Scrap Exchange Job Opportunities

Position: Treasure Guide

Location: On-Site, Durham, NC

Reports To: Sales Coordinator

Direct Reports: None

Pay Band: $15.70-$19/hr

Position Overview

The Treasure Guide helps create a welcoming, engaging, organized, and inspiring experience for customers across The Scrap Exchange retail spaces. This role supports a wide range of front-of-house operations including customer service, merchandising, stocking, register operations, organization, cleaning, display creation, and overall sales floor experience. Treasure Guides work closely with teammates and coordinators to help stores remain functional, visually engaging, easy to shop, and enjoyable to explore. Additionally, the nature of our retail operation requires the Treasure Guides to have weekend availability. Treasure Guides are not expected to simply “stand at a register.” We are looking for people who notice things, engage with customers, take initiative, support teammates, and help shape the energy and experience of the space. The ideal candidate is friendly, curious, adaptable, reliable, and comfortable interacting with a wide variety of customers, coworkers, volunteers, and community members.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Experience & Hospitality

● Greet customers warmly and help create a welcoming, inclusive, and community-centered environment

● Help customers locate materials, answer questions, and discover unexpected treasures

● Support first-time visitors in understanding how the stores and organization work

● Engage positively with a diverse range of customers, artists, educators, families, collectors, and community members

● Help create a shopping experience that feels approachable, creative, and enjoyable

Sales Floor Operations

● Operate registers and process transactions accurately and efficiently

● Assist with stocking, organizing, cleaning, and maintaining sales floor areas

● Help maintain visually engaging, easy-to-shop, and well-organized displays

● Support opening and closing procedures as needed

● Help keep customer-facing areas clean, functional, and welcoming throughout shifts

Merchandising & Creativity

● Assist with product placement, restocking, displays, and merchandising projects

● Help test and improve creative ways of displaying and organizing materials

● Refresh shelves and displays throughout the day to maintain a dynamic and appealing environment

● Support seasonal changes, featured displays, and evolving merchandising approaches

Teamwork & Collaboration

● Work collaboratively with Treasure Guides, Coordinators, volunteers, and other staff

● Support daily operational priorities and adapt as needs change throughout shifts

● Communicate customer needs, product trends, low stock, or operational issues to teammates and coordinators

● Step in where needed to support overall store success

Stewardship & Store Standards

● Help maintain safe, organized, and accessible retail spaces

● Follow operational and safety procedures

● Support responsible reuse practices and care for donated materials

● Help contribute to a positive and respectful environment for customers and coworkers alike

What Makes a Great Treasure Guide

Successful Treasure Guides are often:

● people-oriented and approachable

● curious and adaptable

● energized by helping others

● comfortable in fast-moving and ever-changing environments

● reliable and accountable

● proactive and observant

● collaborative and communicative

● excited by creativity, reuse, sustainability, and community. Retail experience can be helpful, but personality, attitude, communication skills, and willingness to learn are often more important.

Who Will Thrive in This Role

This role may be a good fit for someone who:

● enjoys interacting with a wide variety of people

● likes helping customers solve problems or discover unexpected things

● enjoys organizing, improving, or creatively arranging spaces

● notices detail and takes initiative

● prefers active, hands-on work over sitting at a desk

● values teamwork and collaboration

● enjoys environments that are dynamic, imperfect, creative, and community-centered

Qualifications

● Previous retail experience is required. Other customer service, hospitality, arts, nonprofit, or community experience is a big plus.

● Strong communication and interpersonal skills

● Ability to work collaboratively in fast-paced environments

● Comfort learning register systems, store procedures, and operational practices

● Ability to stand, walk, lift, organize, and move materials throughout shifts

● Willingness to learn, adapt, and contribute positively to team culture

● Appreciation for reuse, sustainability, creativity, and community-centered work preferred

Physical Demands

This job has a significant physical aspect associated with the work. In order to successfully perform the essential functions of this job, Treasure Guides must be able to meet the following physical requirements:

● Stand for extended periods of time

● Lift, carry, push, and/or pull 25 pounds often, and up to 40 pounds occasionally

● Stoop, kneel, reach and/or crouch often

These physical demands are representative of the physical requirements necessary for an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the described essential functions.

Work Environment

● While performing the responsibilities of the job, the employee is required to work in a retail/warehouse setting.

● Must be able to spend at least 65% of the day standing and walking on surfaces such as concrete and ground.

● The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate and occasionally loud.

● The retail stores and processing areas can be cold at times during the winter and hot during the summer months.

Success Metrics

Success in this role may include:

● Positive customer interactions and experiences

● Strong teamwork and collaboration

● Reliable daily execution and follow-through

● Well-maintained and visually engaging sales floors

● Operational flexibility and adaptability

● Positive contribution to store culture and customer energy

● Growth in product knowledge, merchandising, and customer engagement over time

Benefits & Compensation

● Pay range of $15.70-$19/hour based on experience

● Health, dental, and vision insurance options

● 403(b) retirement plan

● Paid time off and holidays

● Professional development opportunities

● Employee discount

● A collaborative, mission-driven, and creative work environment

● Opportunities for leadership growth and organizational development

How do I apply?

Please answer the following questions in an email to jobs@scrapexchange.org with “Treasure Guide Interest” in the subject line.

Why are you interested in working at The Scrap Exchange?

What are your previous retail jobs?

Do you confirm that you are available weekends?

Position: Program Staffer (Weekends only)

Job Type: Part Time, Exempt- Weekends only  (Saturday + Sunday)

Location:On and Off Site - Durham, NC

Reports To: Programs & Outreach Manager

Direct Reports:None

Pay :$15.70

About The Scrap Exchange

The Scrap Exchange is a creative reuse nonprofit based in Durham, North Carolina. Since 1991, we have worked to promote creativity, environmental awareness, and community through reuse.

Every day, people come through our doors searching for materials, inspiration, affordable goods, creative possibilities, and human connection. For many visitors, The Scrap Exchange is more than a store — it is a community space, a place of discovery, and an experience unlike traditional retail.

Creating that experience requires more than operational systems. It requires people who know how to make others feel welcomed, supported, respected, and engaged.

Position Overview

Interested in working festivals and school events with The Scrap Exchange? Love working with kids? Always wondered how the reuse art material gets from the donor to the classroom? We are looking for an enthusiastic part-time staffer to join us in spreading creativity, environmental awareness, and community through our Programs & Outreach and Scrap processing department. This department handles all on-site (programs) and off-site (outreach) events associated with The Scrap Exchange, including but not limited to birthday parties, team-building exercises, festivals, and summer camps.

Events on-site are held in our Make N’ Take Room, which is full of our blue barrels filled with reuse and recycled materials, crafting supplies, along with tape, scissors, staplers, and coloring tools available for use. These events can be field trips from schools, birthday parties, and more. 

Events off-site involve loading up one of our Scrap vans and driving to various locations across the state (mostly in the Triangle) to work festivals, conferences, and other celebrations. The van will be full of blue barrels, several additional boxes of crafting materials, staples, tape, and scissors. Staffers will oversee the crafting station and keep the area tidy for the duration of the event. 

The Programs & Outreach department has been proud to work the following events: NC Museum of Natural Sciences BugFest, Eno Fest, Beaver Queen Pageant, Cary Spring Daze, Town of Chapel Hill Festifall, Packapalooza, Chapel Hill Pride Promenade and many more. 

This position will also support the Scrap processing department when not working events, which is the most integral category to The Scrap’s mission. “Scrap”, which is a catch-all for anything from lanyards to small plastics to keychains to trophies, is sold by-the-bucket in the Reuse Store and primarily used in all of our Program & Outreach events. 

Key Responsibilities

• Staffer will be responsible for delivering engaging reuse arts programming to youth ages 5-12 Saturday and Sunday’s both onsite at The Scrap Exchange and within the Triangle area at various community events, festivals, schools and more.

• Staffer will be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the Make N’ Take Room, making sure barrels are restocked, tidy and filled with a wide array of unique reuse materials along with the shelving unit materials and tools for reuse arts programming.

• Staffer will be responsible for educating youth ages 5-12 on The Scrap Exchange , Reuse art and our mission of promoting creativity, environmental awareness & community through reuse since 1991. through engaging tours of our reuse arts center.

• Coordinate with community partners and event organizers on-site to ensure smooth logistics, including locating the event space, confirming setup times, and troubleshooting as needed.

• Collaborate with processing coordinators to meet weekly processing goals and keep pace with incoming donation volume.

• Staffer will be responsible for sorting, processing, and organizing donated “scrap” materials - including lanyards, small plastics, keychains, trophies, and more -for sale in the Reuse Store and use in programs.

Requirements

• Must be at least 18 years of age with a valid driver’s license

• Must be able to walk long distances (at least 1 mile) with ease and lift at least 15-20 pounds

• Must be available to work Saturdays and Sundays  (10-5pm) with occasional morning and evening availability - this is a non-negotiable requirement

• Must have some prior experience working with children ages 5-12

• Must be comfortable driving a large van

• Events can range from 3 hours to 8 hours depending on the client. They are indoor or outdoors depending on the client, and staffers should be prepared for unpredictable weather conditions and communicating with event staff/volunteers.

• Must have strong organizational skills and the ability to work independently.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer.  We do not regard race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, marital status, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or any protected class characteristic when seeking to hire.  This practice, in addition to hiring, applies to our recruiting, training, transfers, promotions, job benefits, pay, dismissal practices, social and recreational activities, and any other term or condition of employment.

We care about our employees, our candidates, and our community.  As such, please note that this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Benefits & Compensation

• Pay range of $15.70/hour 

• Professional development opportunities

• Employee discount

• A collaborative, mission-driven, and creative work environment

• Opportunities for continued leadership development and growth

To Apply

Please submit a resume to jobs@scrapexchange.org.