Director of Learning and Interpretation, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
*Director of Learning and Interpretation/ Deputy Director for Learning and
Interpretation*
DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is seeking a Director of, or Deputy
Director for Learning and Interpretation (DLI). The exact title will be
dependent on experience and skills of the selected applicant. Located 12
miles from Boston in Lincoln, MA, deCordova is a contemporary art
institution with a 35-acre sculpture park and full museum exhibition
program. DeCordova has a $5 million operating budget that has seen
philanthropic support double over the past three years, a FT staff of
thirty, and visitation of over 100,000. The Education department currently
has four FT and two PT staff and a volunteer guide program with 45 members
providing nine hundred inquiry-based tours annually.****
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A new strategic plan has established the goal for deCordova to become the
leading sculpture park in the US within a decade, with a particular focus
on youth and family engagement, finding new means of making challenging
contemporary art broadly accessible, and hands-on art education. The Museum
is moving forward with a partnership with a Reggio Emilia-inspired
preschool to establish the only full-time, embedded preschool program at a
contemporary sculpture park in the United States, and is committed to
establishing new educational initiatives in the Park that will become
models for other organizations.****
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The DLI is a key member of the senior management team and will lead
deCordova¹s educational efforts during a period of new program development
and opportunity. He/she will work to conceive, implement, evaluate, and
manage an entrepreneurial, coherent, and effective range of educational and
interpretive programs indoors and out that help make the deCordova¹s
exhibitions relevant and meaningful to diverse audiences. He/she will be
the leader in establishing deCordova¹s core educational philosophy and
framework, ensuring that both become key components of institutional
identity and culture through his/her leadership and collaboration across
the Museum. DeCordova is actively exploring how to best incorporate
multiple learning pedagogies, and the DLI will both encourage and evaluate
those explorations based on current research and best practices as he/she
moves the institution toward a coherent mix of effective and sustainable
programs.****
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The ideal candidate will be a compelling and convincing advocate for
deCordova¹s educational goals, effective at cultivating support from Board
members and constituents, and will directly participate in building and
executing a sustainable institutional fundraising strategy. He/she will
have significant leadership experience in art museum education; experience
with and passion for contemporary art; an MA or PhD in art history, museum
education, or a similar field; be a recognized leader in/advocate for
innovative approaches in museum education; have demonstrated results in
developing funding streams; have highly developed management and
organizational skills; be innovative and creative in his/her approach; and
have a track record of mentoring and developing talented educators.****
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Additional skills/responsibilities of this position include:****
€ Administrative and staff management.****
€ Responsibility for establishing an annual education budget
linked to institutional strategic goals.****
€ Management of education revenue and expense to targets.****
€ Management of day-to-day programs, logistics, scheduling, and
staffing.****
€ Leadership of the Education Committee in conjunction with the
committee chair.****
€ Responsible for growing support for Education and the Museum as
a whole via cultivation and stewardship.****
€ Developing and implementing an evaluation plan that
qualitatively and quantitatively measures programs in the Education
department.****
€ Responsibility for the use of digital media as part of
deCordova¹s educational program strategy.****
€ A broad and open approach to communications, advocacy, and
relationship building.****
€ Collaborating with senior leadership on institutional projects
and initiatives.****
€ Other duties as assigned.****
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Qualifications:****
€ MA in art history, arts or museum education, or equivalent. Ph.D
desirable.****
€ Experience leading a museum education department.****
€ Experience with/passion for contemporary art.****
€ Familiarity with current pedagogical trends, technologies, and
evaluation methodologies.****
€ Highly developed organizational and management skills.****
€ Demonstrated ability to build, lead, and inspire a creative team
of educators and build collaborative projects with community partners.****
€ Experience working with youth and family audiences.****
€ Ability to write well and to produce analytic reporting from
complex data.****
€ Experience writing grants and supporting Development efforts
related to Education.****
€ Compelling public speaking presence and skills.****
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DeCordova offers a beautiful and rewarding work environment, committed
colleagues, a competitive salary, and robust benefits package including
subsidized health insurance. We actively encourage applications from
minority candidates; deCordova is an equal opportunity employer.****
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*Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume by 5pm on
Friday, January 27 to: hr@decordova.org.*
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While all materials will be carefully reviewed, please note that deCordova
will only be able to respond to candidates in which it has an interest.****
