Museum Director [San Bernardino County Museum]

Summary of Position

San Bernardino County is seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial, and business-minded individual to lead the San Bernardino County Museum (SBCM) during its next stage of growth. The Director will be responsible for developing an updated strategic plan for the SBCM, increasing visibility in the community, working with the Museum’s nonprofit arm to build contributed revenue, enhancing earned income opportunities, securing reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, and ensuring a supportive and effective environment for staff. The County seeks a Director who will capitalize on the Museum’s existing strengths and provide leadership and management for the next chapter in SBCM’s history.

About the Museum

Founded in 1952 by the San Bernardino County Museum Association, SBCM opened to the public in 1957, and was donated to the County in 1961. The Museum opened its current facility in Redlands in 1974. Today, SBCM is a natural history museum with a 67,000 square foot main museum in Redlands, the Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley, and six historic sites located throughout the County. The museum in Redlands is known for its vast collections (3 million objects) and exhibits of cultural and natural history related to the region and the greater Southwest. The visitor experience includes permanent exhibits, special exhibitions from the Museum’s collections, the Exploration Station live animal discovery center, research collections, and public programs for adults, families, students, and children. SBCM offers exciting events and exhibits that reflect the effort by the Board of Supervisors to achieve the Countywide Vision by celebrating arts, culture, and education in the county, creating quality of life for residents and visitors. SBCM is in the process of developing a three-story addition to the main museum that will showcase the Museum’s collections in new, interactive exhibits; the first exhibit, Fossils Underfoot, opened to enthusiastic reviews and record attendance in September 2014.

The Museum currently employs 22 full- and part-time staff, as well as six caretakers for the branch museum sites. The annual operating budget is approximately $3.1 million.

The Museum is governed by the County’s Board of Supervisors. The Museum Association serves as the SBCM membership group and raises additional funds for the Museum.

SBCM is at a transitional moment in its history. After a period of significant challenges, the Museum has undergone an in-depth organizational assessment to identify its central challenges and develop strategies to strengthen Museum operations, the visitor experience, and community awareness. In addition, the assessment addressed the Museum’s readiness for reaccreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) in 2017. As of result of these efforts, SBCM is in the process of developing a short-term Bridge Plan that serves as a roadmap for the Museum over the next year, until the next SBCM Director is on board and ready to spearhead a full strategic planning process.

With an action plan in place and exciting changes being made to the visitor experience, the Museum is well positioned for a dynamic, energetic museum professional to lead SBCM into a period of growth and prosperity.

About San Bernardino County

Located in the beautiful Inland Empire, the County of San Bernardino offers visitors and residents a mixture of recreation, entertainment, academia, culture, history, and hospitality. The largest County in the contiguous United States, its vast borders stretch from the greater Los Angeles area to the Arizona and Nevada borders. The County is comprised of 24 incorporated cities and towns, with over 2 million residents. Families enjoy affordable housing, excellent schools, colleges and universities, and easy access to hospitals, libraries, and parks. San Bernardino County is ideally located in the heart of Southern California with easy access to a network of local highways and airports, and Southern California’s many attractions. The County’s geographic diversity includes deserts, mountains, and arid valleys that enjoy an average 340 plus days of sunshine each year, making the County the ideal place to live, work, and play.

Responsibilities

The Museum Director is part of an organization that reports to the County’s Chief Executive Officer, who in turn reports to the County Board of Supervisors, which governs the Museum. The Director will have full authority and responsibility to manage and implement change at SBCM.  Responsibilities include:

• Providing visionary leadership and strong administrative oversight of all aspects of operations for the SBCM main museum and branch museum sites
• Managing SBCM in a fiscally responsible manner within the Board-approved budget
• Implementing the SBCM Bridge Plan, which serves as a short-term roadmap to enhance the visitor experience, determine the future of the branch museum site program, increase revenues, address the governance structure, and revitalize the staff
• Leading the staff, the Museum’s nonprofit arm, and the Board in the development and implementation of a long-term Strategic Planto establish a future vision for the next five years
• Partnering with the Museum’s nonprofit arm to build a formidable fundraising program to benefit the Museum
• Working with exhibit designers, curators, and educators to develop a Visitor Experience Plan for the main museum and branch museum sites
• Developing plans for programs and temporary exhibitions including budget and sponsorships
• Preparing the Museum for reaccreditation by AAM and spearheading the reaccreditation process on behalf of the Museum
• Providing management direction to the staff; ensuring compliance with appropriate personnel policies and human resource procedures; recruiting, hiring, training, and evaluating staff
• Providing a high degree of visibility in the community, strengthening community relationships, and serving as chief spokesperson for SBCM
• Enhancing the SBCM marketing program to raise awareness and grow audiences

Ideal Candidate Characteristics

The ideal candidate will possess a combination of the following:

• A proven track record of leadership abilities, a high level of initiative, strong interpersonal skills, and creative and flexible problem solving skills
• Strong financial management, marketing, and fundraising skills
• An entrepreneurial spirit, including the capacity to develop innovative strategies for programming, audience-building, and income generation
• The capacity, initiative, and experience to partner with the Museum’s nonprofit arm to meet fundraising goals
• Persuasive and engaging communication skills
• The ability to motivate, direct, and mentor staff
• The capability to develop and maintain positive relationships with collaborating partners and other community constituents
• A strong work ethic, good sense of humor, sincerity, a high energy level, and a strong commitment to teamwork

Experience/Education

A minimum of five years of supervisory and senior management experience in a museum is preferred. Possession of a bachelor’s degree is required, and an advanced degree is preferred.

Compensation

Compensation will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.  An attractive benefits package will also be provided.

Procedure for Application

Individuals interested in applying for this position should send a resume and letter of interest to:

Museum Management Consultants, Inc.

mmc@museum-management.com

Position open until filled