Membership and Contact Center Assistant

Job Description

Membership and Contact Center Assistant

Job Type: Full-time

Location: Missouri Botanical Garden

Supervisor: Supervisor, Contact Center

Job Summary

As a vital member of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Contact Center team, the Membership and Contact Center Assistant plays a crucial role in delivering exceptional patron service. This position is central to fostering positive and engaging experiences for Garden members and guests. Responsibilities include providing visitor and membership information, promoting upcoming events, selling memberships, and processing various transactions such as ticket sales, memberships, donations, and event registrations. The assistant will handle inquiries by phone and email within the Contact Center and in person at the Visitor Center. A key aspect of this role involves troubleshooting and resolving customer service issues across multiple systems, ensuring accurate and timely resolutions. This is a full-time position requiring consistent weekend and some evening work.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides members, visitors, and potential visitors with the most current information regarding Garden grounds, amenities, classes, and events via phone, email, and in-person interactions.
• Maintains a friendly and professional demeanor, calmly resolving guest issues in a dynamic environment. Escalates inquiries as needed and appropriately reports ongoing concerns.
• Processes ticketing and membership transactions. Locates and updates constituent records with accurate contact information within the Tessitura CRM. Resolves order and account issues, including ticket exchanges, refunds, password resets, duplicate records, and data errors.
• Manages the Garden’s general email inbox using Freshdesk software and handles incoming phone/switchboard calls with Mitel Tools.
• Provides support for digital membership card delivery through the Cuseum system.
• Processes event and class registrations, group sales ticket orders, and accessibility requests within Tessitura.
• Maintains a thorough understanding of all membership levels and effectively employs sales techniques to convert visitors to members, upgrade existing members, and upsell additional items to meet revenue goals.
• Accurately processes credit card and check transactions and completes financial protocols for opening and closing procedures.
• Assists with administrative tasks in the Contact Center, including membership fulfillment, restocking supplies, and data cleanup projects as assigned.
• Works at the membership sales station during three annual festivals and public events across the Garden’s three locations.
• Collaborates with internal departments to resolve cross-functional issues related to events, memberships, education classes, group tours, donor records, and admissions.
• Assists with the training and onboarding of new staff or seasonal team members.
• Participates in process improvement initiatives to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.
• Adheres to all applicable safety standards and immediately reports all accidents, injuries, and near-miss accidents to the supervisor and/or safety and security staff.
• Meets expected attendance guidelines.
• Follows and adheres to established policies and procedures, including but not limited to the Employee Handbook, Garden Safety Guidelines, and Department Policies.
• Behaves and communicates in a manner that promotes and fosters a culture of teamwork, cooperation, and respect within the division and throughout the Garden with all employees, supervisors, volunteers, and the public.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum of one (1) year experience in a museum, box office, customer service, retail, or fundraising setting is required.
• Proficient experience with a point-of-sale/ticketing system or CRM preferred. Experience with Tessitura, Freshdesk, or advanced phone systems is a significant plus.
• Scheduling flexibility that allows routinely working weekends, holidays, and some evenings is required.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; positive, energetic, and friendly demeanor.
• Capable of managing multiple tasks and maintaining focus and a professional attitude while serving a high volume of callers and visitors.
• Ability to quickly compose clear and professional written responses to member and visitor emails.
• Demonstrated proficiency with computer applications and an adaptive and flexible attitude towards learning new technologies and troubleshooting technical errors.
• Must possess effective problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically to efficiently resolve a variety of customer service issues across multiple systems.
• Willingness to work as part of a team; proven ability to work collaboratively with internal team members to achieve goals/objectives.
• The Garden is committed to the safety and well-being of its employees, volunteers, and guests. All staff are strongly encouraged to receive all vaccinations as recommended by their healthcare provider prior to the hire date. The Garden reserves the right to require future proof of current vaccination status, based on local health department guidelines. When international travel is necessary for Garden business, staff must be able to obtain required travel clearances, driving permits, and vaccinations for all countries where travel is required.
• The requirements and duties listed are representative and not exhaustive of the knowledge, skill, and/or abilities required.

Core Competencies

• Communication: Listens to others and asks questions for clarification; Writes clearly and presents information accurately; Speaks professionally and responds well to questions; Supports positive visitor relations.
• Collaboration: Demonstrates teamwork and promotes respect in the workplace; Engages in problem-solving and group initiatives; Cooperates in implementing procedures and process improvements; Strives for positive visitor experiences.
• Accountability: Demonstrates commitment to responsibilities and adaptability to changes; Effectively prioritizes, troubleshoots, and takes appropriate actions; Follows policies and procedures, meets deadlines, quality, and safety standards; Strives to proactively address visitor and internal colleagues’ concerns.
• Problem Solving: Identifies and resolves problems; Includes supervisor before taking action as necessary; Recommends solutions, demonstrates creativity and resourcefulness; Exhibits sound and accurate judgment in the decision-making process; Includes appropriate people in making decisions.
• Stewardship: Promotes and adheres to sustainability, safety, and security protocols; Fosters a culture of respect, diversity, and inclusion; Demonstrates effective and prudent use of Garden resources; Maximizes contributions during work hours.

Education

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Bachelor’s degree in communications, non-profit management, or a relevant field preferred.

Computer Skills

• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, and Outlook) required; ability to efficiently navigate across different software platforms.
• Experience with Tessitura or a CRM or point-of-sale system preferred.
• Experience with multi-line phone systems or the Freshdesk shared email system is a plus.

Physical Demands

• Requires the ability to answer and make a high volume of telephone calls and manage communication with members, donors, and volunteers.
• Ability to utilize a computer keyboard (typing) and sit for extended periods of the workday.
• Must be able to lift and carry 20 pounds when transporting supplies and assisting constituents; occasional hands-on participation with event set-ups required.
• May be required to perform tasks at varying heights (e.g., step stool ladders).
• Ability to move up and down stairwells (multiple MBG buildings have stairs); move about the facility frequently throughout the workday; frequent standing, reaching, and stooping – 25% or more of the workday may be spent standing.
• Ability to drive in all conditions; members’ events take place at all sites within the Garden’s family of attractions.
• Must be able to work both indoors and outdoors.

Work Environment

• Divides time between an indoor office setting (shared workspace requiring the ability to operate standard office equipment including computer, copier, fax machines, and other equipment) and an indoor front-facing Visitor Services desk.
• Ability to work outdoors in all weather conditions (e.g., humid conditions, temperatures over 100°F as well as temperatures below 0°F, in rain, snow, and other inclement weather conditions as needed) during certain special events.
• Comfortable working in immediate proximity to the general public and abiding by Garden safety protocols.

Contacts with Individuals/Organizations Inside/Outside the Garden

• Institutional Advancement Division staff and volunteers.
• Visitor Operations, Education, Event, and Horticulture Division staff and volunteers.
• Garden members, donors, visitors, volunteers, and vendors.