Director of Education and Public Programs [Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI]

NEW POSTING!  The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) is a comprehensive natural history and cultural museum located in Wisconsin’s largest city (MSA pop. 1.7 million), and the most-attended museum in the State. MPM welcomes more than 500,000 diverse visitors annually, including more than 100,000 school children on class visits. MPM holds a collection of some 4.5 million objects, has 150,000 square feet of galleries on four floors, and is one of the oldest natural history museums in the nation.

MPM is currently in an exciting period of transformation and is seeking candidates and nominations for the newly-created position of Director of Education and Public Programs (DEPP). This senior leadership position is part of an overall restructuring that elevates Education within the institution overall. The DEPP has the opportunity to lead a talented Education staff of nine in building an exciting mix of innovative programs and educational offerings that attract and engage a diverse audience of 500,000 a year with natural history, science, and cultural history.

The salary range for this position is $70-100,000, depending on experience and education.

Reporting to the Vice President for Audience and Community Engagement, the DEPP will lead the creation of a welcoming, compelling, visitor-centric museum and informal education experience that is strategic, intentional and integrated from first contact to post-visit. She/he will encourage innovation and creative prototyping of programs by Education staff while simultaneously using evaluation and data to define success—improving and scaling ideas that work while ending those that don’t. She/he will be an active and visible participant in the Milwaukee education community, establishing relationships on behalf of the institution and finding natural program partners large to small.

This position is responsible for museum education efforts at every level—from populist to scholarly—including involvement in teams developing interpretive texts, technologies and programs for permanent and temporary exhibitions, class visits and curriculum, lectures and public programs, adult programming and lectures, specialized service programs, distance learning, docent efforts and general museum content and programs meant to activate the institution and engage the wider community around topics of interest.  MPM has admirably diverse visitation by the standards of most US museums, and would like to build on that base to become a national, replicable model of audience engagement, actualizing the ways museums can help effect transformational change in diverse communities.

The DEPP is a member of the museum’s senior staff, and is expected to set the standard for positive and collaborative communication within and across MPM, be an active participant in building organizational strategies and culture, and in advancing pan-institutional projects and strategic initiatives. MPM is entering into a year-long Visitor Experience Planning process, and the DEPP will be a key participant in that work, creating the vision for the MPM of the future.

The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) is a comprehensive natural history and cultural museum located in Wisconsin’s largest city (MSA pop. 1.7 million), and the most-attended museum in the State. MPM welcomes more than 500,000 diverse visitors annually, including more than 100,000 school children on class visits. MPM holds a collection of some 4.5 million objects, has 150,000 square feet of galleries on four floors, hosts major traveling exhibitions, and is one of the oldest natural history museums in the nation.

The ideal candidate loves museums, natural history and science, is recognized as a compelling educator the museum field, and has both practical experience managing staff and programs as well as the ability to be a visionary advocate for new models of museum education. She/he should have at least seven years of progressively advanced experience in museum education, an advanced degree or (preferably) both.

She/he must be a supportive and positive influence for staff (including a number of union-represented education staff) while also setting clear goals for staff success and holding all accountable for results.  The successful candidate will also be a compelling public speaker, an effective negotiator and consensus builder, comfortable with both organizational  process and ambiguity, responsive to community needs, highly knowledgeable about current trends/research/models in museum education, have prior success managing departmental budgets and finances, and able to engage a wide variety of constituents.

Nominations and applications are welcome. MPM offers a highly competitive salary ($70-100,000 depending on experience and education), generous benefits, relocation assistance, and the opportunity to be part of a team shaping an innovative and exciting institution for a community in which MPM is a beloved icon. MPM is an equal opportunity employer and is very actively seeking to broaden the diversity of its leadership and workforce. MPM is an EOE employer.

Milwaukee is a growing community located on a beautiful stretch of Lake Michigan lined with miles of beaches and parks, and has one of the lowest costs of living of the 50 largest American cities. Milwaukee supports a major Zoo often cited as a national model, opera and ballet companies, active locavore and foodie scenes, multiple active theater troupes and entertainment venues, and professional sports. Located 80 miles north of Chicago, the city is at a particularly exciting tipping point in thinking about how to advance as a city and region. Per the 2013 census Milwaukee County is approximately 53% white, 27% African American, 14% Hispanic or Latino, 4% Asian and 1% Native American.