Head of Exhibitions- The St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO

JOB TITLE: Head of Exhibitions
REPORTS TO: Assistant Director for Exhibitions and Collections
SUPERVISES: Exhibitions Manager, Exhibitions Assistant
SPECIFICATIONS: Required: Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree preferred. Minimum 7-10 years’ experience working on exhibitions in a museum or art-related institution. Knowledge of exhibition process, project management, budgeting, and contracts is essential. Excellent oral and written communication skills, organizational abilities, and computer skills associated with the field.
JOB PURPOSE:

• To plan, facilitate, and oversee the execution of all aspects of the Museum’s exhibition program

DUTIES, WORK PERFORMED:
Exhibition Planning and Production

• Responsible for establishing a clear and efficient exhibitions program that meets institutional priorities, sets realistic milestones, obtains necessary approvals, and works according to established project budgets and scope.
• Advises curators and generates support departments on current museum protocols and procedures and departmental requirements for exhibitions and other exhibition-related matters.
• Supervises the development of exhibition production from the initial proposal state through planning, installation, and completion, including coordination of cross-departmental responsibilities.
• Leads the Exhibitions Core Function Team by holding regular meetings and ensuring that milestones are met and projects stay on track.
• Ensures that project schedules are created for each exhibition and that any issues that may arise are addressed to avoid impact on project scope and budget.
• Maintains the definitive Museum schedule for exhibitions.
• Reviews all legal contracts and letters of agreement for exhibitions, and assures implementation and compliance with the terms and conditions of all exhibition contracts/agreements.
• Oversee the drafting of applications for U.S. Government Indemnity and Immunity from Seizure insuring that all information is complete and accurate, and that all requirements are met.
• Oversee the negotiation process for exhibition loan agreements and ensure that all conditions of loan are met throughout the loan period liaising with internal and external colleagues as needed
• Coordinates the planning and implementation of traveling exhibitions organized by SLAM including contracts and venue coordination.
• Oversees the development of the Exhibition Dashboard of information on past projects and works to develop new data-driven approaches for measuring deliverables and communicating progress.
• Ensures that all staff is kept updated on the Museum’s exhibition program.

Budgets and Procurement:

• Prepares and manages exhibition project budgets, working with all departments to make sure that budgets are comprehensive and complete and that any overages are identified and resolved.
• Oversee the departmental budgets: track and approve all departmental expenditures, resolve variances, and see that staff follow all established purchasing guidelines
• Ensure that a record of shared costs for partnership exhibitions is maintained and that costs are reconciled at appropriate stages of each project; see that partners are invoiced accordingly
• Oversee procurement process and the appointment of services needed for the safe transport of works, any external conservators, photography, artist fabrication and/or mountmakers as needed
• Supervise procurement of commercial insurance as necessary

Management and Leadership:

• Serves as department head and participates in budgeting, long-range planning and goal setting
• Approves employment related activities within the Division (including timesheets, PTO/sick time, performance evaluations, hiring and disciplinary actions)

The above statements of this job description describe the general duties and level of work performed by employees assigned to this position. They do not claim to describe all of the functions of this position. Employees may be assigned other duties and the essential functions may change or be changed from time to time.
Revised 10/18


RequirementsSPECIFICATIONS: Required: Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree preferred. Minimum 7-10 years’ experience working on exhibitions in a museum or art-related institution. Knowledge of exhibition process, project management, budgeting, and contracts is essential. Excellent oral and written communication skills, organizational abilities, and computer skills associated with the field.