Museum Jobs – Current Openings

Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum is Pennsylvania’s premier museum of Pennsylvania German history. Founded by George and Henry Landis in 1925, the museum has been steadfast in connecting our guests to the breadth and depth of Pennsylvania German contributions to agriculture, their unique culture, and long-standing traditions. Although this is our mission, our staff is the lifeblood of the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum.

Open Positions

Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum Associate Guide

This part-time position will be responsible for interpreting various buildings as well as PA German life at the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, 2451 Kissel Hill Road, Lancaster PA 17601. The position is employed by Landis Valley Associates, a 501c3 non-profit organization that assists the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in operating the Museum.

Schedule: 25 hours per week in rotations with other employees

Wednesday-Saturday  8:30am -4:30pm

Sunday: 12:00pm -4:30pm

The work: schedule varies per two-week pay period, some weekdays some Saturday and Sunday, some evenings, and special events in performance of duties. Weekends are required in rotation with other employees.

Pay Schedule: Bi-weekly.  Pay periods begin on Monday.

Duties:

1. The Organization expects its staff to act professionally, speak in a clear, concise and appropriately informed manner, to be respectful to visitors, all supervisory and fellow co-workers, demonstrate good work ethics and to provide appropriate customer service.

2. The Associate Guide will be a historical interpreter and be able to give guided tours of all historic buildings. These buildings, as follows, are manned daily, for special events and special
   1. Manned Daily – Tavern, Gunsmith Shop, Textile Barn, Brother House, and Country Store
   2. Manned for Special Events – Log Farm, Brick Farm, Farm Machinery & Tool Barn, Erisman House, as well as the Tin & Blacksmith Shops

3. Cleaning
   1. The Associate Guide will be trained by PHMC Staff on proper cleaning techniques for all historic spaces. The Organization does a weekly cleaning along with periodic deep clean of all the interpreted buildings.
   2. The Associate Guide will support staff in cleaning of visitor areas.

4. At times the Associate Guide will be asked to aid other departments of the Organization with programming or special events.

5. Associate Guides share responsibility with the Commonwealth staff to arm and disarm buildings

6. The Associate Guide will be fully trained to work at the front desk as a backup or fill-in as may be required. This includes but is not limited to
   1. Understanding the Point of Sale (POS) system and can correctly sell tickets,
   2. Answering/using the Organization’s phone system in an appropriate and professional manner,
   3. Helping visitors in a courteous and professional manner with various questions regarding the Site or visiting Lancaster County,
   4. Security of building keys and money, and
   5. Security of the present exhibit in the Visitor Center.

7. The Associate Guide’s assigned work is typically performed independently with direct oversight from PHMC and LVA Senior Staff. The Associate Guide must be able to work in a team environment, such as during a deep cleaning, handling group tours that come into a building and other special projects that arise.

8. All other tasks and duties may be assigned.

Associate Guide Skills

The following skills and other capabilities are required of the Associate Guide.

• The ability to walk or stand on uneven surfaces,
• Walking up to 1 mile a day,
• Able to bend and reach with arms,
• Occasionally lift no more than 20 pounds,
• Regularly talk and hear, conduct tours for the public and private groups,
• Maintain a positive attitude and work environment,
• Must be friendly, courteous, willing, and able to work with the public,
• Aid other staff members, as needed, in a positive manner with various projects and programs,
• Able to work independently,
• Must conduct research for interpretation purposes or presentations,
• Knowledge of PA German heritage/history (helpful but not required,)
• Previous experience with hearth cooking/bake ovens (helpful but not required),
• Able to use a computer,
• Able to appropriately use the Organization’s POS terminal system to handle any transactions in a safe, secure and accurate way,
• Maintain a high level of security for money, personal information of staff and visitors, historic buildings, and artifacts,
• Committed to EEO/diversity of staff and visitors,
• Ability to adapt to changing situations, priorities, and emergencies as they arise,
• Able to provide own reliable transportation to the Site.

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Special Events Coordinator

This part-time position will oversee the coordination and execution of the special events collaboratively hosted by Landis Valley Associates and the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. These include the two largest, Herb & Garden Faire in May and Harvest Days in October, and several smaller scale events throughout the year.

This position reports to the Board of Directors of the Landis Valley Associates and the LVA Manager.

Responsibilities:

Special Events:

• Coordinate the planning and implementation of events, including a specific budget, timeline, logistics, event set up on museum grounds, purchasing of supplies, and staff and volunteer needs in coordination with the LVA Manager and PHMC Museum Educator for each event
• Maintain steady communications regarding events between members of various departments, event participants and contracted services.
• Supply information to the special events committee, staff, and marketing department for each event.
• Conduct planning meetings
• Track income, expenses, and financial details in coordination with the LVA Manager associated with each event
• Maintain accurate records of demonstrators, entertainers, vendors, and contracted services.
• Work with the LVA Manager and Development Committee to ensure proper visual presentation of sponsors at events
• Assist the LVA manager with workshop and class registrations and day-of details.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Participate in cross-department and organizational teams as assigned
• Assist with budget preparation
• Attend staff meetings, prepare monthly reports
• Perform other duties as assigned or required

Qualifications:

• An associate or bachelor’s degree is helpful but not necessary, or 3+ years of experience in a related field
• Excellent written/oral communication skills
• Excels in the delivery of superior customer service.
• A proven ability to organize and prioritize work, self-motivate, multitask and work independently and as a team member and with the Board.
• Organize and direct public events
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace required. Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and Cricut Machines preferred
• Access and evaluate information

Details:

This position is an average of 25/week (Monday – Friday and event weekends), more during event weeks, less during slower times, and may include some evening and weekends, or holidays as needed

Starting pay rate: $18/hour or rate commensurate with experience.

An office is provided on-site at Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum with the flexibility to work remotely as needed with prior approval.

Email cover letter and resume to carrie.rhinier@landisvalleyassociates.org

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Skilled Volunteers Needed at Landis Valley!
Are you handy with a froe, skilled with a broad axe, or experienced in building databases? The Landis Valley Farm and Garden Program is seeking skilled volunteers to assist with several exciting restoration and documentation projects:

🔨 Fence & Roof Restoration – Log Farm (Late 1700s)

• Picket Fence Rebuild: We need approximately 400 pickets split and installed around the vegetable garden. Volunteers with experience using a froe to split wood from logs are especially encouraged to help.

• Hay Barracks Roof Repair: Many of the beams have rotted and must be replaced. Volunteers skilled in shaping beams with a broad axe are needed to help hew new timbers using the originals as templates.

📞 Interested?
Email: landisvalleyhsp@gmail.com
Phone: 717-333-2711

Do you know someone with the right skills? Please share this opportunity! Help us preserve and interpret Pennsylvania German agricultural heritage at Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum.