Description:
Duties and Responsibilities
- Department Head: As senior manager of the Curatorial Department, they will provide leadership, vision, and professionalism to the department and hold overall responsibility for the Fralin’s scholarly and artistic program. In collaboration with the Director, will plan a long-term growth strategy for the Curatorial Department and will set hiring, collecting, and organizational priorities with a goal toward anticipating the museum as part of the new Center for the Arts. Directly supervises department staff of three, evaluating and setting performance goals for direct report staff. Works with the Museum Director and COO to develop departmental budget; Oversees exhibitions, loans, and acquisitions. Cultivates relationships both internal and external to the University to promote the work of the department and Museum.
- Exhibitions: Independently conceives, develops, and publishes exhibition catalogues, scholarly articles, and related works. Collaborates with the Museum Director, staff, guest curators and outside agents to develop exhibitions and exhibition-related materials and publications; creates and oversees implementation of exhibition schedule; establishes exhibition budgets and identifies revenues; determines strategic placement for Museum traveling exhibitions; develops and manages projects with national and international participants. Collaborates with Development and Marketing to produce collateral material for exhibitions including invitations, brochures, and exhibition announcements. Collaborates with the Education department on interpretative didactics and the development of learning experiences relating to exhibitions. Leads tours, gives gallery talks, and conducts interviews to promote exhibitions and Museum activities.
- Collections Management: Conducts and oversees thorough research on the Museum’s collections; responsible for planning art acquisitions and reporting planned acquisitions to the Collections Committee; collaborates with the Collections Manager and Museum Director to accession and deaccession art works and assess loan requests.
- Administration and Committee Service: As a member of Senior Staff, participate in planning for an anticipated new Center for the Arts, which is envisioned to include new space to house the University’s museums. Assists in the development of a strategic plan, museum branding, and other projects aimed at the advancement of the Museum; represents the department at Advisory and Volunteer Board meetings; represents the Museum at University meetings and public events.
- Funding and Promotion: Collaborates with the Museum Director, COO, and Director of Development to identify and pursue funding needs and opportunities; identify and contribute to grant applications and reports to secure and steward donor gifts and foundation support; assists in identifying potential donors for exhibitions and acquisitions, meets with donors and prospects, and participates in fundraising events and activities.
- Attends conferences and events to promote the Museum and keep apprised of developments in the field.
- Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in art history, or related field and at least three years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified is required.
- Preference will be given to candidates with a PhD degree in art history with a specialization in American Art or pre-nineteenth-century European Art and five years of experience.
- Knowledge of museum practices and procedures.
- Knowledge of exhibition development and organization, including both national and international collaborations.
- Knowledge of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion (DEAI) promotion.
- Skills in communication, organization, and project management.
- Ability to perform research, scholarship, and public speaking.
- Ability to balance multiple projects and meet deadlines.
- Ability to work with standard computer software systems (Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook, Teams, etc.).