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.

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.

• 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.

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

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…