Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs

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For the Milwaukee Art Museum’s next Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs (Deputy Director), it is an opportune time to join a vibrant, healthy organization which has been experiencing and is poised for growth, and shepherd it into a promising future. As the Deputy Director will lead a significant effort under the Museum’s new strategic direction, this individual must be philosophically, conceptually, and tactically aligned with the vision for the Museum as a place for all individuals to better understand themselves, each other, and our world through new and somewhat unconventional approaches to the presentation of art.

The Deputy Director is a member of the Executive Management Team, providing leadership, strategic direction, stewardship, administrative and managerial oversight for the Museum’s curatorial departments. Serving as a cultural change agent and conduit for translating the Museum’s overall vision into action, this executive will have primary day-to-day responsibility for integrating the work of 13 direct reports (Assistant, Administrator, Curators, Chief Preparator, Chief Conservator, Chief Designer, Librarian/Archivist, and Senior Registrar) and overall total of 33 staff managing the Museum’s works of art, the study thereof, and their presentation with 21st-century strategies to engage visitors and expand the Museum’s reach and impact.

The Deputy Director will lead, advise and guide team members in, collections management and presentation, library and archive services, conservation, registration, publication activities and exhibition planning. In addition to developing, implementing and upholding accountability to the department’s goals and strategies, a comprehensive programmatic schedule will be developed to drive alignment with strategic priorities.

In collaboration with the Museum Director, the next Deputy Director sets the tone and substance of curatorial initiatives by working with curators and curatorial staff to creatively utilize the collection and exhibitions to engage, educate, and expand participation, with the overall objective of enlivening the institution and enhancing its reputation locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Specific responsibilities include:

Develop a strategic approach to achieving the Museum’s goals for sustaining and caring for the collections and archives, conceiving and organizing collections displays and temporary exhibitions, and creating and presenting programs that engage the Museum’s diverse audiences creatively and effectively.
Assess department functions, priorities, and processes to ensure efficiencies, excellence, and alignment with museum best practices and AAM accreditation standards.
Encourage and celebrate the talents of the team while holding each accountable to institutional goals. Serve as a mentor and coach to staff in order to strengthen leadership skills, team dynamics, and collaboration within curatorial groups and across the Museum’s other departments.
Spearhead development of a comprehensive three- to five-year programmatic calendar for the Museum’s collections, galleries, and featured exhibitions that showcase the breadth of the collection, works outside of MAM’s collection, all considered for engaging multiple constituencies.
Collaborate with staff for exhibition, collection-management, presentation, interpretation, publication and archive strategies consistent with key initiatives, goals and objectives of the Museum.
Contribute to a values-based culture by demonstrating and requiring adherence to the highest ethical standards.
Manage high-level aspects of the exhibition schedule, assuring an appropriate balance of exhibitions. Ensure that the exhibition themes and ideas set forth are presented in a timely manner and within budget parameters.
Work collaboratively with the Chief Development Officer in the cultivation of donors and general fundraising activities to benefit the acquisitions, conservation, exhibitions & publications, education and audience engagement programs.
Work collaboratively with the Senior Director of Education and Programs to inform interpretation and audience engagement initiatives for collections and exhibitions.
Collaborate in identifying and shepherding acquisitions and deaccessions; facilitate decisions on exhibition loan requests and long term loan opportunities.
Advocate for internal initiatives that modernize, streamline, and integrate collection content, aligned with industry standards and using existing and new processes, to better communicate and connect with defined stakeholders and the general public, onsite and via the web.
Keep department staff informed with routine meetings and open communications regarding activities planned and happening in the curatorial teams, and other departments across the Museum campus.
Keep trustees and related committees informed on exhibition plans. Participate in Board meetings and standing committees of the Board; be the staff liaison for the Acquisitions & Collections Committee.
Represent the Museum in professional, academic, and social forums with local/regional, national, and international colleagues and the broader cultural community through exhibition and research programs.
Develop and monitor departmental and exhibition budgets, contracts, agreements, and other administrative documents.
Provide private and public presentations; widely represent the curatorial interests of the Museum.
Collaborate with curators and conservators in prioritizing conservation initiatives.
Recruit, hire, manage performance, and facilitate the training of staff as necessary.