Position Detail - Museum Security Guard (Skinner Museum) - Part-time / On Call

Position Type: Staff Part-time

Hours per week: 6 to 8   

Weeks per year: 24

Work Schedule: Seasonal (April – October) for the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum. Requires weekend or weekend & weekday hours. Additional hours as needed for special events and tours. Eligible to fill in as a Guard at the Art Museum after a satisfactory period. 

Salary Range: $16.00 to $17.00

Department Summary & Job Purpose:

The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (MHCAM) is a dynamic learning resource for both campus and community audiences, serving as a laboratory for innovative interdisciplinary teaching. Founded in 1876, the Museum stewards a collection of approximately 26,000 works of global art and objects of material culture, including those of the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum. The Museum’s core program, “Teaching with Art,” serves the curriculum by annually supporting over 200 class visits across the disciplines. The Museum mounts permanent collection displays and special exhibitions, while also hosting community-driven programming with campus partners, those at Five Colleges, and others. (The Museum employs 12 FTEs, 4 PTEs, and approximately 30 students per year and has 4 internal departments: Administration, Collections, Curatorial, and Engagement.)

This position is responsible for greeting visitors, providing general information, enforcing Museum protocol, and ensuring the safety of the art on view. The guard will be primarily stationed at the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum (33 Woodbridge St, South Hadley, MA). The guard acts as first responder in alerting Public Safety to situations that affect the safety of the visitors or that compromise the security of the art on view. The guard is assisted by one student monitor. Candidates must be committed to providing a welcoming experience for all visitors and enjoy working with people of diverse backgrounds and gender identities.

This is a part-time position of 6-8 hours per week for at least 24 weeks a year coinciding with the seasonal (April – October) hours of the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum. Schedule will be configured depending on availability of guard, but will require weekend or weekend & weekday hours totaling a minimum of 6 hours per week. Additional hours as needed for special events and tours. Position may be eligible to fill in as a Guard at the Art Museum after a satisfactory period of service.

Core Job Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Performs security patrols of Museum spaces when open to the public and follows established opening and closing procedures to protect the collection, an important and valuable MHC resource
• Stays alert and observant in monitoring visitor interaction with objects on exhibit
• Follows established opening and closing procedures at the Skinner Museum
• Ensures visitors use only pencils and do not bring large bags, food or drink into the galleries
• Monitors use of photographic equipment
• Completes daily visitor log and other reports as required 
• Recognizes emergency situations and responds quickly and calmly, applying sound judgment and notifying Public Safety in situations including fire (alarms); medical or physical accident; environmental changes; art damage; suspicious behavior; vandalism; theft 
• Serves as frontline Museum staff for visitor experience that is welcoming and inclusive
• Understands the mission of the Museum and aligns performance and actions with diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility principles and those of the College’s anti-racist action plan
• Provides information about displays as well as MHC campus and local directions
• Periodically checks Museum spaces for missing or damaged labels or typos in label text and informs staff
• Effectively partners with and informs appropriate Museum staff of any environmental or visitor issues
• Assists with keeping building walkways clear of debris and exhibit cases clean 

Qualifications: 

• H.S. diploma and at least three years of related experience
• Customer service skills and commitment to making the Museum a welcoming and safe space for all visitors from both the campus and the community
• Proven leadership skills
• Ability to quickly adjust to changing situations
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Attention to detail and sound decision-making skills
• Dependable and calm under pressure
• Commitment to an inclusive work environment

Preferred Qualifications:

License/Certifications:

Compliance Requirements: 

Physical Demands: 

1. Physical Demands/Work Type

• Light work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. If the use of arm and/ or leg control requires exertion of forces greater than that for sedentary work and the worker sits most of the time, the job is rated as light work.

2. Physical Activity

• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles.
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word. Those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Sufficient clarity of speech required includes those which permit the employee to discern verbal instructions and communicate effectively in person and by telephone.
• Employee speaks with students and other faculty daily by telephone, e-mail, or in person on a daily basis.
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discriminations in sound.

3. Visual Acuity

• Visual Acuity - Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
• The employee is required to have visual acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned (i.e., custodial, food services, general laborer, etc.) or to make general observations of facilities or structures (i.e., security guard, inspection, etc.).

Working Conditions: 

Environmental and Atmospheric

• The employee is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions (such as in typical office or administrative work).  

Background Checks:

Mount Holyoke College is committed to providing a safe and secure environment, supported by qualified employees that will allow all of its students, faculty, staff and those associated with them to successfully carry out the mission of the college. As a condition of employment, the College will conduct appropriate background checks for all new hires. Mount Holyoke has designated the Office of Human Resources as the office responsible for ensuring that background checks (CORI, SORI, Credit History, & Driver Credential) are completed and utilized in the hiring process and Five College Office of Compliance and Risk Management as the office responsible for facilitating background checks as articulated in this policy.

Special Instructions for Applicants: 

Apply online; application materials must include:

1. A cover letter summarizing interests and qualifications
2. A complete resume or curriculum vitae
3. Contact information for 3 professional references

Mount Holyoke College is a women’s college that is gender diverse. The College is committed to providing equal access and opportunity in employment and education to all employees and students. In compliance with state and federal law, Mount Holyoke College does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, genetic information, sex, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, ancestry, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected status under federal, state or local law. The College does not discriminate on the basis of gender in the recruitment and admission of students to its graduate program.

Mount Holyoke College is an Equal Opportunity Employer.