Description:
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Direct the intellectual and physical oversight of an approximately 750,000 object collection stored in two
separate locations according to best practices; plan for the future of the Museum’s storage facilities for a
collection that includes furniture, decorative arts, paintings and sculpture, costumes and textiles,
manuscripts and ephemera, theatrical designs and ephemera, vehicles, archaeological materials, prints and
photographs, and more.
- Champion the use of Museum collections in exhibitions programming; support the curatorial team to
implement new exhibitions that highlight the collection.
- Identify and plan collection projects consistent with institutional priorities; seek out appropriate funding
opportunities for said projects; and author grant applications with Head Registrar and team.
- Working under the direction of the Museum’s President and Director and the Chief Curator, serve as staff
liaison to the Collections and Storage Committees of the Board of Trustees; represent the Collections
Department at selected Executive Committee and Board of Trustee meetings.
- Support and direct the team dedicated to collections digitization and Rights and Reproductions, including
interdepartmental requests for digitization services, such as photography.
- Provide oversight and leadership for ongoing collections assessments, development, and refinement,
following and updating Board-approved collecting plans in each collecting area.
- Oversee the Institutional Archives Program.
- Oversee, in cooperation with the Head Registrar, the President and Director, Chief Curator, CFO, and COO
in planning, organizing, and controlling collections budgets, including a number of restricted short-term
projects.
- Oversee and train couriers for collections loans; on occasion serve as courier with Head Registrar
- Document and refine workflows and processes for acquisitions, loans, inventory etc.
- Support the Head Registrar and Collections Database Administrator in overseeing the collections
management system and online Collections Portal software and manage vendor relationships.
- Hire, train, and onboard new staff.
- Perform other duties as needed
A successful candidate will have:
- A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and a passion for advancing equity and addressing
structural racism within nonprofit organizations
- Advanced Degree in Museum Studies, Library and Information Science, Archival Studies, or comparable
field, or equivalent experience.
- Minimum seven years of direct museum collections experience, progressively in leadership roles
overseeing team management, recruitment, development, and organizational restructuring.
- Administrative experience and skills, including budgeting, financial oversight, and project planning.
- Experience handling a variety of materials with understanding of current best practices in Collections Care.
- Experience couriering artwork internationally with the ability to travel as needed.
- Understanding of NAGPRA, CITES and other laws directly relevant to collections care.
- Experience writing and managing grants, with a record of fundraising success.
- Thorough knowledge of best practices, including but not limited to conservation and preservation, IPM,
governance and documentation, and rights and reproductions.
- Comprehension of digital asset management practices and object cataloging and metadata standards.
Experience with TMS and Microsoft Office preferred.
- The desire to work in a collaborative, supportive collegial environment
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills