Amazon - Senior Understory Ambassador

Description

The Understory serves as the visitor center and public-facing hub of the Amazon Spheres. As a Senior Understory Ambassador, you connect with visitors in this unique space while setting the tone for exceptional customer service, engaging education, and an inclusive welcoming environment for all. Within this role, you model effective visitor engagement through open-ended questions, the use of props, and multi-sensory experiences. This is coupled with an emphasis on connecting Cloud Forest ecosystems to visitors’ everyday lives. 

Senior Understory Ambassador utilize their strong public speaking skills to communicate complex information clearly and concisely to large groups and first-time visitors to Understory. Senior Understory Ambassadors provide information in a friendly, enthusiastic, and approachable manner even when posed a variety of complex questions. Working within a small, this role works collaboratively alongside another Senior Ambassador while providing in-the-moment support and coaching to part-time Ambassadors. The Understory team also partners closely with The Spheres’ Interpretation team to develop and launch monthly cross-departmental activations across both spaces. These activations are maintained alongside daily visitor interactions. The role requires a self-motivated and independent work ethic as well as the ability to be adaptable and flexible to find innovative ways to address new challenges as they arise. The Senior Understory Ambassador will pursue ongoing research and develop new activities and projects for future activations within space. Together, these efforts contribute to the continuous evolution of daily operations within Understory.

Location:Seattle 

Schedule:Full-Time - Must be available to work a flexible schedule and work hours of operation to include weekends. Hours of operation are 915am-615pm Tuesday- Saturday. Schedules may vary due to operating hours.

Starting Wage: $26.16 per hour 

What we can offer: 

• Competitive and affordable Medical (including hearing & hardware coverage!), Dental, Vision, Disability, and Life Insurance 
• 17 Accrued Paid Time Off Days Annually
• Additional 11 Annual Floating Holidays, Parental Leave, and Paid Compassion Leave
• Retirement 401(K) with a company match
• Company-Provided Orca Pass – Unlimited use
• Employment Assistance Program (EAP) via Spring Health
• Mental Wellness Program including six free therapy sessions per year
• Opportunity for career development with our NWC Mentorship Match program
• Physical Wellness Reimbursement Program - $25/month
• Student Loan Contribution Program - $50/month
• Pet Insurance Discount Program

Check out the entire list of benefits Northwest Center has to offer here: https://nwcbenefits.hrbenefits.net  

Customer Experience  

• Verbally greet and welcome all visitors in a friendly, warm, professional and courteous manner. Provide a 5-star first impression for every visitor. This includes the ability to provide information regarding The Spheres as well as nearby places of interest to visit on the Amazon campus and the greater Seattle area.
• Co-develop and facilitate monthly activities in conjunction with current Horticulture activations, including but not limited to teaching, modeling, and/or co-organizing the activities.
• Give presentations and talks to the public with or without the use of supplemental material (i.e. notecards, pictures, physical props).
• Partner with your fellow Understory Ambassadors in guest interactions and deliver an exceptional experience.
• Be prepared to answer all questions related to current activations as well as promote visitor engagement of featured exhibits.
• Communicate in a clear and cordial manner with visitors of all backgrounds and ages.
• Be prepared to introduce and discuss Understory’s collection of plants, fauna, and ongoing horticulture activations.
• Foster positive working relationships with horticulture and facilities teams.
• Assist in resolving any escalations with guests in a professional and polite manner.

Daily Operations 

• Acquire and maintain relevant knowledge of current exhibits and activities in Understory through in-depth research and meetings.
• Facilitate the opening and closing of Understory, ensuring all required tasks are completed prior to the start or end of the public hours.
• Track appropriate metrics as directed by NWC leadership.
• Maintain tidiness and organization of Understory along with its associated storage locations.
• Monitor supply inventory and escalate supply requests with NWC leadership as needed.
• Upon request, create informational and wayfinding signage; as needed.
• Immediately communicate all escalations to NWC leadership and call security for assistance, if necessary.
• Provide feedback to NWC leadership on observations made regarding exhibits, visitor engagement and other comments related to the visitor experience.
• Attend all scheduled meetings and training sessions to stay up to date on all Understory and Amazon-related information." 
• Adhere to NWC dress code policy to ensure a clean and professional appearance.
• Immediately report any suspicious persons or activities to NWC leadership and other appropriate parties.
• Complete the relevant documentation for facility and exhibit issues as they arise.
• Cross-train to maintain basic working knowledge of The Spheres.

Requirements  

• High School Diploma or GED required
• Associate degree or equivalent college credits preferred
• Minimum 1-year direct customer service experience in high profile venues (examples include galleries, children’s museum, science center, zoo’s, aquariums, hospitality, etc.)
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as a team.
• Balance excellent customer service skills and the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment, while always remaining professional and friendly.
• Maintain good judgement in ambiguous/stressful situations and remain calm under pressure.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to successfully connect with employees and the community.
• An efficient, clear communicator capable of supporting diverse audiences.
• High energy and proactive in guest engagement.
• Detail oriented, thorough, and accurate in all tasks.
• Comfortable speaking to large and small groups both informally and in presentational settings.
• Flexibility to work various shifts during operating hours, including weekends and after-hour events as needed.
• A flexible and supportive individual who is capable of bringing positivity to a team environment.
• Learn and retain new exhibit information.
• Ability to understand, interpret and follow Amazon's policies and procedures.
• Adheres to NWC attendance policy and practices consistent punctuality.
• Maintains an attitude of flexibility and respect in all relationships with coworkers and leadership.
• Commitment to Northwest Center's mission of inclusion and ability to successfully work in a diverse environment.
• Able to practice a high level of confidentiality without exception.
• Organized and thorough in planning and execution.
• Must be proficient with MS Windows, Excel, and Outlook e-mail.
• Possesses strong conflict resolution, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Willingness to work in a changing environment.

Working Conditions & Physical Demands

• The position requires standing for long periods of time up to the entire length of the shift
• Must be able to frequently carry and lift items up to 50 pounds
• May need to carry supplies to other buildings
• Ability to walk consistently within a 1.5 radius is required. Walking up and down stairs is required when roving the space and assisting customers
• Ability to see both distance and details at close range, within a few feet of the observer (with or without corrective lenses)
• Ability to identify and understand the speech of another person (with or without a personal auditory hearing device)
• Humidity and temperature conditions may vary in order to maximize the plant life in the space. The temperature of the Spheres is maintained between 70 and 75 degrees with an average humidity of level of 60%
• Must adhere to dress code and be conscientious about personal hygiene
• The space is inhabited by various plant life; individuals with plant allergies may not be the best fit
• Sight (with or without corrective lenses) is required  
• Ability to speak to visitors, staff and colleagues for the duration of each shift
• This is a dog friendly environment with over 1000 dogs on campus. Individuals with dog allergies or those who do not particularly care for dogs may not be the best fit

About Northwest Center  

Northwest Center (NWC) is an ambitious, dynamic, and driven social enterprise organization that operates successful businesses to drive societal change. We are focused on our collective North—a world where all children have equitable access to education, and the employment rate for people with disabilities is the same as the general population. Since its inception in 1965, Northwest Center has built and acquired a portfolio of commercial businesses to fuel our mission of disability inclusion and enable our journey North.

Northwest Center has been a vendor at Amazon for over two decades. The NWC @ Amazon division has grown to over 300 employees, providing a wide variety of customer service support on Amazon’s thriving campuses throughout the nation. Our team works in a unique, fast-paced corporate setting on Amazon’s campuses to provide first-rate customer service-focused programs to our clients while also generating revenue that funds Northwest Center’s mission of inclusion.

Northwest Center is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact us at View email address on jobs.jobvite.com.     

At Northwest Center, we do not just accept diversity and inclusion — we celebrate it, support it, live it, and flourish in it to benefit our employees, the community, and our clientele. We believe that our strength lies within our diversity and the forward motion towards a day when people of all abilities can learn and work together.

We believe that curiosity and critical thinking are essential to the dialogue and improving decision-making, planning, resource allocation, and how we treat others. Our goal is to create and implement more equitable practices, policies, and culture. To be equitable means to value and respect individuals from all cultural backgrounds, genders, races, identities, and abilities. Northwest Center is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, including disability and veterans’ status.