Center Support Assistant - Tacoma Nature Center (Customer Service Assistant II)

Job Title

Spend your work hours in the heart of Tacoma at a place where nature, community, and hands-on learning come together at the Tacoma Nature Center. This role blends customer service with meaningful behind-the-scenes support, including running a small onsite and online gift shop, welcoming program participants, assisting programming staff, and helping care for the center's animals.

Join our team at Parks Tacoma to put your skills to use serving your community and making Tacoma a vibrant, healthy, and welcoming place to live.

Position Information

Provide a high level of customer service to patrons during a variety of events, programs, and rentals. Customer Service Assistants also responsible for providing assistance to Recreation participants and security for the facility.

In the performance of their respective tasks and duties all employees are expected to:

• Perform quality work within deadlines with or without direct supervision.
• Interact professionally with other employees, customers and suppliers.
• Work effectively as a team contributor on all assignments.
• Work independently while understanding the necessity for communicating and coordinating work efforts with other employees and organizations.
• Observe applicable safety requirements, use safety equipment provided, implement appropriate safety practices at all times and report immediately any unsafe working conditions or hazards.

Essential Duties

• Provide information to the public concerning activities, programs, policies, regulations, and schedules.
• Understand, explain, and enforce facility rules.
• Effective, professional, and respectful interactions with patrons and team members.
• Maintain accurate accounting of funds received from patrons.
• Ensure facility and grounds are kept neat, clean and litter free; perform basic custodial and light maintenance duties.
• Understand and follow direction given.
• Assist with set up and take down of rentals, programs, events and other activities.
• Provide a positive attitude toward program participants and staff; encourage and serve as a positive role model for program participants.
• Escalate problems, concerns, and emergencies to supervisor in a timely manner.
• Administer first aid as needed.
• Contribute to an environment of teamwork and respect.
• Foster a culture of equity and inclusion by recognizing the diverse needs and perspectives of groups and individuals.
• Perform clerical duties as needed.
• Maintain regular, reliable, and punctual attendance.
• May operate a Point-of Sale system and other software applications.
• Analyze situations quickly and provide an effective course of action.
• Assist staff in other activities, programs and special events as assigned.
• Ensure proper rental, program, activities and event procedures are followed, both with regard to safety and program guidelines.
• Communicate important information to other staff as needed.
• Communicate with supervisor and team; provide written attendance and facility reports.
• May be responsible to open and/or close facility.
• Ensure program/facility rules, policies and procedures are followed; maintain and enforce safety standards and expectations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least 18 years of age.
• Minimum of 1 year of previous work or volunteer experience with customer service, and/or cash handling responsibilities.

Additional Information

HOURS/SCHEDULE:

• Regular schedule: Sunday - Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
• Occasional evening and Saturday hours to support facility rentals.
• Average of up to 20 hours per week.

COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS:

• Attention to detail.
• Communicate effectively.
• Customer service focus.
• Positive interactions with all individuals.
• Ability to handle conflict and solve problems using tact, patience, and courtesy.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff, the community, and patrons.
• Ability to navigate emergency situations and make decisions quickly.
• Anticipate problems and develop contingency plans.
• Show initiative while performing job tasks.
• Remain flexible to changing priorities.
• Meet deadlines and respond timely to achieve common goals.
• Be receptive to the attitudes, feelings, or circumstances of others and aware of influence of one's own behavior on them.
• Work effectively with others to achieve common goals.
• Follow instructions, both written and verbal.
• Commitment to racial, social, and economic equity issues and working effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Work is performed indoors and outdoors.
• Work various schedules including mornings, afternoons, evenings and weekends.
• Move throughout Parks Tacoma facilities and buildings.
• Operate a computer and other office equipment.
• Bending, stretching, walking, sitting, and standing for extended periods.
• Ability to prepare written or typed recreational and leisure program material and monitor activities.
• Ability to communicate to conduct program and exchange information with district employees and customers.
• Noise level is moderately loud.
• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds on occasion.
• Ability to navigate emergency situations.

HAZARDS:

• Possible contact with dissatisfied or abusive individuals.

Parks Tacoma is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified persons will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, political affiliation, disability or any other merit factor. Members of ethnic minorities, women, special disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam-era, recently separated veterans, and other protected veterans, persons of disability and/or persons age 40 and over are encouraged to apply. Parks Tacoma employs only U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized non-U.S. citizens. All new employees must show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Parks Tacoma is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact Human Resources at View email address on click.appcast.io. Employment is subject to a national background check. This position is an at-will position with no written or implied contractual agreement.