Category: Job Announcements (Page 834 of 1333)

Mission and Vision

The mission of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds.

We inspire the widest possible audience to enjoy, value, and become stewards of the living earth.

Human beings are connected to each other, to communities, to other species and to the Earth.  As human beings increasingly influence natural systems, it is critical that we understand these relationships.  This understanding, in the context of the history of the Earth and its inhabitants, guides our approach to investigation and interpretation.  By integrating our global research and extensive collections with engaging educational experiences that reveal all aspects of our work, we provoke curiosity and deepen understanding of our natural and cultural worlds.  This dynamic learning laboratory and forum for the exchange of ideas is a new model that sets the standard for museums of the future.

The Institution

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) is a leader in exhibits and programs focused on how our planet and life on it changes over time and why it matters.  Located in the heart of Los Angeles, NHM serves one of the most diverse audiences of any museum, playing a critical role in inner city science and nature education.  Holding approximately 35 million specimens and objects, NHM is one of the world’s largest and most important repositories of natural and cultural history collections, which serve as the evidence of the history of Earth and life on it.  After a decade of transformation, the Museum is an indoor-outdoor museum of nature and natural and cultural history that invites all visitors to meet our planet and explore our place on it.

The Museum is run as a public-private partnership between the nonprofit Natural History Museum Foundation and the County of Los Angeles.  The Museum is governed by the Foundation Board of Trustees, who appoint most of its own members, and the Board of Governors, whose members are County-appointed Trustees.  Governors are also automatically members of the Foundation Board.

This partnership results in a Board that provides unified Museum oversight, policy and governance for all stakeholders.  The Museum’s operational revenue base is derived from public funding, including a contractual agreement with the county and private funding in the form of gifts, grants and Museum enterprises.

NHM staff consists of 377 employees, 362 of which are employed by the Natural History Museum Foundation and 15 by Los Angeles County.  The three institutions that comprise the Natural History Family of Museums are:  the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Exposition Park; the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum in Hancock Park/Mid-Wilshire; and the William S. Hart Museum in Newhall, California.

Total onsite attendance at all three sites in 2013 was 1,031,780.  The Museum has 28,095 members and 656 active volunteers.  The Natural History Family of Museums served more than 240,000 students and teachers free of charge.  The Natural History Family of Museums is accredited by the American Association of Museums.

The Foundation ended the year 2013 with $33.5 million in operating revenue and total county funding was $14.7 million.  The Foundation’s endowment is approximately $168 million, of which the majority is unrestricted.  NHM has raised $117 million of an eight-year campaign with a goal of $135 million for capital projects.

Today

NHM is a mission-driven, disciplined and nimble organization with a staff that is focused on providing great experiences for a wide range of audiences with deep relevant content.  For the past decade, it has been undergoing a radical transformation – internal realignment, renovation, restoration, construction and the opening of four new highly successful permanent exhibits.  NHM’s brand, which is the mission to inspire wonder, discovery and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds, focuses on studying and communicating big, relevant stories of the history of our planet and life on it.  NHM exhibits and programs feature up-to-date and timely content, and they are increasingly creative, visitor focused and multilayered.  NHM products – from exhibits and online resources to publications and advertising – are brand driven, visitor focused and distinguished by thoughtful use of design as a strategic tool.

NHM’s public face rests on active, leading-edge relevant scholarship and science.  Curatorial leadership is key to the success of all our endeavors, and a multiyear process is currently underway for investing strategically in strengthening the Research and Collections Division to attract outstanding scholars and scientists who are critical to achieving institutional strategic goals.

The extraordinary collections – from artifacts representing key moments in human history to specimens representing key moments in evolutionary history – these are NHM’s major permanent assets.

NHM is committed to strong management and stewardship of the resources of the Museum and to insuring the excellence of the curatorial staff members and researchers who are widely recognized authorities in their fields.  They win major grants, and many serve as faculty and research associates at universities, museums and other institutions.  They publish regularly in journals and magazines and are engaged in field and onsite research.  They increasingly play roles in policy making.  Finally, they preserve and strengthen the Museum’s collections which – as the evidence of the history of our planet and life on it – are key assets upon which NHM exhibitions and public programs are built.  Outstanding displays of the real thing are among the most important brand attributes and are highly valued by visitors of all ages.  Place-based experiences with real things are key offerings, and they seem to be more valued than ever.

As a backdrop, Los Angeles has become the world’s leading creative and cultural hub.  NHM’s location within one of the planet’s biodiversity hotspots creates an exciting opportunity for newfound relevance in the urban intersection with the natural world.

The Family of Museums Programing and Presenting the Collection

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County at Exposition Park has been serving Angelenos for over a century.  The Museum recently completed a multiyear $100 million-plus building and restoration project that has transformed the Museum into a unique indoor-outdoor destination.  The project resulted in a restored historic original wing, new programmatic gardens, remodeled amenities, a partially renovated building infrastructure, a spectacular new public transit-friendly front entrance, four new permanent exhibits and a renovated temporary exhibit gallery.  In immersive, new visitor experiences, visitors are awed by extraordinary real specimens and objects that are presented in carefully designed experiences that lead the way into deep experiences with big stories and important content.  The Museum offers behind-the-scenes experiences such as the Dino Lab – an active paleontology lab where dinosaur fossils are prepared daily in public view.  Today, in addition to the history of life on the planet, visitors explore nature and biodiversity today in the new Nature Gardens and Nature Lab.  An important theme in many of these exhibits is the interplay of humans and nature, and the rich habitats in Los Angeles.

La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum in Hancock Park/Mid-Wilshire is the most important – and the only consistently active and urban – Ice Age fossil excavation site in the world.  This makes La Brea Tar Pits and the Page a unique place-based experience or “site museum” where fossils of animals trapped in the seeps 10,000 to 40,000 years ago are discovered, excavated, prepared and displayed in one place.  The Museum is currently excavating a cache of recently unearthed fossils known as Project 23 – an endeavor that could double its collection of more than three million Ice Age specimens and inform decades of new research.  Research on the full range of fossils including  “microfossils” that are the microscopic plant remains and those of insects and reptiles are informing a new generation of research on this site, which is so important for understanding climate change during recent geological history, and helping us understand what we face in the future.

William S. Hart Museum in Newhall, California is a 22-room mansion on a 265-acre estate filled with Western art, Native American artifacts and early Hollywood memorabilia.  Upon his death in 1946, William S. Hart bequeathed the estate to Los Angeles County for the enjoyment of the public at no charge.  Located an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, the grounds are a popular picnic and hiking destination.  Tours of the mansion and weekend festivals, including silent movie screenings, are also popular activities.

THE POSITION

The President and Director of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will be an entrepreneurial leader and a catalyst for NHM’s continued growth and increasing impact in the community and the world; s/he is responsible for the vision, strategic direction, and overall management of the Museum’s physical and human resources, including its collections, exhibitions and programs.  The successful candidate will be eager to take the Museum into the next decade, embodying the mission and brand, and will bring new resources to build on NHM’s growing significance and standing in the community and in the wider field of museums and informal science education settings.

The President and Director will ensure a high level of communication and transparency internally.  This person will channel the energies and collective wisdom of the Museum’s exceptional staff.  Additionally, the President and Director, with the support of and in partnership with the Board of Trustees, will be responsible for the financial health of the Museum through civic engagement, fundraising and appropriate earned revenue pursuits.

Specifically, the President and Director will lead the next phases of NHM’s growth and the continued transformation of NHM’s public face and infrastructure and bring to life the strategic intent to be the best in the world at communicating how our planet and life on it changes over time and why it matters.  NHM faces major once-in-a-lifetime opportunities including the opportunity to reimagine the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum and the surrounding Hancock Park and, at NHM, to redevelop the remaining 40 to 50 percent of the public spaces of the main museum and create new permanent exhibits.  The next President will work with the staff and the Board to develop these aspirations into a realistic program that can be realized and will be a priority.

Achieving these goals, and sustaining NHM’s growth and increasing its leadership, will require significant increases in NHM’s operating budget as well as project-specific fundraising for major initiatives.  Creating the internal infrastructure and resource base to support and grow the mission-focused creative and entrepreneurial spirit of the institution will be critical.

PRIORITIES and OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

The President and Director will inspire confidence and will have the following priorities and responsibilities:

• Lead the Natural History Museum, via an inclusive strategic planning process, to become an even greater center for research and public and educational engagement, and to inspire wonder, discovery and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds; develop future exhibits and experiences around the Museum’s centers of excellence that build on collections’ strengths and major relevant questions and topics, and develop the Museum’s infrastructure and extend its reach and impact;

• Build on the strong institutional branding and messaging to raise awareness and visibility of the Museum regionally, nationally and internationally;

• Serve as the face of the institution embodying its mission and brand; be an enthusiastic and highly visible ambassador, fundraiser and advocate for the Museum; actively participate in the cultural and civic life of Los Angeles, developing and maintaining relationships that will enhance the Museum’s connection to its community and expand its base of contributed and earned income;

• Work closely with the Museum’s Board and the Vice President of Advancement to cultivate important funding relationships; add impactful new Board members; lead the completion of the Museum’s current $135 million campaign and the launch of new development initiatives and strategic partnerships in support of the Museum’s ambitious agenda;

• Establish a close partnership with the Museum’s Executive Team; work cross-functionally with the Museum’s curators, collections and exhibitions, and educational and communications staff to ensure continuity and participation in existing programs;  encourage and support new ideas and offerings; develop and ensure the high quality workforce required to accomplish organizational, strategic and operational goals;

• Establish a collaborative relationship with the President of the Board of Governors and other Board members and work closely with them to support the Museum’s mission and activities and bring forth their best ideas, efforts, resources and contacts;

• Nurture partnerships with other cultural, civic and academic institutions; maintain relationships with multiple constituencies; strengthen relationships with county and city officials and continue to actively seek increased public funding and support;

• Lead the development and implementation of an institutional digital strategy for NHM and Tar Pits/Page Museum and advance digital engagement of actual and virtual visitors through site orientation, exhibit and educational experiences, and ticketing and other financial transactions;

• Maximize the appropriate use of technology and digital media in promoting the Museum, reaching new and diverse audiences and creating innovative and engaging exhibitions and programs; oversee the development of effective information technology plans and programs that can support the Museum’s strategic direction and streamline and support work efforts;

• Be an aggressive, creative and entrepreneurial force in the pursuit of additional earned income opportunities and enterprises; ensure there is a balance among programmatic integrity, willingness to take creative risks in the business and budgetary realities of the Museum.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will have a deep interest in and a passion for the current and future role of the Natural History Museum, and should have or be the following:

• A transformational leader able to translate vision into workable actions and priorities; an entrepreneurial risk taker, with strong business and management skills and a record of achievement in bringing about change in a large, complex organization in exciting and creative ways;
• Enthusiasm and talent for fundraising with successful results in identifying, cultivating and soliciting major donors, foundation grants and corporate sponsorships, and generating other sources of revenue; significant experience in the creation and execution of a successful capital campaign is desirable;

• A creative and collaborative team builder committed to the mission of the Museum and its role in educating and serving the broadest possible audience; willing to engage and be highly visible within the community;
• Experience working with, serving on and leading boards of directors, with an understanding that the board-staff relationship ideally is one based on mutual respect and understanding the board’s role as steward;
• Demonstrated financial acumen commensurate with running an institution the size and stature of the Natural History Museum; able to oversee a complex budget, interpret and articulate financial statements, projections and performance, and make a course correction accordingly;
• Able to communicate effectively, orally and in writing;
• Politically savvy and possessing diplomatic skills; a person who can negotiate and navigate change graciously while remaining clear, decisive, proactive and fair; someone who possesses an understanding of the subtleties of motivating, directing and working with others yet who can also hold his or her own views.

Please send applications or nominations to

Mark Tarnacki and Addie Jones at NHMLA@PhillipsOppenheim.com.

The Collections Technician assists in the care for and making accessible of its unique and diverse collection of modern visual and material culture. Carries out of the responsibilities in close coordination with the registration team and collaborates across the institution to ensure stability and accessibility of The Wolfsonian’s holdings stored and exhibited across three locations.

The Collections Technician:

• Works closely with Registrar and other staff to assist and participate in implementing logistics for temporary and permanent exhibitions.
• Assists in monitoring the physical condition of the permanent collections in storage and on exhibition display. Works with  Registrar on preservation projects.
• Records and assesses environment conditions in exhibition galleries and in storage spaces using data loggers, temperature and relative humidity indicators.
• Provides support in establishing storage standards, storage organization, storage improvements and fabrication of storage mounts for objects.
• Aids in the coordination of physical packing, unpacking and movement of works of art during the installation and de-installation of exhibitions and loans.
• Works with other Collections staff to initiate standards for the preservation and security of objects while assisting in basic inventory tasks and performing basic condition assessments.
• Performs general administrative duties such as filing, copying, running related project errands and general data entry into the Re-Discovery object collections database.
• Performs other duties as assigned or as directed. The omission of a specific duty does not preclude the supervisor from assigning a duty that is logically related to the position.

Minimum Qualifications

High school diploma and two years of experience.

College course work or vocational training may substitute at an equivalent rate for the required experience.

Desired Qualifications 

Minimum 3 years’ experience handling museum collections.
Knowledge of professional museum quality art preparation techniques, principals and best practices; knowledge of accepted museum collection management practices.
Technically literate, with experience in data entry and office software (Microsoft word, excel).
Bachelor’s degree in studio art, fine arts, art history, anthropology, museum studies or related discipline.

Job Category 

Staff

Advertised Salary 

$35,000 – $40,000

Work Schedule 

Begin time: 8:30 AM
End time: 5:00 PM

Pre-Employment Requirements 

Criminal Background Check
Driver’s License Check
Fingerprinting Check

How To Apply 

Prospective Employee

Please log in to the following link to apply:

https://pslinks.fiu.edu/psp/jobs/CUSTOMER/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL?Page=HRS_CE_HM_PRE&Action=A&SiteId=1000

If you have not created a registered account, you will be asked to create a username and password for use of the system. It is recommended that you provide an active/valid e-mail account as that will be the main source of communication regarding your status within the process. Before you begin the process, we recommend that you are prepared to attach electronic copies of your resume, cover letter or any other documents within the application process. It is recommended that you combine your cover letter and resume/curriculum vitae into one attachment.  Attached documents should be in Microsoft Word or PDF format. All applicants are required to complete the online application including work history and educational details (if applicable), even when attaching a resume.

*This posting will close at 12 am of the close date.

Search Information 

Job Opening ID: 509067
Business Unit: THE WOLFSONIAN
Department: The Wolfsonian

The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) is seeking an experienced museum registrar, with strong communication and collection management skills. The CCP has a demanding exhibition and loans program, actively acquires art and archives, and emphasizes collection access for research. The ideal candidate will be well versed in collection management systems (preferably The Museum System), be confident administering both domestic and international loans, and have supervisory experience.

The Center has a small professional staff that must communicate and collaborate effectively to ensure appropriate access and use of collection materials. The registrar is expected to play a leadership role in collaborative efforts regarding the collection management of the fine-print collection, which includes more than 90,000 fine art objects by over 2,200 photographers. This position will supervise the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions and Cataloging, the Assistant Registrar of the Richard Avedon Archive, students and interns.

Nestled in rural North Missouri, Marceline is the home of the Walt Disney Hometown Museum.  This is where the dream began.  The Disney family lived in Marceline during the formative years of Walt, Roy, and Ruth’s youth.  The museum houses over 3,500 artifacts of Walt Disney, his parents, and his siblings.  The museum is preparing for the next stage of its growth and is developing plans for fund raising initiatives to sustain that effort.  The Director will be tasked with developing educational programs, managing the day to day activities of the museum, developing and training the volunteer staff, assisting with fund raising, working with the city officials and in neighboring communities.  This person must have a love for small town life and everything Disney.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

The successful candidate will be a self starter, have strong leadership skills, experience and demonstrated results in educational and museum settings, will be an innovator, and will be capable of helping lead the museum towards fulfillment of its strategic plan.

• Lead the museum’s approach to exemplary education programs
• Ensure that all staff is trained to interact appropriately on the museum floor
• Develop educational activities
• Develop high level relationships with local schools and explore opportunities to expand these relationships to the collegiate level
• Expand the reach of the museum be it attendance or geographic awareness.
• Oversee the day to day operations and monitor the museum budget
• Work with board members and others to secure grants and gifts for educational and other purposes
• Explore other opportunities for events and programs.
• Participate in and develop exhibits, marketing and promotional materials.
• Founded in 1993, this is the only museum that depicts the early life of Walt Disney and his family.  This is where the dream began.  His brother Roy, sister Ruth, and their children who have donated thousands of items and money have endorsed the museum.   Mr. Disney and family have visited Marceline many times and donated, among other things, the Disneyland Midget Autopia to the City.  It is now in the possession of the museum and is the only Disneyland ride ever donated.  The museum is housed in the former Santa Fe depot; a two story brick building that has been renovated to house the many Disney artifacts.

  The museum’s mission is “The Walt Disney Hometown Museum celebrates the genius of Walt Disney, a cultural icon whose formative years in Marceline, Missouri would later inspire themes in his motions pictures and designs in his parks. Through a unique collection of photographs, letters and other artifacts, the museum preserves and tells the story of Walt Disney, his family and the influences he gathered in Marceline”.  It annually serves over 10,000 people via admissions and educational programs.  In addition, it supports the annual ToonFest in September, a 2-day festival, which invites four to six nationally recognized cartoonists and film producers to provide seminars for an ever expanding fine arts student population.  Students come from a range of 350 miles to attend the workshops/seminars.

Job Requirements

• He/she will posses strong organizational skills, must be detail oriented and have the ability to prioritize work and resources
• Must be a self starter with a strong work ethic, professional demeanor, sense of urgency, a clear set of priorities and the ability to adapt to change
• He/she will demonstrate clear ability to lead, motivate, inspire and support the capabilities of the team
• He/she will have a proven track record with a bachelor’s degree in public history, museum studies, archival studies or related disciplines.  A teaching certificate and advanced degrees would be a plus.
• He/she will understand and appreciate the role of the museum in the life of a vibrant rural community.
• Be sensitive to the unique position of the Museum in the Disney cultural ecology that includes the Walt Disney Family Museum, the Walt Disney Corporation and related Disney historical sites.