Visitor Research Analyst - Museum jobs in Massachusetts

Position Overview:

Reporting to the Chief Operating Office, the Director of Member and Visitor Services (MVS) will have strategic and day-to-day responsibility for understanding the needs of visitors, supervising the work of admissions, groups, ticketing operations, CRM operations, and visitor analytics. Close institutional partners include Learning and Community Engagement, Marketing and Communications, Annual Membership Programs, Protective Services, IT, Exhibitions, Human Resources and Financial department.

Collaborating with staff across the institution, the Director of Member and Visitor Services will provide leadership to define and activate the visitor experience, ensuring Museum audiences are central to all efforts. The position will support the Museum’s strategic objectives and values of inviting boldly, welcoming warmly, engaging deeply, collecting purposely, and collaborating generously with a focus on staff development, cultural competency, customer relations management, and leveraging data. The Director will uphold the Museum’s commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA).

Essential Functions:

• Lead strategic-level oversight of visitor experience-related activities and programs to ensure alignment with brand.
• Envision and deliver a visitor experience that sets the standard institutionally. Represent the visitor as a key stakeholder across all areas of the Museum and bring this to the table at all levels. Support visitor engagement strategy with data and align how each department defines the visitor experience. Evaluate and improve the Museum visitor experience and ensure the necessary organizational structure and procedures are in place and regularly reviewed for sustainability. Promote interactions with visitors to gain new members through onsite conversion of admissions to membership, renew lapsed members, and upgrade current members. Drive visitor data collection efforts to positively impact the Museum’s ability to more effectively target its offerings and increase admissions in-house and online.
• Directly hire, train, coach, mentor and evaluate the Assistant Director, Member and Visitor Services, the Senior Manager, Visitor Operations, CRM Platform Manager, MVS Coordinator and Data Analyst. Through them, direct all MVS staff to ensure consistent performance and delivery of services.
• Collaborate with the Leadership Team and colleagues to center diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in Visitor Experience operations, activities, and decision-making. Lead diversity and inclusion best practices to ensure that all visitors feel seen, respected, warmly welcomed, and comfortable in the museum. Design and implement staff training in collaboration with other front line departments to ensure staff training on IDEA and customer service principles. Lead Fine Art of Service team to promote a culture that creates a positive and welcoming first impression, enabling efficient admission, and building and implementing strategies that encourage repeat visitations and engagement.
• Lead institutional Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategic initiatives. Work closely with Business Users and Key Stakeholders to understand evolving needs and map them to institutional priorities to develop an evolving roadmap and clear organization structure. Develop and ensure standards and practice are consistent, documented and communicated across the organization. Chair the CRM Strategy Committee setting annual goals and oversee the CRM Platform Manager to create work plans for the Tessitura ecosystem. Maintain Museum’s ticketing and reservations function, including general admissions, special exhibition, public program ticketing, and group sales.
• Lead Museum-wide business intelligence efforts to support strategic and tactical decision-making with a focus on audience and the visitor experience. Direct efforts of Data Analyst and others to support institutional efforts to collect and leverage data to support deepening visitor engagement and increasing revenues. Work with Exhibitions, Finance, and Communications to develop short and long-range audience development strategies and coordination of market research that affects audience development planning.
• Develop annual and long-term revenue and cost projections; monitor annual budget. Assemble and analyze relevant admissions data and prepare and deliver weekly, monthly, and other reports as requested. Manage in-house Visitor Satisfaction survey efforts.
• Chair EMS Master Calendar team and oversee Museum-wide use of master calendar and room reservation systems. Maintain Gallery Attendance software and hardware.
• Select and oversee the department’s outside vendors, including ticketing, inbound call centers, data integration, and business analytics, while maintaining privacy of data and the organization’s best interests. 
• Responsible for maintaining updated visitor information on the Museum’s automated telephone system and providing adequate phone coverage during business hours and weekends for incoming calls. 
• Continually benchmark peer institutions’ member and visitor services efforts to identify best practices that may be employed by the MFA.
• Perform other duties as assigned. The Museum reserves the right to change job descriptions.

Requirements and Characteristics:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business or related discipline
• 7 to 10 years experience in a leadership role managing a complex and fast-paced visitor services and/or hospitality operation
• Experience working with broad and culturally diverse audiences. Must be dedicated to offering an optimal visitor service experience for all audiences
• Strong analytical skills to assess attendance and revenue projections; makes recommendations as appropriate and in support of the Museum’s overall goals and mission
• Demonstrated ability in leading a diverse team of staff and volunteers; including hiring, training, motivating and mentoring staff. Experience managing a unionized staff a plus
• An excellent problem solver who addresses performance or customer service issues promptly, respectfully and effectively
• Outstanding customer service experience with ability to effectively train and inspire the MVS team to provide an optimal experience for all visitors
• Must be supportive of the Museum’s efforts in creating a culture of belonging, inclusion and accessibility
• A collaborator and excellent communicator with an exceptional track record in cultivating and stewarding relationships
• Outstanding organizational and project management skills
• Experience with budget management and oversight
• Strong computer literacy. Experience with Tessitura or other CRM platform a plus
• Must be discreet in handling sensitive and confidential matters
• Must be flexible and willing to work evenings and weekends as necessary
• An interest in or affinity for the arts or working in a museum environment desirable

The Museum reserves the right to change job descriptions. While this job description is intended to include essential duties, it is conceivable that job duties may change before the job description is officially revised.

Salary Range:

Full-Time Salary, 35 hours per week

$125,000 - $135,000

The MFA is an equal opportunity employer. The community and audience we serve is diverse, and we wish to foster that diversity in our workplace. Toward that end, the MFA does not discriminate against individuals in hiring, employment or promotion on the basis of race, religion, color, sex/gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, handicap or disability, veteran or military status, political belief, pregnancy, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law.