Boatswain (Coxswain), Flagship Niagara

Job Description

Commonwealth of PA - Opportunities for All Job Seekers | Find Your Passion for Public Service! Opens in a new window Opens an external website Opens an external website in a new window Accept Deny Non-Essential Manage Preferences Close Cookie Preferences For full functionality of this page it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser Boatswain (Coxswain), Flagship Niagara | Find Your Passion for Public Service! page has loaded. Boatswain (Coxswain), Flagship Niagara | Find Your Passion for Public Service! page has loaded. Skip to main content Click here or press any key to continue. Commonwealth of PA - Opportunities for All Job Seekers Menu Commonwealth of PA - Opportunities for All Job Seekers Sign In Saving... Account could not be created. Please fix the errors to continue. Sign In All fields are required Create an account Username or Email Password Sign In Forgot username | Reset password Sign in with GoogleSign in with Google. Opens in new tab Facebook Don't have an account? Create one. Already have an account? Sign In. User profile dropdown menu for Username Applications Inbox Profile Account Sign Out After clicking on this link you will be logged out and the page will be reloaded. Applications Inbox Profile Go to Background Investigation Account Sign Out After clicking on this link you will be logged out and the page will be reloaded. Welcome! Thanks for creating an account. Find Your Passion for Public Service! powered by NEOGOV ® Boatswain (Coxswain), Flagship Niagara Print Apply  Boatswain (Coxswain), Flagship Niagara Salary $45,907.00 - $69,203.00 Annually Location Erie County, PA Job Type Non-Civil Service Seasonal Full-Time Job Number N-2025-37357 Department Historical & Museum Commission Division HM Erie Maritime Ctr Opening Date 12/18/2025 Closing Date 1/21/2026 11:59 PM Eastern Job Code 27617 Position Number 50702151 Union AFSCME Bargaining Unit J1 Pay Group ST05 Bureau / Division Code 00300828 Bureau / Division Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums/Western Division/Erie Maritime Museum Worksite Address 150 East Front Street, Suite 100 City Erie, Pennsylvania Zip Code 16507 Contact Name MegAnn Carey Contact Email mecarey@pa.gov Description Benefits Questions THE POSITION Are you an experienced rigger looking to expand and hone your skills in square rig seamanship while taking on supervisory responsibilities? Do you enjoy sharing your sailing knowledge with others? If so, we have an exciting, seasonal position for you!The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission is looking for an enthusiastic, energetic, and hard-working Boatswain to join the crew of the U.S. Brig Niagara, Pennsylvania's Flagship. In this position, you will be engaged in all aspects of ship maintenance and operation, allowing you to build upon the skills you have already acquired in your maritime career. This seasonal position is expected to begin in late-March 2026 and end in mid-October 2026. If you want to be part of keeping the tradition of square rig seamanship alive for current and future generations, apply today to serve aboard the U.S. Brig Niagara! DESCRIPTION OF WORK Sailing from her homeport at the Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, PA, the U.S. Brig Niagara is a fully functional, traditionally rigged brig engaged in sail training and historical interpretation. Through the up rig, maintenance, operation, and down rig of the ship, the Niagara program preserves, interprets, and passes on the traditions of what life was like for sailors living, working, and fighting aboard a square-rigged sailing ship in the early 19th century. As Boatswain, you will serve as deck crew leader and the foreman for all non-engineering maintenance operations. This role calls for you to apply your knowledge of seamanship, in particular your knowledge of square rig, to carry out all operations and maintenance of Niagara in a supervisory as well as hands-on role. Your responsibilities will include maintaining a neat and organized ship, ensuring that tools are in good working order, keeping an inventory of necessary supplies, creating and maintaining work lists, and carrying out the work involved in rigging up, sailing, and maintaining Niagara. You will assign and supervise various tasks in service of the ship while training less experienced crew, volunteers, and trainees in those tasks and in seamanship in general. Additionally, this role involves assisting in the historical interpretation of the ship, offering museum guests a glimpse into life aboard a 19th century sailing vessel. You will also be responsible for ensuring that the ship, shop, and berthing area are clean, tidy, and presentable to museum guests and the general public.The 2026 Niagara sailing season (late-March through mid-October) will include a 2,000 nautical mile journey from Maine to Erie, PA via the North At