Manager, Visitor Services

Opening in September 2026, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is dedicated to illustrated storytelling.  Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum’s collection features works by artists including Norman Rockwell, Kadir Nelson, Jessie Willcox Smith, N. C. Wyeth, Beatrix Potter, Judith F. Baca, Frida Kahlo, and Maxfield Parrish; as well as comic art legends such as Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware, and R. Crumb; and photographers Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Dorothea Lange. The Museum also houses the Lucas Archives, containing models, props, concept art, and costumes from Lucas’s filmmaking career. 

Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD with a landscape by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA, the Museum is in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, on an 11-acre campus that includes new green space and a 300,000-square-foot building with galleries, two theaters, a library, restaurant, café, retail store, and community spaces.  

The Lucas Museum is sharply focused on creating a superior level of visitor enjoyment and experience for all our onsite visitors. Reporting to the Senior Manager of Visitor Services, the Manager has a key role in helping achieve this objective.

The Manager, Visitor Services will play a key role in ensuring the smooth day-to-day operations of the museum while contributing to the growth and success of the museum and creating an enriching experience for our visitors. This may include participating in hiring, training, and supervising frontline staff; finalizing weekly schedules; managing daily floor operations; maintaining exceptional standards of customer service; ensuring all publicly accessible spaces are impeccably clean; managing onsite ticketing and queuing; and aiding visitors in navigating their visits. The Manager will work closely with Visitor Services leadership team, Volunteer, Accessibility, and Security departments to provide integrated workflows that address all visitor and institutional needs.

The Manager, Visitor Services will partner with the team to quickly resolve issues and identify opportunities pertaining to visitor feedback. The Manager, Visitor Services may support leadership with special projects including analyzing attendance data and driving earned revenues including ticket sales, memberships, programming, and other offerings.

Pre-Opening

·       With a cross-departmental team of colleagues, support development of procedures for all aspects of interactions with visitors, including ticketing, membership sales, queuing, visitor flow, group visit procedures, information distribution, and more

·       Participate in the creation of the museum’s CRM and POS systems

·       Develop and facilitate training curriculum for front-line staff

·       Participate in development of attendance tracking and reporting systems, visitor experience and visitor feedback reporting, and visitor surveying

Post-Opening

·       Supervise and mentor the front-line Visitor Services team

·       Oversee daily operations of the Visitor Services department, including ticketing, queuing, visitor flow, group visit procedures, information distribution, hiring/training/supervising, scheduling, and more

·       Handle any visitor escalations that cannot be settled at the floor staff level

·       Act as a liaison between administrative staff and frontline staff

·       Use data, experimentation, and visitor feedback to proactively identify, develop and implement new programs and initiatives to improve the visitor experience

·       Ensure secure and accurate collection and recording of all transactions, reconcile daily transaction reports, and provide regular reports of admissions data to colleagues

·       Oversee admissions operations cash handling; online, phone, and in-person ticket transactions

·       Manage queues in real-time to maximize attendance and visitor experience

·       Coordinate all daily visitor experience efforts with the museum’s restaurant, café, and shop; ensure effective and efficient scheduling without conflict

·       Work closely with security to support a program of preparedness and rapid response that spots and deescalates issues

·       Work closely with Food & Beverage and the Retail store to ensure close cooperation and a superior customer service experience

·       Participate in and continuously refine hiring and training practices

·       Mentor and provide feedback to staff in a contemporaneous and effective manner

·       Work closely with colleagues in Expo Park to coordinate activities across multiple venues

·       A major portion of the Visitor Services operation will be driving membership through sales and through an enhanced membership experience

·       Creating a culture within the staff of engagement that leads to higher sales of tickets and memberships

·       Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices

·       Analytical Rigor: Simplifies complex problems by using critical thinking to evaluate problems, gathering information, incorporating multiple perspectives, understanding causes, and identifying best-possible solutions. Invests time in planning, discovery, and reflection to drive better decisions and more efficient implementations. Adopts an audience-centric approach, understanding the needs of the audience and incorporating them, as appropriate, into the decision.

·       Courageous Communication: Intentionally works well with others both on the team and cross-functionally to achieve individual, team, department, or organizational goals. Values diverse input and working with others as a way to achieve the best output possible.

·       Collaborative Excellence: Displays courage when handling difficult conversations and genuinely and intentionally communicates. Relays key messages effectively, targeted to specific audiences. Identifies others' communication styles and perspectives, adjusting language and approach accordingly. Employs active listening to understand, rather than reply. Asks for, integrates, and values feedback from team, peers, and leaders.

·       Adaptive Resilience: Thrives and grows in a rapidly changing and complex environment. Displays flexibility, activates networks, and adopts a continuous growth mindset to learn from mistakes and bounce back from adversity.

·       Building Trust & Relationship Management

o   Accountable Ownership and clearly shares information and the "why" behind decisions.

o   Asks for and values the opinions of others. Displays empathy when listening.

o   Acknowledges when trust has been broken and focuses on rebuilding.

o   Relates comfortably with people across levels, functions, cultures, and geographies. Identifies interpersonal and group dynamics and reacts effectively.

·       Accountable Ownership

o   Takes ownership of outcomes, positive or negative, without blaming others within the team or cross-functionally.

o   Recognizes when they are not approaching a situation with accountability but instead with a blame mindset.

o   Takes accountability for assigned tasks and executes on deliverables in a timely manner.

·       Strategic Alignment & Execution

o   Contributes to the organization by understanding and aligning actions with the organization's goals, core functions, needs, and values.

o   Seeks out and incorporates multiple perspectives, experiences, and industry trends to develop a holistic perspective. Operationalizes ideas within the business model.

o   Displays critical thinking when faced with a challenge by asking probing questions and looking for connections.

·       3+ years of experience in a supervisory or management role at an organization that modeled a high degree of customer service and sales

·       Museum experience is not essential, but experience in hospitality, attractions, cultural organizations or admissions-driven institutions preferred

·       Experience directly managing and motivating large numbers of hourly staff

·       Experience managing complex staffing schedules for hourly staff

·       Demonstrated commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging in hiring, staffing, management, training, and leadership practices

·       Ability to influence and engage direct reports and peers and create a positive work environment

·       Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

·       Strong organizational and problem-solving skills

·       Ability to work independently and as part of a team

·       Solid strategic planning, organizational and project management skills

·       Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines

·       Experience with POS systems, ticketing software, and retail operations

·       Ability to work a flexible schedule, including weekends and evenings, as required

·       Multi-language fluency strongly preferred

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents and supports a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. The Lucas Museum fosters a work environment that is free of discrimination and harassment, whether based on race, national origin, gender, gender expression, religion, ethnic background, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other criterion prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local laws. We believe that diversity and inclusion among our team is critical to our success, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the best qualified people from a diverse candidate pool. Applications from traditionally underrepresented communities are encouraged.

The statements in this description represent typical elements, criteria, and general work performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the job.

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The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is dedicated to the art of illustrated stories. Our mission is to inspire and connect people through the exploration of visual stories and their influences in society. 

Our internal and external practices are shaped by the following beliefs and behaviors.

People First: We meet people wherever they are (physically, intellectually, emotionally). Our inclusive practice connects who people are and what they find emotional in works of art.

Inspired: We believe that art can move you to feel, think, reflect, and act.

Collaborative: We believe that nimble thinking and working together yield exponential results.

Amplify the social impact of storytelling and illustration. 

Connect to a broad and diverse public.

Create a healthy and durable institution.