Career Details

MUSEUM

FARM DOMESTIC INTERPRETER
posted : 02/23/2025
Status :
Open
Close Date :
03/31/2025
Salary :
36,771
Type :
FULL TIME
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General Job Description

GENERAL SUMMARY The Horry County Museum is a general history museum that focuses on the history, prehistory and natural history of Horry County, South Carolina. The Museum cares for a collection of artifacts and archival material and uses them in exhibits that tell stories of Horry’s past. The Museum also hosts family days, tours, and special programs. The L.W. Paul Living History Farm is a living history museum that focuses on the life of farm families in Horry County in the first half of the twentieth century with specific attention given to the 1930s and 1940s. This is done through demonstrations and interpretation of agriculture, domestic skills, and trades. The Farm hosts event days, monthly demonstrations, tours, and programs. The L.W. Paul Living History Farm Domestic Interpreter reports to the Museum Director and ensures fulfillment of the daily domestic interpretive programs at the Farm including children’s specialty programs, seasonal events, monthly events and adult education programs. The Domestic interpreter maintains proper daily care of gardens, farm yard, and house interior spaces. They train and monitor domestic skills of staff and volunteers. They plan daily historic foodways and other domestic activities. They are cross trained for basic program competency in Farm Agricultural interpretation.

Duties for this Position
  • The work week for this position is Tuesday through Saturday, 8 AM-5 PM. This may include occasional Sundays and Mondays when necessary.
  • Provides excellent customer service to Museum visitors, whenever interacting with the public, especially children.
  • Manages, demonstrates and interprets the daily domestic interpretive program at the Farm for visitors.
  • Regularly develops and conducts demonstrations, hands-on activities and special events for museum guests, during both the general season and for special programs, in the areas of foodways, gardening, textiles, livestock, family and social culture, and household material culture.
  • Frequently leads seasonal education programming at assigned sites, for adults and children, including enrichments, adult education classes, day camp, tour groups and other programs.
  • Develops skill in demonstrating processes and equipment related to early 20th century foodways (open fire cooking/wood stove cooking/food preservation/poultry butchering), domestic house-keeping (sewing, soap making, etc.), textiles, gardening and livestock handling skills.
  • Becomes trained to safely maneuver Farm livestock, including leading cattle and sheep and milking cows.
  • Maintains and monitors strict safety guidelines daily for equipment, activities and programs, ensuring safe practices by all site interpreters.
  • Manages use of on-site artifacts according to Museum guidelines, conducts assigned site inventories regularly, and notifies Curator when repairs are needed.
  • Reads and understands historical and agricultural source material as provided. Conducts historical and agricultural research when assigned.
  • Dresses in period costuming daily when interpreting to the public.
  • Maintains approved food and materials handling keeping safety records and program plans.
  • When necessary, purchases approved supplies and materials for demonstrations, activities and classes within the parameters of the site/program budget.
  • Conducts routine site upkeep and maintenance including household interiors and equipment, gardening, livestock care and site cleaning, according to Museum guidelines. Alerts the Curator when further repairs beyond site staff skill/equipment usage abilities are needed.
  • Becomes comfortable performing routine agricultural site tasks and livestock chores, including working with poultry, pigs, mules, and cattle, including completion of written daily chore report sheets.
  • Trains to safely operate kitchen and maintenance equipment, including but not limited to pressure canners, grist mill, wet/dry vacuums, small tractors.
  • Regularly plans and executes research and behind the scenes preparations for domestic foodways and household project plans including daily foodways, house-keeping, textile, garden programs as well as specialty foodways programs, and Member Activities. Maintains supply areas and stock for these programs.
  • Trains volunteers and staff in proper foodways, domestic skills and small livestock handling. Monitors and evaluates domestic skill levels in staff and volunteers.
  • Collaborates with other team members to ensure Domestic/Agricultural programs, including livestock care and garden plantings are conducted under Museum best practices, budget parameters and the Museum’s agriculture master plan.
Position Minimum Requirements
  • College degree in history, education, Museum Science, American studies or related field OR equivalent combination of education, experience and training.
  • Previous living history museum experience preferred, with 2-3 years’ experience in domestic programming, preferred.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills required; along with strong supervisory, management and program planning skills.
  • Experience working with volunteers, preferred.
  • Must be able to master historical information and techniques with ability to train others.
  • Must possess enthusiasm for working with the general public (especially children), including superior customer service skills.
  • Must excel in working with groups of children.
  • Ability to perform physical tasks needed to authentically re-create the activities of a working farm required.
  • Must be willing to work a flexible schedule, including weekend days.
  • Must be able to pass the required pre-employment physical and background check, must possess valid driver’s license.
  • Must possess a valid Driver’s License
  • This position involves frequent communication with other Museum staff, volunteers, and the general public. Must have the ability to clearly communicate to convey or exchange information to a variety of education levels. Includes ability to convey information to general public and co-workers or volunteers, and ability to discern assignments and/or directions from supervisor. Must be able to communicate and share knowledge with managers, supervisors and staff effectively. Must be able to effectively conduct educational programs and demonstrations.
  • This position frequently includes daily presentations to the general public. Requires the ability to express ones’ self and exchange information with and before others with poise, voice control and confidence. Communication must include proper format, punctuation, spelling and grammar, using all parts of speech. Requires the ability to read a variety of policy and procedure manuals, professional journals, various historical/scientific texts, etc.
  • Requires ability to apply principles of logical thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions. Must have the ability to learn and understand relatively complex principles and techniques; to make independent judgments in absence of supervision. Must have the ability to comprehend and interpret information received from various sources, and to learn and utilize new skills and information to improve job performance and efficiency.
  • This position involves frequent teamwork and communication with staff, volunteers, and the general public. Requires ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, and to follow and give verbal and written instructions. Must be capable of effective and efficient communication and have the ability to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds and educational levels.
  • When necessary, the Domestic Interpreter may assist with Farm construction/maintenance. Requires ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and to utilize mathematical formulas with ease to determine percentages and decimals, and to determine time. Must be able to use practical applications of fractions, percentages, ratio and proportions.
  • This position frequently includes movement of objects and at times, travel to a variety of locations throughout the region. Requires hand/eye coordination to operate automated office equipment, farm equipment, motor vehicle, etc.
  • The Domestic Interpreter frequently works outdoors with Farm livestock. Also requires the ability to use a variety of items, keyboards, office equipment, farm machinery, control knobs, buttons, switches, catches, etc. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.
  • Requires the ability to visually discern information. Must have ability to differentiate colors and shades of color.
  • The Domestic Interpreter will be exposed to weather conditions of extreme heat (heat index 116) or extreme cold (temps as low as 25) or may work in other inclement weather conditions. They must be able to safely work around sharp tools and large fires. At times, must be able to work around hot iron (in excess of 600 degrees) and tolerate regularly working in a dusty environment. They will also work indoors in a work space with adequate temperatures, ventilation and lighting. Will regularly work around noise and disruptions but moderate degree of stress. Frequently works around dust/dirt. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
  • Will manage personal p-card transactions and financial reporting. Will help write press releases for Museum events and develop social media content for the Museums. May be asked to provide customer service through greeting at the front door, telephone service, and email questions. Will give directions and information to visitors concerning their visit to the area, historical information, Museum activities, programs, and community events. Will route telephone calls and messages to the appropriate recipient.
  • The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Must be physically able to operate a variety of machines and equipment including farm tools such as a grist mill engine, tractor, mule drawn plow; computer, basic office equipment, vehicle, etc. Must be able to exert up to seventy five (75) pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to transport, position, put, install, or otherwise move objects. Must be able to ascend or descend steep steps. Must be able to twist your torso repetitively. Physical demands are in excess of those for sedentary work; must be able to remain in a stationary position for 6-8 hours per day. Work involves driving, moving, maintaining a stationary position, positioning one’s self, pushing, pulling, ascending/descending steps and ladders, and feeding livestock. Must be able to frequently move objects at weights of up to seventy-five (75) pounds.