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National Museum of African Art - Smithsonian Institution

Visitor Services Manager

Creating powerful inter-personal connections with new audiences

NMAFA is reimagining how to create points of connection between our target audience (Gen Z and Millennial Global Africans) and our content, spaces, platforms, and people. This position is for a talented individual to develop and implement an audience-centered visitor services and engagement strategy for NMAFA, lead projects related to visitor services and engagement, and support the recruitment and training of docents that meet our goals as a 21st global African Art museum.

SCOPE OF WORK

The contractor shall provide professional, technical, and non-personal services to develop and implement a visitor services strategy, propose, and lead visitor focused on-site and digital projects, and recruit, train and manage NMAFA visitor services staff and docents. The contractor shall also attend Smithsonian-wide docent coordinator and VIS meetings in order to keep our docents and volunteers engaged with NMAfA’s exhibitions and programs. The Contractor shall work primarily remotely and periodically onsite to assist with department programs and events depending on COVID-19 restrictions. While the covid-related restrictions persist, NMAfA’s Visitor Information Services (VIS) personnel and docents continue to require periodic updates on Phase 3 and beyond opening strategies and updates on NMAfA exhibitions. Attendance at both Si-wide docent coordinator and VIS meetings are needed to keep NMAfA docents and volunteers apprised on opening strategies, protocols, and digital and onsite engagement as Smithsonian museums continue to reopen in limited capacity.

TASKS

  1. The contractor, in collaboration with the current docent corps, other team members at MNAFA and in consultation with members of the target audience, will develop an audience-centered, innovative visitor services strategy to engage with Generation Z and Millennial Global Africans- in DC, USA and worldwide The strategy will benchmark other similar projects, and will include a strategy for recruitment and training of visitor services staff and volunteers with clear goals and objectives, ‘signature’ methods of engagement with said target audience, and evaluation metrics.
  2. The contractor will identify, and recruit as needed new docents who can best carry out the strategy outlined above.
  3. The contractor shall prepare an overall training schedule syllabus for both in-service and new class training monthly meetings and shall prepare specific training materials for each training session. The contractor shall provide a draft of all material for review by his/her supervisor, making revisions as needed, and provide the final version of materials to supervisor for final review before dissemination.
  4. The contractor shall, with the docent corps, target audience and NMAFA staff develop digital and physical experiences to ensure visitors feel like NMAFA is a place where they belong, that they trust and that is a continuous source of regeneration, healing, and stimulation.
  5. The contractor shall maintain oversight of NMAfA’s allocated docent programmatic budget, reconciling accounts monthly and keeping the Supervisor informed of status-of-funds.
  6. The contractor shall maintain regular contact with visitor services staff, docents, members of the new docent class, and SI’s Visitor Information Services personnel, on a schedule determined in discussion with the Supervisor.
  7. The contractor shall ensure that relevant data regarding docent programmatic engagement is entered into EDGE.

DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall provide/deliver the following:

  1. Overall visitor services strategy for NMAFA including a recruitment and evaluation strategy
  2. Overall training syllabus and schedule for NMAfA’s existing docent corps
  3. Proposals for new and innovative projects that will enhance the visitor experience at NMAFA
  4. Project-related documents for which he/she is a lead/project lead or project manager (project charter, plan, evaluation report, close-out report etc)

QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR

  • Knowledge and experience implementing a wide range of audience engagement techniques particularly among young global Africans, university/college students
  • Knowledge and experience recruiting, training and managing diverse volunteers and front-of-house staff
  • Knowledge of African art an asset
  • Multiple languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Swahili, Portuguese) an asset

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

All work under this purchase order shall begin on or about February 28, 2022 and be completed on or about January 31, 2023. The contract is estimated at 40 hours per week. Due to COVID-19 the contractor’s schedule could change at any time prior oral or written agreement.

How to apply