Deputy Director For Art & Education

PRIMARY FUNCTION: Reporting to the Executive Director, the Deputy Director for Art & Education provides strategic leadership and managerial oversight for the museum’s Curatorial, Education and Public Programs departments.
OVERVIEW: This is a new position at The James Museum and reflects initiatives by the new Executive Director to consolidate and streamline departments, maximize efficiency and create effective and dynamic leadership structures. It is expected that the successful candidate will come from a senior curatorial or educational position at a similarly sized museum (operating budget $5-6 million) or a director position at a smaller museum. There will be considerable opportunity to work with the Executive Director to review the art and education department structure dependent on the candidate’s skills and experience. Currently the curatorial, education, administration, development, and marketing staff work closely together and share the same office suite.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Working closely with the Executive Director, oversees the artistic and educational direction of the museum ensuring alignment with the museum strategic plan, vision and mission.
• Serves as a key member of the leadership team alongside the Executive Director, Deputy Director for Development & Communications and Deputy Director for Finance & Operations.
• Leads a staff team of seven FTES, with six direct reports and general oversight of around 60 volunteer docents. Direct reports include curators, registrar, and educators.
• Works closely with the Curatorial and Education departments to provide overall guidance for curation and art interpretation to engage audiences with art in the museum’s permanent galleries and special exhibitions; leads new technology initiatives to enhance the museum experience.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director and Curatorial Department, reviews collections development strategy and reviews potential acquisitions and deaccessions
• Working closely with the Executive Director and Curatorial team, develops strategies for creating and attracting special exhibitions of regional, national and international significance.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, delivers reports to The James Museum’s Board of Directors and Collections and Education Committees.
• Builds relationships with board members and collectors, locally, regionally and nationally.
• Plans, develops, and manages departmental budgets.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• Advanced degree in art history, museum studies, arts administration, arts education, or related field.
• 10 years of progressively responsible experience in a museum, with at least 5 years of leadership experience.
• Additional years of experience may be substituted for the advanced degree requirement.

SKILLS

• PREFERRED: Knowledge of Indigenous history/cultures in America and the history of the American West in general. A demonstrated understanding of and respect for the diverse communities reflected and represented in the museum’s artwork, exhibitions, and programming.
• Strategic and entrepreneurial thinker with the ability to plan and execute goals and objectives across multiple departments.
• Strong leadership skills and the ability to lead diverse teams to meet museum strategic goals.
• High level of integrity and ethics
• Ability to engage and build trust with a wide range of stakeholders including staff, Board members and partners
• Ability to multitask and work well under pressure to meet deadlines and manage multiple projects concurrently.
• Understanding of and sensitivity to the diverse communities that the museum serves, both locally and nationally
• Excellent skills in Microsoft Office

ABOUT THE MUSEUM: The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art opened in 2018 to house and share the collections of Tom and Mary James. The museum is an architectural landmark, taking inspiration from the mesas and canyons of the Southwestern United States. More than 400 works of art including sculpture, paintings, and jewelry are on view in the museum’s 26,000 square feet of galleries. The museum engages the community through programs and educational opportunities that bring our history to life and amplify voices that are not often at the forefront of mainstream Western art. The James Museum is located in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg, a community with a thriving arts scene, on Florida’s Gulf Coast.