Usher, Front of House

Job Description

Job Description

ABOUT JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER

The mission of Jazz at Lincoln Center is to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy. We believe jazz is a metaphor for Democracy. Because jazz is improvisational, it celebrates personal freedom and encourages individual expression. Because jazz is swinging, it dedicates that freedom to finding and maintaining common ground with others. Because jazz is rooted in the blues, it inspires us to face adversity with persistent optimism.

Jazz is one of America’s most profound and enduring cultural contributions, inseparable from the story of this country, its history, its struggles, its democratic ideals, and its continuing evolution. We are stewards of that legacy. The three pillars of our work—performance, education, and advocacy—are one mission expressed three ways, each reinforcing and requiring the other two. You cannot perform without honoring the history that gives the music meaning. You cannot educate without the conviction that what you are teaching deserves to outlast you. You cannot advocate without the lived experience of the art itself. We look for people who feel that wholeness in full, across all three pillars.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Jazz at Lincoln Center is currently seeking enthusiastic, proactive, and detail-oriented individuals to join the Front of House Team at its performance venue, Frederick P. Rose Hall (FPRH), also known as the House of Swing. Ushers are part-time employees responsible for providing exceptional customer service to all guests during Jazz and Special Events. This is a highly visible position which requires superior professionalism and customer service skills and offers invaluable exposure to different event types and industries.

Front of House is a dynamic, event-driven environment, and no two weeks are the same. Ushers are asked to be available at least three days a week, including weekday mornings and weekends, shifts can begin as early as 6am. Most shifts run 3 to 5 hours, and daytime shifts can extend up to 8 hours. Because scheduling is tied to the event calendar, availability does not guarantee assignment to every event, and the team shares shifts across the full roster.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

GUEST EXPERIENCE

• Oversee assigned sections according to event specifications, as well as greeting and guiding guests to their destinations with professionalism, maintaining enthusiasm, attention, diplomacy, and patience while interacting with diverse groups of people.
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the venue’s floor plans.
• Clearly and efficiently describe how to navigate all spaces within the venue.
• Manage multiple requests with urgency and care.

ACCESSIBILITY AND SAFETY

• Know and follow the proper procedures for assisting guests with accessibility needs.
• Understand all safety, medical, and evacuation procedures, and in an emergency, assist guests in line with Jazz at Lincoln Center protocols.

PROFESSIONALISM

• Ability to remain calm and optimistic when dealing with guests.
• Maintain a professional appearance in line with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Usher uniform policies.
• Maintain the full Usher uniform: JALC provides a button-down shirt and a tie, and you provide your own black dress pants, black dress shoes, a black belt, and black socks. No logos or accessories to be added to the uniform.
• Attend required meetings and training sessions for emergency procedures, accessibility procedures, guest experience techniques, and other policies.
• Follow and engage with all email communications and notifications sent by the Management team.

QUALIFICATIONS

REQUIRED

• Experience in a high-volume customer service role, preferably in retail or hospitality.
• Ability to remain on your feet for the entirety of each shift, including standing, climbing stairs, and moving throughout the venue.
• Ability to lift and move boxes of up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to work in loud, crowded, and sometimes dark environments.
• Ability to assist with emergency procedures including evacuations.
• Work authorization that does not require visa sponsorship by the employer.

PREFERRED

• Fireguard F-03 certification.
• First Aid, CPR, and AED certifications.

WORKING AT JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER

The music is present here, literally and philosophically, and the people who thrive are the ones who feel that and lean into it. They are Fans, Advocates, Musicians, and Educators who know that you cannot shape what comes next without first honoring what came before — who ask why something is the way it is before they presume to know what it should become. They find their own work more meaningful because of its proximity to something larger, and they understand that excellence in any role, regardless of function, is connected to what happens on stage and in

classrooms and communities around the world. The passion that runs through this organization can be felt on your first day, and it is the thing people miss most when they leave.

We are a live-events organization, and our schedule reflects that energy: we expect full presence when the work and the art call for it. Within that, we strive to create real flexibility for our people. Scheduling for this role runs on a monthly cycle that keeps it flexible: staff share their availability, and we place them for the month around it. With that flexibility comes the responsibility of honoring those commitments once the schedule is set. We trust our people to know the difference, and we build around that trust.

Benefits reflect that same investment in our people: voluntary retirement contributions, statutory New York protections including paid sick time, Disability Benefits (DBL), and Paid Family Leave (PFL), and a seat inside the life of this organization. Staff have access to the breadth of JALC programming—from live performances to access at Dizzy's Club to world-class jazz education through Swing University and beyond—because we believe the people who do this work deserve to experience it, not just support it.

HOW TO APPLY

Click the button above to apply.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is an equal opportunity employer that affords equal opportunities to all applicants, employees, contractors, and other covered persons, and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Jazz at Lincoln Center is committed to creating an inclusive, open, and respectful culture that reflects and embraces diversity.