Director of Access and Community Programs [The Whitney Museum, New York, NY]

Description

Director of Access and Community Programs
The Whitney Museum seeks a dynamic educator to fill the position of Director of Access and Community Programs. The Director is responsible for creating policies, programs and outreach initiatives to make the Whitney a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and abilities. This is a key position for the Whitney as the Museum embarks on its second year of operation in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. The Director will collaborate with colleagues across the entire Museum as well as manage the Access and Community Programs division within the Department of Education. This senior level position reports directly to the Helena Rubinstein Chair of Education and supervises two full-time staff members.
Responsibilities:
–    Lead museum-wide efforts to advance access and inclusion across the Museum in collaboration with education staff and other departments, in particular Visitor Experience, Curatorial, Digital Media, Graphic Design and Human Resources.
–    Serve as the Whitney’s in-house advocate and expert on accessibility providing guidance, training and resources for all museum areas and staff.
–    Ensure that the museum’s accessibility policy and guidelines are followed and updated as necessary.
–    Oversee educational programs, policies, and services for diverse audiences including visitors with disabilities, low-income seniors, residents of the nearby NYCHA houses, immigrants, and LGBT youth.
–    Develop and implement strategic partnerships with community-based organizations creating opportunities for new audiences to access and make meaningful connections with the art and artists of the Whitney.
–    Expand and deepen existing Community and Access public program offerings such as ASL Tours, Verbal Description Tours, Programs for Families with kids on the Autism Spectrum, and Senior Programs
–    Facilitate collaborative projects that bring artists and art into local communities to build long-term relationships between the Museum and New York City residents.
–    Work with internal and external stakeholders to lead Museum-wide efforts to make the Whitney an intellectual resource, gathering place and good neighbor for our new downtown community.
–    Explore how the Whitney can be a convener and a catalyst to bring diverse communities together.
–    Serve on intra-departmental working groups and committees.
–    Contribute to fundraising efforts including grant writing and reporting as well as donor cultivation.
–    Manage budgets, Oversee evaluation projects, work with outside consultants, and participate in strategic planning

Requirements:
–    M.A. or advanced degree in education, disability studies, in art history, museum studies or studio art.
–    5-7 years of demonstrated experience in community-based arts programming, museum education and gallery teaching as well as knowledge of disability law and regulations, museum access programming and contemporary artistic practice.
–    Expertise in a foreign language.  Spanish or Mandarin preferred
Please send resume, cover letter and salary requirements to:  hr@whitney.org and state “Director, Access and Community Programs” in the subject line of the email.

About the Whitney
As the preeminent institution devoted to the art of the United States, the Whitney Museum of American Art presents the full range of twentieth-century and contemporary American art, with a special focus on works by living artists.  Designed by architect Renzo Piano and situated between the High Line and the Hudson River, the Whitney’s new building vastly increases the Museum’s exhibition and programming space, providing the most expansive view ever of its unsurpassed collection of modern and contemporary American art.

The Whitney Museum of American Art is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Museum does not discriminate because of age, sex, religion, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, partnership status, veteran status, gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, or any other factor prohibited by law. The Museum hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled. The Museum encourages all qualified candidates to apply for vacant positions at all levels. This description shall not be construed as a contract of any sort for a specific period of employment.