Center Assistant

The National Audubon Society is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects birds and the places they need today and tomorrow. We work throughout the Americas towards a future where birds thrive because Audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. Audubon has more than 700 staff working across the hemisphere and more than 1.5 million active supporters.

North America has lost three billion birds since 1970, and more than 500 bird species are at risk of extinction across Latin America and the Caribbean. Birds act as early warning systems about the health of our environment, and they tell us that birds – and our planet – are in crisis. Together as one Audubon, we are working to alter the course of climate change and habitat loss, leading to healthier bird populations and reversing current trends in biodiversity loss. We do this by implementing on-the-ground conservation, partnering with local communities, influencing public and corporate policy, and building community.

Audubon is committed to a culture of workplace excellence, where our talented and diverse staff are deeply engaged with a strong sense of belonging. The birds Audubon pledges to protect differ in color, size, behavior, geographical preference, and countless other ways. By honoring and celebrating the equally remarkable diversity of the human species, Audubon brings new creativity, effectiveness, and leadership to our work throughout the hemisphere.

The John James Audubon Center (JJAC) is based in Pennsylvania and is the original home of the artist and naturalist, John James Audubon. The mission of JJAC is to educate and inspire people to cherish and protect the natural world, by preserving Audubon’s artistic, scientific, and historic legacy and celebrating the conservation movement he inspired while serving the mission of the National Audubon Society (NAS), “to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.”

The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove is looking for competent, dedicated, and reliable additions to our Center Assistant team to support activities in our visitor center, historic house, and museum’s front desk, assist with maintenance of our serene grounds and support other departments, programs and events as needed. Center Assistants are responsible for assisting with a wide variety of tasks at the John James Audubon Center. They should be detail oriented and able to follow a checklist of instructions but should also be independent enough to analyze potential problems and do what is necessary to resolve each issue. It is also important that your tasks be completed in a timely fashion, so good time management habits are required.

This is a part-time, regular position that will be scheduled for up to 25 hours per week. If working events, most hours will be during the evenings and weekends. Might be called upon to work during some weekdays as need arises and seasons change.

Compensation:

$16.00-$18.00 / hour

• Work front desk of Visitor’s Center on Saturdays, Sundays, and as needed.
• Serve as a key holder ensuring facilities are opened, closed, and secured at appropriate times.
• Inspect Visitor’s Center before, during, and after shifts whenever on site. Includes but not limited to, picking up trash or debris from outside front of Visitor’s Center to parking lot area, rearranging and re-stocking pamphlets and trail maps, ensuring front porch is safe for guests, etc.
• Provide staffing support as needed for the gift shop, admissions, and visitor experiences.
• Assist in supervising volunteers assigned to support front desk and Visitor’s Center.
• Assist Retail Manager with Gift Shop and online giftshop as needed; check in, enter into inventory, stock shelves, run registers, advertisement and promotions, etc.
• Provide basic on-grounds landscaping support to ensure the site is attractive to guests in the warmer months; includes weed pulling, watering, trash removal, etc.
• Assist in cleaning the Visitor’s Center as needed and the Historic House biweekly per requirements set by County curator.
• Maintains all aspects of “Jay Jay’s Studio” and rest of facilities in Visitor’s Center basement area. Includes opening, cleaning, and rotation of arts and crafts in the area, maintain cleanliness and organization of craft area a minimum of once per shift when museum is open. (Work with direct supervisor for materials planning and budgeting).
• Participate in scheduled staff meetings and trainings.
• Support other departments, programs and events as needed.
• Other job-related duties as assigned.

• Commitment to the Audubon mission.
• GED or high school diploma required.
• Driver’s license with reliable transport required.
• Experience interacting with the public in a fast-paced environment; ability to remain composed under pressure; experience working at a museum, historic site, or other sensitive properties is highly desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to relate to and communicate with staff, volunteers, vendors and the community.
• Self-starter with the ability to organize/prioritize workload and complete assignments on time.
• Ability to use common cleaning solvents and supplies safely and effectively.
• Must be able to work weekends, evenings, and holidays in summer weather conditions. Ability to lift up to 50 lbs., including some moderately heavy objects, such as furniture, file cabinets, equipment, boxes, etc., with or without a reasonable accommodation.
• Must be able to work at a variety of climates and temperatures as the seasons change during our event season. May be called upon to work in museum and offices as needed.
• Adaptability and flexibility to a changing environment.

This position is represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

The National Audubon Society is a federal contractor and an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. We are committed to a policy of nondiscrimination, inclusion and equal opportunity and actively seek a diverse pool of candidates in this search.

The National Audubon Society endeavors to keep our careers site accessible to any and all users.  If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact Accommodations@audubon.org. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.