The William Randolph Hearst Chief Officer of Learning and Community Engagement provides strategic leadership for the staff to create, develop and lead programs in the Museum and within the community at large; supervises the docent/volunteer program and will lead the future development and implementation of the Art Spark program. The Chief Officer of Learning and Community Engagement works with the Director/CEO, senior leadership, Board members, curatorial, development, communications, and other departments to ensure the relevance of programs and expand the Museum’s meaningful dialogue with local communities, across the Southeast and nationally.
Strategy and Administration:
- Responsible for the overall strategic direction and daily operations of the Learning and Community Engagement (LCE) Department and its employees. • Participates in hiring, orientation and training of LCE Department staff.
- Manages and meets weekly with direct reports, including Director of Adult Learning and Engagement; Director of School and Teacher Programs; Director of Family and Community Programs; Director of Community Access Programs; Docent and Volunteer Manage, and LCE Administrative Assistant.
- Sets goals and conduct annual performance reviews for direct reports.
- Oversees all department staff activities, including the Museum’s docents and volunteers.
- Together with direct reports, serves as an ambassador between the Museum and the community to develop relevant program partnerships and increase audiences.
- Together with direct reports, fosters open communication among the Learning and Community Engagement Department and other Museum departments (specifically Curatorial and Communications), ensuring productive work relationships among staff and volunteers.
- Member of the Museum Executive Team participating in weekly Senior Staff meetings.
- Works with Executive Team, LCE staff, and other stakeholders to develop and manage Strategic Plan.
- Coordinates special exhibitions’ program development with LCE staff, Curatorial, Communications and Development departments, including Exhibition Development Committee meetings.
- Oversees speaker-led program planning with Director of Adult Learning.
- Meets regularly with Chief Officers and Directors of other departments in relation to LCE activities, promotion and priorities.
- Develops annual budgets in partnership with direct reports and monitors spending in relation to budget. The current departmental budget is approximately $600,000.
- Oversee the development of three 4-month LCE program calendars each year in coordination with the LCE Directors, Communications, and Creative Services for brochure, website, and social media promotion.
- Together with the Chief People and Operations Officer, coaches and mentors Learning and Community Engagement team, docents, and volunteers to increase their professional competence and empower them with impactful responsibilities and leadership skills.
- Monitors ROI for LCE programs, seeking opportunities to increase attendance and productivity in liaison with Institutional Giving Officer.
- Works with staff to develop evaluation tools and oversee their implementation to maximize effective programming including use of six-month and annual reports with metrics to measure program effectiveness. Works with LCE Directors to expand, revise or eliminate programs based on their relevance to the Museum’s agreed upon mission and community needs.
- Assists Development and LCE staff to secure funding sources for programs, including assistance with and approval of Department grant proposals.
- Assists Communications and LCE staff to promote programs
- Reviews calendar, logistics and contracts for all programs with Administrative Assistant.
- Works with Chair of the Learning and Community Engagement Committee to set schedule, goals, and agendas, and review minutes for the Committee.
- At Director/CEO’s request, provides reports for Board and Executive Committee meetings on recent LCE activities.
- Hosts Nuestra Cultura Community Committee meetings (3/year) to address Hispanic/Latino programming efforts and audience development.
Programming:
- Leads staff that develop and implement innovative art programs serving diverse museum constituencies
- Works with staff to develop greater audience access, through new opportunities for learning and dialogue among all museum audiences and in the community at large.
- Supports direct reports in the development of dynamic and relevant programs in collaboration with the Audience Development Committee, Curators, Communication/Marketing, and Development department.
- Oversees the management of both onsite and offsite programs, both virtual and in-person, seeking equal balance, financial efficiency, and relevance between onsite and offsite programs such as Afterschool Arts Outreach, Norton School Partnerships, Community Festivals, Creative Story Time and virtual offerings.
- Supervise two exhibitions per year in educational gallery.
- Helps in the development and management of content for digital initiatives such as Bloomberg Connects.
- Reviews written material promoting LCE Department programs.
- Offers programs/teaches at the request of Directors of the Department.
- Oversees and contributes to docent training and continuing education.
- Other projects and duties as assigned
Qualifications -
- 7+ years’ experience in museum education; within an art museum or similar organization preferred
- skilled in museum teaching techniques, excellent writing, and communication skills
- Leadership skills for dynamic professional team and volunteers; mentoring experience strongly preferred
- Administrative, fundraising, program assessment and budget management experience
- Experience developing museum programs with/for diverse stakeholders
- Proven ability to develop relationships and establish trust and build collaboration among all museum and community stakeholders
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and initiatives keeping all in balance and delivering on time and on budget
- Positive, “can-do,” team-oriented attitude, attention to detail, results driven and demonstrated initiative
- Master’s degree in art history, museum studies, or museum management preferred
- Bilingual (English and Spanish) skills preferred
- Computer skills in Microsoft Office suit
Physical Requirements -
- This job operates in a professional museum and office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment, such as computers, telephones, photocopiers, and similar.
- The person in this position must be able move about inside the office, throughout the Museum and in the community to lead programs and communicate with key stakeholders (speaking, hearing, exchanging information).
Compensation & Location -
- This is a permanent, full-time position in West Palm Beach with a targeted starting salary range of $170,000-$190,000.
Applications, Nominations & Inquiries -
Note: Nothing in this job description restricts management’s rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.
Norton Museum of Art is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Norton Museum of Art makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.
