Charlotte Museum of History – Visitor Services Manager

Department: Visitor Services

Reports To: President and CEO

FLSA Status: Full-time, Exempt

Charlotte Museum of History seeks an experienced, energetic, and highly organized Visitor Services Manager to oversee the museum's front-of-house operations, retail activities, membership program, and volunteer engagement.

This position plays a critical role in creating an exceptional visitor experience while supporting the museum's earned revenue and contributed income goals. The ideal candidate will bring strong customer service leadership, demonstrated retail and merchandising experience, and an entrepreneurial approach to identifying opportunities for growth.

The Visitor Services Manager supervises Museum Associates and volunteers, and works collaboratively across departments to ensure that visitors, members, volunteers, and community partners have meaningful and welcoming experiences with the museum.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Visitor Experience & Front-of-House Operations

·       Oversee daily front-of-house operations, including admissions, visitor services, the museum store, and public-facing activities.

·       Supervise, train, schedule, and evaluate the Museum Associate, ensuring appropriate coverage during operating hours, programs, and special events.

·       Establish and maintain high standards for customer service, hospitality, accessibility, and visitor engagement.

·       Manage visitor inquiries, concerns, and feedback, resolving issues professionally and proactively.

·       Oversee point-of-sale systems, cash handling, transaction reconciliation, and admissions reporting.

·       Track and analyze attendance, admissions revenue, visitor trends, and other key performance indicators.

·       Collaborate with other departments to support visitor engagement and museum programming.

Museum Store & Retail Management

·       Direct all aspects of the museum store, including purchasing, merchandising, inventory management, pricing, and sales performance.

·       Develop and implement retail strategies designed to increase revenue, improve profitability, and enhance the visitor shopping experience.

·       Identify, cultivate, and maintain relationships with vendors, with an emphasis on local makers, artists, and businesses.

·       Curate merchandise that reflects the museum's mission, exhibitions, and programs.

·       Create visually engaging retail displays and seasonal merchandising campaigns.

·       Establish and monitor inventory controls, including regular physical inventory counts, purchasing records, and loss prevention procedures.

·       Analyze sales trends, product performance, and profit margins to inform purchasing and merchandising decisions.

·       Develop and manage the museum store budget in collaboration with museum leadership.

Membership Management & Growth

·       Manage the museum's membership program, including recruitment, renewals, retention, benefits fulfillment, and member communications.

·       Develop and implement strategies to grow membership revenue and improve member retention.

·       Identify opportunities to convert museum visitors, program participants, and event attendees into members.

·       Coordinate membership campaigns, promotions, and special member experiences.

·       Maintain accurate membership records and oversee membership-related data in the museum's constituent relationship management system.

·       Track and report membership growth, renewal rates, revenue, and engagement.

·       Collaborate with Development and Marketing to strengthen member relationships and promote the value of museum membership.

Volunteer Program Management

·       Oversee the museum's volunteer program, including recruitment, onboarding, training, scheduling, and recognition.

·       Develop and maintain volunteer policies, procedures, and training materials.

·       Coordinate volunteer assignments with museum departments to support exhibitions, programs, events, and daily operations.

·       Maintain accurate volunteer records, including service hours and required documentation.

·       Develop strategies to strengthen volunteer engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

Administrative & Institutional Responsibilities

·       Prepare regular reports on admissions, retail sales, memberships, volunteer participation, and other departmental performance indicators.

·       Participate in departmental budgeting, revenue forecasting, and institutional planning.

·       Support museum programs, special events, and fundraising activities, including occasional evening and weekend assignments.

·       Participate in the museum's public tour rotation as needed; training will be provided.

·       Perform other duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS

Required

·       Associate's degree in business, hospitality, retail management, museum studies, nonprofit management, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

·       Minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in visitor services, hospitality, retail management, or a comparable customer-facing environment.

·       Demonstrated experience in retail operations, merchandising, purchasing, and inventory management.

·       Previous experience supervising, training, and scheduling employees.

·       Strong commitment to customer service and creating welcoming, inclusive visitor experiences.

·       Experience working with point-of-sale systems, cash handling, and sales reporting.

·       Excellent organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.

·       Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently with minimal supervision.

·       Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, Outlook, Word, and Teams.

·       Availability to work occasional evenings and weekends to support museum operations and events.

Preferred

·       Bachelor's degree in a related field.

·       Experience in a museum, cultural institution, nonprofit organization, or similar mission-driven environment.

·       Experience managing membership, customer loyalty, or donor engagement programs.

·       Familiarity with fundraising, donor stewardship, or planned giving.

·       Experience with Blackbaud Altru, Square, or comparable CRM and POS platforms.

·       Experience managing volunteers.

·       Demonstrated success increasing retail sales, membership revenue, or customer retention.

WHAT WE OFFER

Salary: $58,000

Generous PTO policy.

*Medical, Dental, Vision Benefits

Professional Development and Skill Building Opportunities

Flexible and Hybrid Work Environment

Free and Accessible Parking

APPLICATION PROCESS  

If you are interested in this position, please email a cover letter outlining your qualifications and resume to admin@charlottemuseum.org. We will accept applications until the position is filled. No calls, pop-up visits, or direct messages to staff via email or social media, please.

Charlotte Museum of History is an equal opportunity employer.