Director of Exhibitions, Collections & Research [Rubin Museum, NY]

About the Museum

The Rubin Museum of Art is a dynamic environment that stimulates learning, promotes understanding, and inspires personal connections to the ideas, cultures, and art of Himalayan Asia.

Now in its second decade, the Rubin welcomes over 175,000 visitors annually and has a growing membership of more than 4,000 households. Contained within five floors of galleries are several long-term rotating installations drawn from the permanent collection as well as frequent short-term loan exhibitions that are more broadly conceived in concept, art, geography, medium, and time. The Museum presents over 250 films, performances, and on-stage conversations annually as well as a robust roster of other educational initiatives. The ground floor is free-to-all and is a lively nexus for conversation, shopping, and refreshment.

The Museum’s collection includes over 3,000 objects spanning more than 1,500 years up to the present day. Renowned for its quality and depth, the collection focuses on art from the Tibetan Plateau and is broadened by a significant number of important examples from surrounding regions, including Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and Mongolia.

About this Position

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Exhibitions, Collections & Research is a key member of the Executive Management Team, which is charged with advancing the mission of the Museum and developing, implementing, and monitoring its goals and strategies through a staff of more than eighty people and an annual budget of over $15 million.

This is the senior-most curatorial position and the incumbent is responsible for leadership and management of the Curatorial Department, comprising ten staff members and several consultants ($1.3 million annual budget). In addition, exhibition budgets typically exceed $1.4 million annually, for a total department budget of $2.7 million. While acquisitions frequently are through gift, there is a modest budget for art acquisitions.

The incumbent sets both the tone and substance of the exhibition program broadly by creatively utilizing the collection to engage, educate, and expand participation. S/he works collaboratively, both internally and externally, with the overall goals of enlivening the institution and broadly growing its reputation.

Collectively the curatorial department focuses on advancing the Museum’s mission through

• the development of an engaging and diverse exhibition program
• selective building and creative use of the collection
• collections-based research and its wide dissemination as a means to advance the field of art and cultural history
• active commitment for developing new communities of engagement and support and for expanding existing ones

Major Responsibilities (including those partially delegated to subordinate staff):

• Contributes to a values-based culture by providing leadership and demonstrating and requiring adherence to the highest ethical standards.
• Supervises, mentors, counsels, assigns work to, and evaluates curatorial staff and consultants.
• Leads the development of ongoing exhibitions in collaboration with other curators and the Executive Director.
• Works collaboratively and as a supervisor with individual curators to strengthen exhibition concepts; monitors the evolution of each exhibition to maximize public impact.
• Convenes, organizes, and reports on the work and decisions of the Internal Exhibitions Committee.
• Manages high-level aspects of the exhibition schedule, including assuring an appropriate and engaging balance of exhibitions.
• Assures that the exhibition themes and ideas set forth are presented professionally, with attention to both quality and detail, in a timely and efficient manner and within budget parameters.
• Approves exhibition object selection, presentation details, and interpretive direction.
• Occasionally serves as exhibition curator.
• Works closely with the Executive Director, other executive staff, and trustees in the development of the mission and goals of the Museum and in the creation, implementation, and monitoring of resulting actions.
• Regularly reports to the Executive Director, trustees, Museum staff, and others on curatorial matters including exhibitions, research, and acquisitions.
• Keeps trustees and trustee committees fully informed on exhibition plans, schedules, and budgets.
• Proposes collection acquisition/deaccession policies, especially those concerning provenance.
• Coordinates curatorial advice and recommendations related to collection acquisition/deaccessioning.
• Approves objects to be presented to trustees for acquisition and/or deaccessioning.
• Develops the traveling exhibition and loan programs.
• Approves outgoing loans and incoming loans from other museums, collections, and collectors.
• Gives private and public presentations and widely represents the curatorial interests of the Museum, internally and externally.
• Reviews and approves all factual and other curatorial content used on the Museum website or in other public forums.
• Develops and monitors departmental and exhibition budgets, contracts, agreements, and other administrative documents.
• Approves all conservation measures.
• Manages the publication program and activities.
• Recruits, hires, and trains staff as necessary.
• Remains current on appropriate curatorial and related research topics.

• Previous senior-level museum experience expected
• Advanced degree in relevant field and extensive curatorial experience
• Appropriate level of management experience
• Demonstrated experience in developing and executing imaginative and innovative exhibitions on complex subjects designed to appeal to broad audiences
• Flexibility and proven ability to manage multiple projects
• Strong writing and speaking skills – required
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Creative and inspiring leadership
• Comfort in social and public forums
• Strong working knowledge of the wide variety of Museum activities and responsibilities
• Experience and success in raising program support and funding
• Working knowledge of and comfort with Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Please provide the following as part of your confidential application:

• Complete resume.
• A cover letter addressing both your interest in the Rubin Museum and your qualifications for this position.