Store Assistant

About Us

At The Huntington, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to support and promote the appreciation of the humanities, the arts, and botanical science. The Huntington is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, disability, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law.

The Huntington

Founded in 1919, The Huntington is a collections-based research and educational institution open to the public, housing world-class library, art, and botanical collections. Its mission is to support research and promote education in the arts, humanities, and botanical science and to display and interpret its extraordinary resources for diverse audiences.

The Culture

Here we are committed to the highest of standards in all that we do – from preserving and protecting the collections, to exhibitions, educational and scholarly programming, visitor and reader services, and beyond.  Achieving excellence across these pursuits requires a diversity of perspectives, expertise, experience, and methodologies. 

At The Huntington, our organizational Culture is shaped by the following core values: Intellectual curiosity, Collaboration, Stewardship, Belonging, and Integrity.

• Intellectual Curiosity: Knowledge, lifelong learning, and a spirit of inquiry are at the core of our mission and organizational culture.

• Collaboration: Teamwork and a collaborative attitude are important at all levels of The Huntington. We foster relationships internally among our departments and externally with organizations throughout the community.

• Stewardship: We are committed to the care and development of our collections, our financial and physical resources, our staff, and our community.

• Belonging: We strive to attract and maintain a workforce of individuals with diverse talents, backgrounds, and perspectives. Our organizational culture promotes a sense of welcome, inclusion, and connection.

• Integrity: We value respect and honesty, working to fulfill our mission with honor and ethical principles.

Job Description

About the Role

Working under direct supervision, provide customer service including sales support and cashiering. Also help maintain the sales floor by restocking product and performing light cleaning duties.

S/he/they will demonstrate a background of working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, using a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible approach.

This is a part-time position set for 20 hours per week.

Essential Duties

• Greet guests and offer courteous assistance.

• Accurately and efficiently operate Point of Sale system to make sales transactions.

• Answer questions about merchandise, make suggestions, and cross sell items.

• Check inventory, retrieve items and package items as required for customers.

• Use non peak hours to become familiar with merchandise and pricing, restock product, and maintain the appearance of visual displays.

• Assist in loss prevention by remaining aware of customer activity, report missing and damaged merchandise, and provide inventory counts as requested.

• Inform Supervisor of special customer requests or issues. Know The Huntington grounds and mission, and keep informed of current exhibits and events

Candidate Requirements and Experience

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent customer service. Friendly, approachable, good communication skills.

• High integrity dealing with money and products.

• Must be able to work rapidly with accuracy and remain tactful and courteous during heavy customer traffic.

• Must be able to work weekends, some holidays and some evenings.

• Bending, reaching and lifting items of various weight and size. Working knowledge of literature, history, art, botanicals and tea culture is helpful.

Experience

• Previous cash handling and retail sales experience preferred.

Working Conditions

• Extensive face to face interaction.

• May involve long periods of standing, some lifting, bending, stooping, and transporting items of various weight.

Compensation & Benefits 

We provide competitive compensation, generous benefits and perks for all eligible employees including: 

• Pay Rate: $19.25/hr. Increases to $19.50/hr. after successful completion of introductory period.

• 403(b) retirement plan and matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match

• Discounts for staff in The Huntington Store and restaurants

• Free admission to various museums and cultural institutions

• Free passes each month to welcome family and friends to visit the grounds

The Application Process 

Please submit a cover letter and CV/resume as a single PDF attachment.  

You will have the opportunity to submit additional documents on the “My Experience” section of the application.