Now in its second century, Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Audubon’s mission is engaging people in bird conservation on a hemispheric scale through science, policy, education and on-the-ground conservation action.  By mobilizing and aligning its network of Chapters, Centers, State and Important Bird Area programs in the four major migratory flyways in the Americas, the organization will bring the full power of Audubon to bear on protecting common and threatened bird species and the critical habitat they need to survive.  And as part of BirdLife International, Audubon will join people in over 100 in-country organizations all working to protect a network of Important Bird Areas around the world, leveraging the impact of actions they take at a local level.  What defines Audubon’s unique value is a powerful grassroots network of approximately 450 local chapters, 120 campus chapters, 17 state and regional offices, 34 Audubon Centers, Important Bird Area Programs in 50 states, and 700 staff across the country. 

Position Summary

The Seasonal Center Assistant, Admissions will support the Blair Audubon Visitor Center operations and guest services including Admissions, its Nature Store and Gallery Cafe sales, general visitor and volunteer assistance, and membership sales.

This is a seasonal position working 40 hours per week from October 1, 2021 -March 31, 2022. Ability to work evenings and weekends required. This position has the potential to convert to regular, full-time in April 2022. 

COVID-19 mitigation at the Center includes frequent sanitation, a Plexi glass partition, Merv-13 filtration system, timed ticketing, mask requirement inside the Visitors Center, and the closure of some amenities.

Essential Functions

• Delivers excellent customer service that ensures a welcoming environment to all guests, visitors, members, volunteers and event attendees coming through the Visitors Center.
• Promotes, sells and renews memberships, appropriately recommends upgrades, provides referrals to the
• Membership Coordinator for visitor questions that need special attention.
• Proactively assesses visitor’s needs, including but not limited to offering assistance or directions, locating wheelchairs or strollers and/or making recommendations.
• Answers the Center’s main phone line, expedites calls to appropriate departments or staff members and appropriately returns calls in a timely fashion.
• Acts as point of contact in case of emergencies and reports situations to appropriate parties, using required center reporting procedures, as well as contact 911 for assistance when needed.
• Handles difficult situations with tact and respect and reports issues to supervisor in a timely manner with accurate details.
• Provide up-to-date information to visitors regarding special events, Nature Store, and Café.
• Ensures messaging on monitors and all interior and exterior signage is accurate with each day’s events.
• Keeps working area organized and tidy and ensure it is ready to conduct business for following day’s shift.
• Organizes discovery room realia and orientation video
• Efficiently and correctly handles deliveries made to the Admissions desk.
• Create and print new signage as needed to alert guests of time sensitive issues (closings, limited access, safety alerts, special event information, etc.).
• Maintain in-depth knowledge of the Center, Audubon Florida and National Audubon Society activities.
• Develop an understanding of the ecology and natural history of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
• Responsible for all cash and credit card transactions.
• Follows established procedures for opening and closing assigned register.
• Handles payment in exchange for admission fees and membership dues, event tickets and classes.
• Performs ticket sales, registers guests for classes, runs reports, checks daily schedule of events, looks up events for guests needing information (date and location confirmation, etc.).
• Provides departmental support to handle exceptionally busy processing seasons including but not limited to assembling member packets and restocking Nature Store inventory.
• Provides suggestions and ideas for streamlining procedures.
• Support all retail operations at the sanctuary including restocking supplies at admissions desk, gallery cafe, and store as needed.
• Provide assistance with limited merchandise pricing as needed.
• Assist with the planning and operations of special events conducted by Audubon.

Qualifications and Experience

• At least one year experience in an administrative support or retail role.
• Proficiency or ability to quickly learn POS/ticketing database
• Excellent customer service skills and thorough relationship strengthening skills.
• Excellent communication skills and welcoming demeanor.
• Must be eager to learn and share knowledge with others.
• Detail-oriented and with the ability to multi-task in a dynamic and potentially noisy environment
• Self-motivated, dedicated to accomplishing tasks, able to take the initiative and resolve problems.
• Must be people-oriented, work well in a team and professionally represent Audubon to the public and volunteers.
• Ability to handle cash and receipts accurately
• Able to follow directions and have a strong desire to work autonomously
• Previous experience operating a cash register a plus
• Computer experience and high comfort level with technology, including the use of Outlook, calendar and membership databases and other web-based systems and applications.
• Ability to efficiently navigate the Sanctuary’s website
• Passion for conservation and interest in nature strongly preferred
• Bilingual with a preference for conversational fluency in Spanish is a plus but not required
• Ability to lift up to 30lbs with or without accommodation
• Evening and weekend work required

EEO Statement

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 identify, 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.

Accessibility Statement

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.

COVID Policy

Beginning September 15, 2021: Audubon requires all staff either to provide proof of being fully vaccinated or, if they cannot provide such proof for any reason, to wear a mask while working indoors, including in all Audubon facilities and offsite, and while working outdoors in situations where they cannot maintain social distancing. In addition, at this time and until CDC recommendations change, all staff in counties the CDC identifies as having “substantial” and “high” COVID transmission rates must wear masks indoors (unless alone in a closed office) and outdoors in situations where they cannot maintain social distancing regardless of vaccination status. 

This policy covers national and state offices, centers, and sanctuaries, as well as Audubon employees working offsite. Should you be selected for this position, you will be asked to acknowledge you have read the above policy and provide your vaccination status.