Director of Guest Experience

Position: Director of Guest Experience

Reports to: Chief Experience Officer

Level: Director

Classification: Exempt, Full-Time

Direct Reports: Two + Oversees a vendor partner

Benefits: Full Museum benefits

Schedule: M-F 9-5; non-standard including evenings and weekends

Salary: Minimum starting salary $105,000 annually, or commensurate with experience

Mission: The Dallas Museum of Art is a space of wonder and discovery where art comes alive.

The DMA will:

• Place art and our diverse communities at the center around which all activities radiate.
• Pursue excellence in collecting and programming, present works of art across cultures and time, and be a driving force in contemporary art.
• Strengthen our position as a prominent, innovative institution, expanding the meaning and possibilities of learning and creativity.

Scope of the Position:

The Director of Guest Experience (DGX) is a key museum leader responsible for ensuring a welcoming and positive experience for all museum guests. The DGX is directly responsible for envisioning and executing a unified, “guest first” approach for all aspects of customer service related to public admissions at the Dallas Museum of Art, totaling nearly 400,000 annual guests. The DGX directly manages two key revenue-generating teams: Guest Services, the team responsible for exhibition ticket sales; and the Museum Store, our retail division. In addition, the DGX is the day-to-day operational management partner for our onsite café and special events vendor, SodexoLive. The DGX will work closely with all revenue-generating teams across the museum to monitor and maximize effectiveness. Additionally, the DGX will provide training and direction for all teams that must interact with the public with the end goal of growing our audiences and effectively engaging our community.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manages operational oversight of three guest service areas: tickets sales/customer service, museum store, and our café and external events
• Directly supervises the Assistant Manager, Guest Services, and Museum Store Director
• Directly manages the operational partnership with our café/events vendor, SodexoLive
• Develops and implements a “guest first” customer service plan, including creating departmental systems, procedures, and practices to ensure a premier experience for all guests to the DMA
• Oversees implementation of effective front-line sales efforts; ticketing/membership promotions and partnership activations
• Collaborates with staff to ensure delivery of monthly reports on guest attendance
• Updates and implements proper standards for guest interaction to include review of staff uniforms, customer service procedures, and adherence to DMA standards
• Communicates regularly with other departments to ensure operational awareness of all Guest Experience functions
• Develops and documents policies and procedures for departmental staff, ensuring compliance department-wide
• Defines performance standards and completes performance evaluations in compliance with museum standards
• Establishes and executes procedural and programmatic “guest-first” training(s) for all public-facing teams cross-departmentally (gallery attendants, parking attendants, etc.) to ensure a positive experience for staff, volunteers, and guests
• Addresses and resolves guests’ needs, concerns, and complaints, assuring they are settled in a positive, timely, and appropriate manner
• Establishes and tracks multiple departmental budgets and annual work plans, adhering to accounting department standards
• Champions and acts as an ambassador of the institution’s customer service philosophy and training programs
• Collaborates closely with colleagues interdepartmentally to ensure that departmental and institutional goals are met
• Provides system administration of the museum ticketing system, as well as training for guest services staff and new hires
• Anticipates any needs and opportunities that may arise in a fast-changing environment
• Identifies, troubleshoots, and recommends cost-effective solutions
• Other duties as identified and assigned

Guest Services

• Acts as point person for the Experience Team for all promotional activations dealing with guest interaction
• Collaborates with other museum departments, and in close collaboration with the Evaluator, crafts and implements guest surveys and feedback forms
• Collects relevant and timely metrics to support measurement and understanding of museum goals and strategic priorities

Ticketing/Sales & Group Services

• Creates and implements a group sales plan
• Collaborates with Finance department to study, develop and oversee ticketing projections and trends
• Creates and implements guidelines and standards for special interest group tours, as distinct from educational group tours, including creating a plan for ticketing, staffing logistics, reception area standards, and workshop facilitation
• Work with Development to encourage and increase onsite membership sales and initiatives among all guest-facing staff

Museum Store

• Oversees Store Director to develop a vision for both onsite and e-commerce retail at the museum and build strategies and support systems to accomplish long-range goals, improved merchandising, and revenue maximization
• Oversee execution of institutional strategies to support museum shop goals, both financial and programmatic

Café/Rentals

• Oversees vendor to develop a vision and plan to build strategies and support systems to accomplish long-range goals, impeccable service & experience and revenue maximization

Requirements

Education, Experience, and Certification:

• Bachelors Degree preferred
• 8-10 years of progressively responsible experience in customer service or hospitality management
• Cultural institution, hospitality, sports/entertainment experience preferred
• Previous museum experience strongly preferred
• Proficiency in ticketing software (ETix, Salesforce, or Tessitura) preferred

Key Qualifications:

• Strong interpersonal skills
• Enthusiastic, outgoing, positive and friendly attitude
• Excellent leadership and organizational skills
• Ability to prioritize tasks effectively and work in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment
• Very strong communications skills (written and verbal)
• Proficient in all MS Office suite products
• Ability to lead and inspire large teams
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and courteously with the public
• Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time
• Ability to occasionally bend, stoop, or lift items

Our Core Values

Act with Integrity: We are honest and ethical.

Build Inclusivity: We create spaces where everyone can feel like they belong.

Communicate Respectfully: We listen intentionally and advocate for diverse perspectives.

Embrace and Drive Change: We are innovative, creative, and solutions driven.

Foster Connections: We collaborate around shared goals.

Maintain Balance: We encourage ourselves and each other to reflect and recharge.

Remain Curious: We pursue personal and professional learning.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The Dallas Museum of Art fosters equity, celebrates diversity, and supports inclusion. We acknowledge that diverse backgrounds and voices of visitors, volunteers, trustees, staff, and communities represented in the collection make us stronger and better equipped to make positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally.

Equity

Society’s historical legacies and systemic barriers have created disparities in the communities we serve. Knowing this, we strive to expand and enhance arts opportunities for all.

Diversity

Many factors—including but not limited to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetics, economic backgrounds, and experiences—make individuals and groups unique. Our goal is to ensure visitors, volunteers, trustees, staff, and collections reflect this diversity.

Inclusion

We commit to listening to and learning from diverse voices and perspectives. We create a vibrant and accessible social space that encourages dialogue and the exchange of ideas through arts and culture.

EOE

The Dallas Museum of Art is committed to building a culturally diverse staff and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The DMA provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Dallas Museum of Art