Seasonal Museum Guide

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library encompasses an unrivaled museum of American decorative arts in its mansion and galleries and a magnificent 60-acre naturalistic garden—all set on 1,000 gorgeous acres.

Winterthur employs a wide array of positions in the areas of curatorial, horticulture, education, conservation, library, maintenance, marketing, development, technology, and administration.

Winterthur offers a unique and rewarding experience that is rich in culture and natural beauty. Winterthur considers its employees and volunteers to be among its greatest assets and welcomes applications from candidates who will contribute their specific skills to its mission “to inspire, enlighten, and delight all of its visitors while preserving and enhancing [Winterthur]” and also uphold its core values of agility, excellence, innovation, integrity, inclusion, and transparency.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Reporting to the Manager of Tour Programs, Seasonal Museum Guides use excellent customer service and presentation skills to lead visitors through pre-selected rooms within the Winterthur House.  Seasonal Museum Guides will be trained to provide the Introductory Tour Self-Paced and seasonal tours such as the Yuletide Tour.

The Seasonal Guide, whether stationed in a room or positioned along the Tour Route for wayfinding, connects the general visitor in a welcoming manner to Winterthur’s collection with interpretation and engagement that is mindful of visitor safety and comfort as well as the safety and security of the collection.

Compensation: $16.47 per hour

Benefits: 403b with employer match for eligible employees; discounts in the museum store and cafe; free general admission for you and your immediate family

Work Schedule:  In general, 15-22 hours depending on museum needs, primarily evenings and weekends, role would run from mid-October through January 4, 2026.

Responsibilities:

1. Provide excellent understanding of the museum collection by providing age- and knowledge-level appropriate interpretations of the various rooms.
2. Provide stationary interpretation during the self-paced tour lasting up to 6 hours
3. Provide interpretation that inspires and engages visitors through compelling stories with broad themes of history, culture, ideas and connects visitors to the Winterthur Story and museum collection. 
4. Will maintain authority to ensure appropriate tour conduct in order to ensure the safety of the collection
5. Will safely direct visitors during an emergency evacuation.
6. Participate in initial orientation and training, attend Guides Meetings, and other related training, which includes room studies, reading tour manuals, and trailing tours.
7. Indicate availability through the scheduling system When to Work by the first of each month. Must be able to work Saturdays and Sundays, evenings, and some holidays, to include the three days following Thanksgiving or the three days after Christmas.
8. Perform other guiding related duties as needed and requested by Supervisor.

Minimum Experience: High School Diploma, or equivalent, with background in museum interpretation or teaching

Knowledge/Skills: 

1. Adept at modifying presentation to suit the widely varying ages, interests, and prior knowledge of visitors
2. Detail oriented; able to process training information received verbally or in written form and reconstruct this information in an engaging manner on tours.
3. Flexible; open to new ideas, appreciative of and receptive to varying perspectives, and comfortable with ambiguity, accepting that often there is no single “right” answer or perspective.
4. Strong interpersonal skills and verbal communication skills
5. Good customer service skills
6. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

Essential Functions:

1. Must be able to work during scheduled hours, staying until the end of scheduled shift, including weekends and occasional evenings.
2. Must be available at least 2 weekend days or evenings each week.
3. Interpreting requires the ability to occupy a designated area for up to 6 hours and interact with visitors in an approved fashion as they pass through.
4. Ability to operate and ride in a crowded elevator up and down 7 floors
5. Ability to ascend and descend 7 flight of stairs (25 steps each) on every tour
6. Ability to stand for up to 5 hours during station guiding when visitors are in the room(s) one is monitoring; sitting is permissible when visitors are not present.
7. All guiding requires vigilance to maintain surveillance of objects and people at all times while on tour.
8. Ability to talk and communicate sufficiently to exchange accurate information.