Director of Curatorial Affairs

Position Details

Requisition Number

S664P

Home Org Name

JCSM Operations Budget

Division Name

Jule Collins Smith Museum

Position Title

Director of Curatorial Affairs

Job Class Code

AB02

Appointment Status

Full-time

Part-time FTE

Limited Term

No

Limited Term Length

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director & Chief Curator, the Director of Curatorial Affairs leads the curatorial unit of the university’s art museum, ensuring exceptional and innovative stewardship of its 3,000+ collection, exhibitions, and other collection-focused initiatives in collaboration with colleagues in order to
expand art’s impact and enrich the relationship of the museum with its communities, region, and the state. Responsible for assisting in executing the Museum’s vision of a highly creative, outward-facing, visitor-centered institution that welcomes everyone to explore, experience, and engage with the visual arts in service to the university, the region, and the nation. The Director of Curatorial Affairs collaborates on the execution of administrative and budgetary matters for the curatorial unit, the establishment of curatorial policies and procedures, and long-range planning for exhibitions and engagement.
Responsible for the safe-keeping and accessibility of the collection, as well as for new acquisitions and exhibitions that increase social interactivity and creative participation.

Essential Functions

1. Provides vision and dynamic exhibition programming leadership, including investigating potential opportunities around galleries, visual storage, centers focused on conservation, curatorial studies, and prints, drawings, and photographs, new art study rooms, and a campus art program, all to enhance teaching resources for Auburn University, the southeast, and to position the institution as a premier teaching museum.
2. Collaborates with other senior leadership team members to administer the museum’s art collecting activities to establish priorities and plans for collection care, research, documentation, and access; and establishes programmatic impact goals to ensure mission and strategic alignment, creative engagement, learning across all demographics, and advancement of the museum’s visibility and reputation. Coordinates the recording of selected programs for distribution via website and social media, and informs the execution of marketing, branding, and promotional activities that broaden the museum’s reach and increase stakeholder engagement. Assists in interfacing with the Advisory Board, as requested.
3. Establishes the guiding principles of curatorial offerings of the museum, aligned with its mission and vision to actively engage faculty and students and other new, diverse, and broad audiences across the region and state. In collaboration with colleagues, conceptualizes, plans, develops, and implements a 3 – 5 year creative exhibition calendar including other collection-focused initiatives and activities. Emphasizes cross-disciplinary, co-creation, multi-sensory, and to the extent possible hands-on learning opportunities in exhibition designs, to cultivate notions of inclusion, life skills, emotional intelligence, and well-being to expand art’s impact on the public sphere. Incorporates new models of cultural participation, artistic practice and potential impact that also utilizes technology, tools, and an experimental social environment. Oversees, coordinates and manages technical design, AV/IT integration, graphic production, fabrication, installation, maintenance, de- installation, shipping, and storage.
4. Provides direction for the growth of collections, through acquisitions and gifts, as well as long-term planning and priorities for the management and conservation of works in the collection. Oversees research in the collection and collaborates with museum colleagues to develop appropriate methods for disseminating it to the widest possible audiences. Collaborates to identify and shepherd deaccessions and conservation initiatives; facilitates decisions on exhibition loan requests and long-term loan opportunities. In concert with the Director and staff, assists in the development of a Collections Plan and fully participates in any existing collection committee work. Conducts original research and assists faculty, students, scholars, docents, and members of the community in their research of JCSM collections and exhibitions.
5. Partners with Education, Engagement and Learning unit to develop appropriate interpretative programs, essays, and gallery/social media texts in support of the museum’s teaching mission. Collaborates with staff in the creation and management of interpretive strategies and public programs for a variety of audiences. Represents JCSM at professional, academic, and social forums/arts initiatives with local, regional, national, international colleagues, and the broader cultural community through exhibition and research programs and events. Lectures on and/or leads tours of JCSM exhibitions and collections. Fosters faculty and student use of the collection across in curricula, extracurricular research, publishing, and inventive
interpretive techniques. Helps train docents and student ambassadors in specific content areas and museum best practices, as needed. Builds and maintains a network of professional relationships with community members, lenders, donors, professional colleagues, artists, dealers, curators, collectors, and other specialists locally, nationally, and globally.
6. Manages JCSM’s Curatorial unit and staff while inspiring and nourishing capacity and a culture of innovation, creative learning, risk-taking, transparency, experimentation, open communication and accountability. Fosters meaningful and transformative experiences for audiences at an institution that celebrates art, film and cultural discourse, in part through recruiting, training, mentoring, and supervising a team-oriented and strategically-focused staff. Assesses unit functions, priorities, and processes to ensure efficiencies, excellence, and alignment with museum best practices and American Alliance of Museums ( AAM ) accreditation standards. Keeps department staff informed with routine meetings and open communications. Demonstrates and requires adherence to the highest ethical standards.
7. Develops/oversees the unit’s annual budget and schedules, particularly tracking expenditures to ensure adherence to set goals, in close collaboration with the Director and museum colleagues as needed.

Education Level

Master's degree

Field of Study

Degree in Art History, Arts Education, Education, Public Humanities, Cultural Studies, Museum Studies, Visual Studies, or related field.

Years of Experience

5

Area of Experience

Experience in collaboratively conceptualizing, designing, and installing relevant, creative and innovative exhibitions in an arts/culture environment for diverse community audiences with progressively increasing levels of responsibility and accountability. Must have 2 years of experience directly supervising full time employees.

Requirements for Additional Job Levels

Education Level

Field of Study

Years of Experience

Area of Experience

Requirements for Additional Job Levels

Minimum Skills and Abilities

Minimum Technology Skills

Minimum License and Certifications

None Required.

Desired Qualifications

Salary Grade

34

Salary Range

$59,700 - $99,600

Job Category

Other

Working Hours if Non-Traditional

List any hazardous conditions or physical demands required by this position

Posting Date

02/26/2021

Closing Date

04/30/2021

EEO Statement

AUBURN UNIVERSITY IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION / EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER . It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunities for all individuals without regard to race, sex, religion, color, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Quick Link for Internal Postings

https://www.auemployment.com/postings/21542
Documents Needed to Apply
Required Documents

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

Optional Documents

1. Letter of Recommendation
2. Other

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

1. * How were you made aware of this opportunity?
   • AU Employment website
   • Employment websites (Indeed, HigherEd Jobs, etc.)
   • Veterans Assistance Services
   • Disability Assistance Services
   • Newspaper
   • Professional Journal
   • Listserv
   • HR email
   • Social Media
   • State Employment Service
   • Walk-in
   • Other
2. * Please select the answer that best describes your current employment relationship with Auburn University.
   • Not a current Auburn employee
   • Current Auburn employee in position less than one year
   • Current Auburn employee in position more than one year
3. * Do you have a Master's degree in Art History, Arts Education, Education, Public Humanities, Cultural Studies, Museum Studies, Visual Studies, or related field?
   • Yes
   • No
4. * Do you have 5 years of experience in collaboratively conceptualizing, designing, and installing relevant, creative and innovative exhibitions in an arts/culture environment for diverse community audiences with progressively increasing levels of responsibility and accountability?
   • Yes
   • No
5. * Please describe your related experience in detail and provide the job titles of the positions in which you obtained it.
   
   (Open Ended Question)
   
   
6. * Do you have 2 years of experience directly supervising full time employees?
   • Yes
   • No