manage staff time off requests and approve staff timecards.
• Ensures exhibits and learning spaces are maintained: Works with internal teams to maintain exhibits and learning spaces, ensuring they are clean, safe, and well-stocked with appropriate materials. Manages inventory and safety compliance in exhibit spaces, ensuring the guest experience is seamless and enjoyable.
• Collaborates with Learning Experience and STEAM Learning Institute teams: Develops and conducts high-quality educational experiences in partnership with internal and external collaborators. Ensures that all educational programming meets the museum's standards for engagement, learning, and guest satisfaction.
• Prepares and maintains reports on performance and budget: Assist in preparing various reports, including employee performance evaluations, program outcomes, community listening and budget tracking. Uses these reports to monitor effectiveness and ensure compliance with departmental and budgetary goals.
• Serves as a model for superior customer service and innovative experiences: Leads by example, setting high standards of customer service and encouraging innovation within the guest experience. Embraces reasonable risk-taking to foster the development of new and engaging museum experiences.
  
  

Other Responsibilities

• Schedule and availability reflects that the organization is a 7-day-a-week operation.
• This role is most effective when performed onsite with limited opportunity for remote/hybrid work.
• A typical week will be Tuesday – Saturday with regular work outside of a 9am-5pm schedule to accommodate the opening hours of the museum.
• Other duties as assigned
  
  

COMPETENCIES

• Community Focus: Building strong community relationships and delivering community-centric solutions
• Ensures Accountability: Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments
• Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives
• Values Differences: Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization
• Nimble Learning: Actively learning through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning fodder
• Instills Trust: Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity
• Communicates Effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences
• Cultivates Innovation: Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful
• Develops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organization’s goals
• Plans and Aligns: Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals
  
  

Requirements

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Ability to successfully problem solve and create consensus around solutions.
• Ability to incorporate playful, engaging, and innovative experiences for various learning styles and ages, including young adults,
• Familiarity with and experience working in the Del Valle community preferred.
• Spanish language skills required.
• MS Office Suite and MS Teams proficiency required.
  
  

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIP

• Reports to Chief Experience Officer
• Supervises Museum Experience Staff.
• Peer collaboration with Museum Experience Manager (MLL), MLL Museum Experience team, Learning Experience Manager & Guest Experience Manager
  
  

Experience & Education

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; Some college or 4+ years of equivalent experience required
• 4+ years of experience in retail, customer service or guest-facing roles
• 2+ years relevant experience in instructional design or adult education.
• 2+ years supervisory experience including developing staff, performance management and assigning work.
• Thorough knowledge working with children and families in cultural institutions or out-of-school time programs. 2+ years of experience in science or children’s museum or other informal learning environment preferred.
  
  

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

This position is very active. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to:

• Observe and react to the needs of guests, staff, volunteers, and community partners.
• Move throughout the museum
• Manipulate and move exhibit components weighing up to 40 pounds, including those that may be low to the ground or above eye level
• Communicate and exchange accurate information with guests, staff, volunteers, and community partners in a variety of formats including in-person, virtually, and over the phone.
• Detect and respond to safety hazards.
• Occasionally work in outdoor environments.
• Operate a cash register and computer efficiently and accurately.
• Actively conduct training and deliver content to groups of staff, guests, and community partners.
  
  

Benefits

Thinkery offers competitive and affordable benefits for our full-time staff including options for 100% employer sponsored medical coverage. Our benefits package includes:

• Medical insurance options including HSA, PPO Gold, and PPO Platinum plans
• Affordable dental and vision
• 100% employer sponsored EAP, STD, LTD, AD&D, and Life Insurance
• 2 weeks of paid vacation, 12 days of paid sick leave, and 13 paid holidays each year
• Paid Family Leave
• Pet and child friendly offices
• Membership to the museum and discounted rates to Little Thinker’s Preschool and Camps