Description

The Museum seeks a talented and experienced leader to oversee and guide the exhibition program, ensuring successful implementation of exhibitions from conception to completion and collaborating across departments to advance best practices in installation, design, interpretation, marketing, and visitor experience.

The Museum typically offers nine exhibitions per year that embody the fearless legacy of our founder while innovatively reinterpreting the Museum’s historical works of art through a contemporary lens. Exhibitions focus both on historical works of art and contemporary art, including new commissions, bringing to life highly integrated projects and events across three exhibition spaces, the Hostetter Gallery in the modern wing/new addition, the intimate Fenway Gallery in the historic building, and the facade of the new addition. 

Serving as a expert project manager, and exceptional collaborator to all internal partners as well as external vendors and contract staff, the role reports to the Chief Finance and Administrative Officer.  Charged with bringing the Museum’s complex and innovative exhibitions to fruition, the successful candidate will be a strategic, collaborative and organized individual with a proven record of exhibition management and a solid knowledge of the arts locally, nationally and internationally. 

Core Responsibilities:

• Keep the Gardner at the strategic forefront of innovative museum thinking by guiding the exhibition process and delivery through multi-year planning efforts.  Accountable for driving all aspects of exhibition planning, facilitating decision-making and leading internal departments effectively through the process. 
• Enable the Museum’s core values by promoting the Museum’s ability to create exhibitions that engage and resonate with diverse audiences.  
• Guide Interpretation planning and in-gallery media efforts to deliver on goals for community collaboration, multiple perspectives, and audience outcomes.
• Ensure effective cost and time management of current and future exhibitions, overseeing budgetary and logistical aspects of exhibition implementation, innovatively problem solving or redirecting through collaboration with relevant staff. 
• Work with key stakeholders to integrate them effectively into the process, ensuring effective installation timelines, logistical workflows, comprehensive process and role documentation and post exhibition reviews.  Includes working with designers and Facilities to ensure exhibition meets all code requirements.
• Negotiate contracts for co-organized, shared, or traveling exhibitions; serve as primary point person for inter-institutional exhibition relationships.
• Work with a continuous improvement mindset to role model and engage exhibition stakeholders in ongoing advancement of best practices
• Play a leadership role in operations planning, including adherence to conservation protocols, ensuring that operational practices and decision-making are identified and effectively integrated into exhibition planning. 
• Play an advisor and logistics coordination role with visitor-facing actions, e.g., addressing visitor flow within exhibitions and partnering with Security and Visitor Services.
• Participate in, or lead, Museum management meetings relevant to exhibition and operations planning. 
• Manage external contractors and the Exhibitions staff which currently includes the Exhibition Registrar, Art Handler and Operations Administrator. 

Requirements