Director, Gantz Family Collections Center [Field Museum, Chicago, IL]

Description

The Field Museum collections are among the top natural history collections in the world for their breadth, scope, and quality. The Field is one of the few institutions with collections that cover planetary origins and the full history of life on Earth with botanical, zoological, geological, and anthropological specimens and artifacts. The Museum’s strategy in Science and Education (S&E) creates a strong opportunity for the Museum to increase the impact of its collections.

The Director of The Field Museum’s Collections Center (the Gantz Family Collections Center) will expand and shape the role that these collections play in global efforts to explore the past, understand the present, and ensure a future rich with biological and cultural diversity. The Director focuses the strategic growth of the collections, broadening their relevance and increasing their accessibility. This leadership position provides general oversight for the Museum’s holdings of close to 30 million specimens and objects, in addition to the library and archive collections. The Director works closely with the Center’s leadership (heads of the Anthropological, Botanical, Geological, Zoological, and Library collections) to supervise personnel in collections management, oversee collections-related policies and procedures, and develop the Center’s annual budget. The Director will have active programs in one or more of the Museum’s collection areas, interact with members of the other S&E centers on collaborative initiatives, and develop strong ties with academic institutions locally and worldwide

This position reports to the Vice President of S&E and works as part of a team with the Directors of the Integrative Research,Science Action, and Learning centers to set the vision and agenda for Science and Education at The Field Museum.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provides strategic vision and direction for the Gantz Family Collections Center by:

• making museum collections more relevant to research, conservation action, and learning worldwide;
• identifying and promoting priorities for Field Museum collections in consultation with S&E leadership and committees of the Board of Trustees;
• developing and overseeing implementation of innovative approaches for increasing accessibility and use of Field Museum collections;
• and identifying global priorities for natural history collections in cooperation with other museums

Provides oversight for collections growth, care, and use by:

• supervising Center’s leadership and overseeing Center’s personnel;
• overseeing strategic growth of the collections and collections staff;
• overseeing deaccessions, including repatriation;
• ensuring the highest standards of collections management;
• and overseeing adherence to the Museum’s Collections Management Policy and regularly reviewing and updating policies for approval by Board of Trustees

Serves as the face of collections at The Field Museum by:

• fostering relationships with scholars, conservation professionals, and educators worldwide;
• supporting collaborations with exhibitions, marketing, and public relations staff;
• building networks with museums for training in collections management;
• and fostering collaborations between Collections Center staff and communities, citizen scientists, members of the public, and other stakeholders

Oversees finances for the Center by:

• developing the annual budget for the Center with S&E and Center’s leadership;
• supporting fundraising for the Center;
• and helping secure grants for projects that improve the care, growth, access, and use of collections

Requirements

Qualifications

• An accomplished leader with keen knowledge of natural history collections and collections management, and deep appreciation for collections-based science and science communication
• A respected scientist with an advanced degree in the biological, geological, or social sciences, or equivalent
• At least six years of managing natural history collections with a sound knowledge of best practices, ethics, and AAM accreditation standards
• Experience managing a diverse team of professionals in a results-oriented setting
• Excellent communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to build, lead, and sustain effective teams and collaborations
• Experience writing proposals and administering grants
• Superb organizational skills and attention to detail
• Demonstrated familiarity with museum collections databases.