Community & Operations Ambassador

LOCATION

Village of Industry & Art
320 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia

STATUS

Full-time, 40 hours/week
On-site (10am - 6pm)

EXPERIENCE

2-3 years preferred
Start date: ASAP

About Village of Industry & Art

Located along the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia's Center City, the Village of Industry & Art (VIA) is an active home for artists, makers, creative businesses, cultural organizations, and public programs. The Village of Industry & Art is designed to support production, collaboration, and exchange while providing meaningful permanent civic infrastructure to support working artists and cultural organizations.

The Role

The Community & Operations Ambassador is the public face and day-to-day connector of the Village of Industry & Art. This person creates an excellent first impression for visitors and tenants, supports the smooth operation of the building, and helps tell the story of the project through timely, engaging content. The right candidate is warm, observant, highly organized, and comfortable moving between hospitality, operations, communications, and hands-on problem-solving.

IMPORTANT ROLE EXPECTATION 

This is an active, front-of-house role - not a traditional receptionist position or a stationary eight-hour desk job. The Ambassador regularly alternates between the standing-height hospitality desk and work throughout the site, including greeting visitors, walking the building, supporting events, organizing the mailroom, documenting activity, and assisting with daily operations.

Core Areas of Responsibility

This is a multifaceted role, and responsibilities will vary based on building activity, events, operational priorities, and the evolving needs of VIA. The Ambassador will divide their time across the following key areas, with flexibility to shift focus as needed to support the organization's overall success.

HOSPITALITY & COMMUNITY PRESENCE | approximately 30% 

  • Serve as the primary point of contact for visitors, tenants, partners, vendors, and event guests, creating a warm, professional, and informed welcome.

  • Engage visitors at eye level from VIA's standing-height hospitality desk and circulate regularly through the lobby and shared spaces.

  • Learn VIA's tenants, programs, spaces, and building history so you can answer questions, make introductions, provide directions, and offer thoughtful tours weekly.

  • Maintain an active and welcoming lobby presence, including the books area, poster board, public calendars, wayfinding, and other visitor-facing elements.

  • Build relationships with tenants, notice needs and opportunities, and help strengthen a connected creative community.

BUILDING OPERATIONS & ORGANIZATION | approximately 30%

  • Own the daily organization and function of the mailroom, including package intake, labeling, tenant communication, problem-solving, and maintaining an orderly space.

  • Twice a day ownership over the condition of the ground and first floor bathrooms to ensure they are refreshed and filled, alerting the operations team when / if cleaning support is required. 

  • Support loading dock scheduling, deliveries, contractor and vendor sign-in, visitor logs, and access coordination.

  • Maintain keys, access codes, supplies, Lost & Found records, and other front-of-house tools and systems.

  • Manage recurring orders for approved office supplies, including utensils, printer paper, trash bags, and snacks. Maintain appropriate stock levels and set up automatic reordering where practical.

  • Complete routine walkthroughs of public, event, and meeting spaces; identify issues, resolve what you can, and promptly escalate what requires additional support.

  • Assist with event and program readiness, including light setup, signage, space checks, guest flow, and coordination with internal teams.

  • Monitor visitor areas for safety, security, and policy compliance; support emergency procedures and document incidents accurately. Ensure at the beginning and end of shift building is secure. 

  • Pitch in on practical tasks large and small to keep VIA functioning well and looking cared for.

SOCIAL MEDIA, STORYTELLING & MARKETING SUPPORT | approximately 25% 

  • Capture strong, timely photo and short-form video content that reflects daily life at VIA, including tenants at work, events, installations, building details, and behind-the-scenes activity.

  • Assist in creating and resharing Stories, commenting on posts, and responding to DMs on VIA's Instagram in coordination with the broader marketing calendar and brand guidelines. 

  • Develop recurring content such as tenant spotlights, event previews and recaps, new-space features, and building updates.

  • Organize digital content assets and provide the Creative Marketing team with a consistent pipeline of photographs, videos, ideas, and on-the-ground information.

  • Repost and engage with partners, tenants, neighbors, and local institutions via social media to share happenings, opportunities, achievements and news of our wider community. 

  • Gather, organize, and summarize building news, updates, and content for weekly tenant emails and monthly external marketing communications in Mailchimp. Creating, coordinating and publishing these weekly.

  • Track basic content performance and use what is learned to improve future posts.

COMMUNICATIONS & ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT | approximately 15% (est. 6 hours a week)

  • Respond to visitor and tenant inquiries in person, by phone, and by email; manage incoming calls, voicemails, and the general hello@ inbox.

  • Oversee the Tenant Event Form and translating this information into building-wide systems.

  • Maintain public-facing calendars, bulletin boards, event information, visitor resources, and internal logs.

  • Keep clear records of packages, loading dock use, incidents, recurring questions, and unresolved operational items.

  • Share concise daily or weekly updates with the appropriate team members and use VIA's task-management systems to ensure follow-through.

What Success Looks Like

  • Visitors and tenants consistently experience VIA as warm, informed, organized, and professionally managed.

  • The Ambassador notices what needs attention and takes appropriate action without waiting to be directed.

  • The mailroom, lobby, desk, calendars, and shared operational systems are accurate, orderly, and dependable.

  • VIA's social channels regularly reflect the energy, people, and activity of the building through authentic, high-quality content.

  • Questions, incidents, and operational issues are documented, communicated, and followed through to resolution.

Qualifications & Skills

We are seeking a highly motivated and responsible individual with strong professional judgment, excellent communication skills, and the confidence to interact with a wide range of people. Experience in hospitality, a cultural venue, community management, building operations, social media, or a similarly public-facing environment is strongly valued.

  • Two to three years of relevant experience in hospitality, customer service, community engagement, operations, social media, or a related field.

  • Demonstrated ability to take initiative, prioritize independently, and follow tasks through to completion.

  • Excellent interpersonal skills and a warm, professional demeanor, including the ability to handle difficult situations calmly and tactfully.

  • Strong organizational habits and attention to detail, especially when managing packages, access, schedules, records, and communications.

  • Strong writing and editing skills, with the ability to produce concise, engaging social media copy.

  • Comfort capturing high-quality photographs and short-form video using a smartphone; familiarity with Instagram and simple editing tools such as Canva or Adobe Express is preferred.

  • A flexible, hands-on mindset and willingness to help with tasks large and small.

  • Comfort using Google Workspace or Microsoft Office; experience with Asana, Mailchimp, Squarespace, or similar systems is a plus.

  • Interest in Philadelphia's arts, culture, design, making, and creative communities is strongly preferred.

PHYSICAL & WORK ENVIRONMENT

This is a full-time, on-site position in an active mixed-use creative building. The role requires regular movement throughout VIA and the ability to alternate between sitting and standing at an elevated hospitality desk. The employee should be able to navigate the building, use stairs as needed, and occasionally lift or move items weighing up to 25 pounds.

Compensation & Benefits

Hourly role $20 per hour. Full health benefits include medical, vision, and dental coverage. VIA also offers 10 days of paid time off, 5 paid sick days, and paid time off for voting and civic duty.

To Apply

Please send a resume, brief cover letter, and two or three examples of social media or visual storytelling work (or a link to a portfolio/account) with “VIA - Community & Operations Ambassador” in the subject line to hiring@viaphl.com. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

As a company and community, Scout embraces and celebrates diverse cultures, perspectives, backgrounds, and opinions. Scout is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on race, color, gender, religion, physical ability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or veteran status.