McCormick House Visitor Engagement Fellow

Cantigny•Wheaton, IL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The McCormick House Fellow is a 1–2 year developmental fellowship focused on daily operations, visitor experience, volunteer programming, and historical interpretation at McCormick House, a historic house and public gathering space within Cantigny. The Fellow helps ensure visitors have a welcoming, organized, and engaging experience by connecting operations, storytelling, interpretation, and volunteer leadership. Working closely with the Director of McCormick House and the Foundation Historian, the Fellow develops skills in historical research, interpretation, institutional history, operations, and visitor experience through structured mentorship and professional growth. Responsibility for interpretive content, special projects, and cross-departmental initiatives grows throughout the fellowship. Near the end of the term, Cantigny leadership will evaluate the House’s needs alongside the Fellow’s performance and interests to determine whether a continuing or elevated role is warranted; continuation is not guaranteed. The role is primarily onsite in a public-facing environment. It requires regular standing and walking, including navigating stairs, and may include evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events. Occasional outdoor work and lifting materials up to 25 pounds may be required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in museum studies, history, public history, education, hospitality, communications, tourism, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
Experience in a museum, historic site, cultural institution, visitor attraction, hospitality environment, or comparable public-facing organization.
Demonstrated experience working directly with the public.
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to translate historical information into engaging narratives.
Strong public-speaking and interpersonal skills.
Demonstrated ability to train, coordinate, and support staff and/or volunteers.
Strong organizational and problem-solving abilities.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic public environment.
Ability to work a variable schedule including evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events, consistent with the House’s public operating hours.
Willingness to commit to a 1–2 year fellowship term.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing or coordinating volunteers.
Experience developing visitor programs, tours, or special experiences.
Coursework or experience in public history, historical interpretation, or narrative/storytelling development.
Familiarity with digital interpretation, mobile tours, audio interpretation, or other visitor-experience technologies.
Experience using visitor feedback and participation data to evaluate programs.
Interest in a long-term career path in museum interpretation, curatorial work, historical research, or public history leadership.

Responsibilities

Monitor daily readiness of McCormick House for public visitation.
Coordinate with Guest Services and Security on opening, closing, visitor access, building security, and emergency procedures.
Identify maintenance, housekeeping, environmental, technology, and facility issues affecting visitors and communicate them to appropriate staff.
Develop and maintain operational procedures, checklists, and visitor-service protocols.
Ensure public spaces, galleries, interpretive areas, and visitor amenities are ready for daily operation.
Plan for high-visitation periods and special events.
Oversee the day-to-day visitor experience during public hours and serve as a visible, knowledgeable presence in McCormick House.
Respond to visitor questions and concerns with accurate, helpful information, maintaining welcoming, engaging, and accessible interactions.
Monitor visitor flow, dwell time, feedback, and other indicators of engagement.
Recommend improvements to signage, wayfinding, interpretive materials, and visitor amenities.
Research and develop tour narratives, themes, and talking points connecting the McCormick family, architecture, and collection to Cantigny’s and Chicago’s broader history.
Curate and refresh interpretive content to keep tours accurate, current, and engaging for diverse audiences.
Deliver tours and public presentations as needed, modeling expected storytelling standards for docents and volunteers.
Train volunteers and tour guides in interpretive techniques and content; evaluate tour quality and visitor engagement and use feedback to refine content and delivery.
Coordinate the day-to-day volunteer experience, including supporting recruitment, orientation, scheduling, training, and retention.
Set expectations for volunteer conduct, visitor interaction, building awareness, and communication; maintain training and reference materials; provide feedback and coaching.
Ensure appropriate volunteer coverage during public hours, tours, and special programs.
Support special tours, open houses, member events, educational programs, revenue-generating experiences, and other activities at the House.
Coordinate onsite logistics for programs and special events as needed.
Maintain effective working relationships with Guest Services, Public Programs, Food & Beverage, Security, Facilities, Communications, Horticulture, and other Cantigny departments.
Communicate upcoming tours, programs, events, and operational needs clearly and on time.