Director of Museum Education [Manetti Shrem Museum, Davis, CA]

Description

Reporting to the Deputy Director, and working closely with the museum’s senior leadership team, the Director of Museum Education will contribute to making the Manetti Shrem Museum a dynamic site for interdisciplinary programming relevant to the museum’s diverse audiences. The incumbent will join an energetic start-up team in developing ground-up programming that utilizes the richness of resources at UC Davis, a top-ten public research university, which is also the repository of an important art historical legacy.

The Director of Museum Education will be responsible for oversight and management of the museum’s educational programs and visitor services. The incumbent must be committed to a collaborative and innovative approach to developing engaging museum experiences.

The museum is an engaged partner in the intellectual work of the campus, involving students, faculty and staff as initiators, partners, and participants in the research and development of all aspects of its programming. The Director of Education will work with museum staff, faculty, and students to increase the museum’s integration into the fabric of the university and engage campus intellectual resources.

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art is under construction and is slated for opening in fall 2016 as the capstone of a planned “arts district” at UC Davis’ new front door alongside Interstate 80. The 30,000 square foot museum is dedicated to education and will serve a primary audience of faculty and students as the lens through which it will engage a broader audience. With architecture underway, the museum team is now defining a provocative program steeped in the university’s legacy of making, its physical presence in the Central Valley, and the university’s role as a progenitor of conceptual art in California.

The Manetti Shrem Museum is a start-up environment that requires flexibility, initiative, willingness and the ability to problem solve. The incumbent must be creative and enjoy working within a small, entrepreneurial team that is mission-driven, results-driven, and community oriented. Must have the ability to exercise good judgment in a variety of situations, exhibiting perseverance and grace under pressure. Requires strong written and verbal communication, project management and organizational skills, and the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

A minimum of five years of progressive experience in the museum education field, with relevant experience in education/interpretation, public programming, and visitor engagement.

Track record of developing and implementing innovative educational programs in an art museum or other arts-based organization.

Experience providing effective vision and strategic direction to museum education and visitor engagement staff and volunteers.

Facility with public presentation and convening diverse public groups.

Experience managing substantial department, project, and program budgets.

Experience using managerial and leadership skills to lead by example and encourage collaborative efforts.

Written communication skills to prepare a variety of materials including correspondence, reports, policies/procedures, informational documents, position descriptions, training manuals, and performance evaluations.

Experience supervising staff and volunteers.

Experience working effectively with students to achieve organizational and educational goals.

Preferred Qualifications:

MA in related field.

Experience in launching new projects and/or working in start-up environments.

Experience using interpersonal, communication, collaborative, negotiating and team-building skills to establish and maintain good working relationships with colleagues, faculty, vendors, volunteers and university officials, with an emphasis on tact, diplomacy, flexibility, professionalism and discretion.

Skills and knowledge to create interpretive experiences with multiple points of access.

Experience working directly with artists to realize artist projects that connect with multiple audiences.

Ability to generate and balance visionary approaches with practical, results oriented activities.

Demonstrated problem solving and collaboration skills.

Facility with and interest in application of multiple interpretive formats, including new technologies.

Apply by May 10, 2016 at: www.employment.ucdavis.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=72653