Evening Programs Interpreter, Attendant/Cresset (Part Time)

Open To External And Internal Candidates • Williamsburg, VA

19d

About The Position

Building attendants and cresset attendants support Evening Program and Special Event operations by preparing buildings, setting up lighting, greeting guests, checking tickets, and providing exceptional guest service and hospitality. They illuminate programs and events using lanterns, candles, and cresset baskets. Duties include chopping and splitting wood; keeping an adequate wood supply; building and feeding fires in cresset baskets; and arranging historic buildings, furnishings, artifacts, candles, lanterns, and other lighting devices before events and restoring them to their correct positions afterward. Attendants maintain lanterns, globes, and cresset baskets, move burning cressets as needed, extinguish cressets and candles in accordance with fire safety protocols, and monitor audiences and crowds for compliance with those protocols.

Attendants greet and escort ticketed guests into buildings, answer general questions, provide general conservation comments, orient visitors, and respond to guest questions. They maintain a caring attitude guided by integrity, truthfulness, fairness, courtesy, and respect for the individual, model the organization’s personal and professional expectations, and work collaboratively as active team members. Other duties may be assigned.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private, not-for-profit educational, historic, and cultural institution founded in 1926. Its mission is to preserve and restore 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia, and to engage, inform, and inspire people to learn about its history and the diverse peoples who helped shape a new nation. The Foundation operates the Historic Area, museums, a research library, accommodations, restaurants, and other educational and cultural facilities.

Requirements

• Competencies usually acquired through completion of four years of college or two to four years of experience in storytelling, historical interpretation, theater, or a related field, or a combination of education and experience that fulfills the job responsibilities.
• Complete established Foundation, Division, and Department training requirements.
• Gain general knowledge of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation policies and procedures and familiarity with the Historic Area’s physical layout and exhibition-building interiors.
• Work a flexible schedule that includes weeknights, holidays, and weekends.
• Provide annual availability for at least two evenings per week on a regular basis and up to four evenings per week during periods of peak demand.
• Navigate rough terrain and steep stairs in low-light conditions.
• Demonstrate good overall attendance, work ethic, and attitude, and work as part of a team.
• Demonstrate exceptional problem-solving skills, including the ability to be proactive in a reactive situation.
• Work in all types of weather, including rain, snow, wind, heat, humidity, and storms, and come into contact with allergens such as pollen, dust, and wood smoke.
• Move 50 pounds unassisted and 100 pounds with assistance.
• Wear provided 18th-century clothing according to guidelines.
• Interviews, clearings, and/or auditions are required for some positions.

Responsibilities

• Prepare buildings and support Evening Program and Special Event operations, including setting up lighting, greeting guests, and checking tickets.
• Provide illumination using lanterns, candles, and cresset baskets; chop and split wood, maintain an adequate supply, build fires, and feed fires to provide sufficient light.
• Arrange furnishings, artifacts, candles, lanterns, and other lighting devices in historic buildings before programs and return them to their correct positions afterward.
• Maintain lanterns, globes, and cresset baskets; move burning cressets as needed; and extinguish cressets and candles at the end of programming according to fire safety protocols.
• Monitor audiences and crowds to ensure compliance with fire safety protocols.
• Greet and escort ticketed guests into buildings, answer general questions, provide general conservation comments, orient visitors, and respond to guest questions.
• Provide guest service guided by integrity, truthfulness, fairness, courtesy, and respect for the individual.
• Model the organization’s personal and professional expectations and participate as an active team member.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time