Who: Museum people! Includes new and experienced professionals, as well as students

What: New England Museum Association annual conference – 3 days of challenging and encouraging conversations

Where: Falmouth, MA – the Cape!

When: October 25-27, 2017

Almost exactly a month from now the New England Museum Association (NEMA) will hold their annual conference. This is a fantastic opportunity for current and emerging museum professionals as well as museum students to participate in current conversations in the field, do some networking, and be a part of the largest gathering of New England museum professionals. While the early bird deadline has passed, there is still plenty of time to sign up – for one day or all three days!

This year’s conference theme is ‘Truth and Trust: Museums in a Polarized Society.’ With sessions such as Leading from all Levels: What You Can Do for Social Justice; Thinking about Science, Creativity, and Informal Learning: Conversations about Public Conflict over Decision-Relevant Science; Finding New Relevance in Legacy Collections; and many more, there are bound to be great and challenging conversations throughout the whole conference! And if that’s not enough, the evenings offer events to continue networking and relax in fun environments – such as a beach BBQ and exclusive visits to fascinating local museums.

To learn more about the conference, see the full schedule of sessions and events, and register, click here. 

The Museum: From the pre-revolutionary drama of the French & Indian War to the legendary match-ups of the Super Steelers, discover 250 years of Pittsburgh history at the Senator John Heinz History Center. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the History Center is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania with six floors of long-term and changing exhibition space. The History Center’s museum system includes the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, a dynamic museum-within-a-museum; the Fort Pitt Museum in Point State Park; and Meadowcroft Rockshelter & Historic Village, a National Historic Landmark located in Avella, Pa. in Washington County. The History Center presents the most compelling stories from American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection, all in an interactive environment perfect for visitors of every age.

The Position: The Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and the largest history museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is currently seeking a full time Audience Engagement Coordinator to become part of a dynamic and growing Education Division program. The Audience Engagement Coordinator will report to the Director of Education, working to oversee the Education Division’s interpretive volunteers, including docents and gallery volunteers, and to develop in-gallery learning experiences for the public. These learning experiences should maximize the engagement of both interpretive volunteers and visitors. The Audience Engagement Coordinator develops and implements programmatic opportunities and leads the recruitment of a diverse volunteer corps, scheduling, training, and evaluation of the interpretive volunteers who support these gallery-based programs. Beyond solidifying and strengthening the existing interpretive volunteer program, the Audience Engagement Coordinator will collaborate with the Director of Education, Volunteer Program Coordinator, and Museum Division team to create new roles for interpretive volunteers in the galleries to increase the range of opportunities available. This position also works to establish and maintain positive relationships between the interpretive volunteers, museum staff, and audiences.

Requirements: This position requires a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in education, history, museum education, education, or other humanities or liberal arts discipline. The ideal candidate will: have a minimum of one to three years’ experience managing volunteers and developing programs for the public; demonstrated skills in developing and implementing training programs in an informal learning setting, with preference for museum-based experience; effective oral and listening skills and the ability to work effectively with people of diverse cultures, ages, and economic backgrounds; excellent writing skills; must have a positive approach to problem solving, collaborating with others, and in approaching new tasks; excellent project management skills and ability to use Microsoft Office suite of programs.

Application Process: We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or disability. Minorities are encouraged to apply. Qualified applicants should submit a cover letter, including salary requirements and how you learned of this vacancy, and a resume to:

Renee Falbo, Director of Human Resources

Senator John Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

412-454-6357, hr@heinzhistorycenter.org, www.heinzhistorycenter.org