Director
James A Michener Art Museum
Doylestown, Pennsylvania


BACKGROUND
In 1988, with the support of many dedicated people, the James A. Michener Art Museum opened as an independent, non-profit cultural institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting and exhibiting the art and cultural heritage of the Bucks County region. Located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the museum is named for the city’s most famous son, the Pulitzer-Prize winning writer and supporter of the arts who had first dreamed of a regional art museum in the early 1960's. The massive stone walls, warden's house and guard house that make up the core of the Michener Art Museum began as the Bucks County prison in 1884. After a century of use, the abandoned and antiquated buildings were being torn down when the County Commissioners agreed to preserve the historic landmark and lease the land and buildings to house the new museum. Since then, there have been three separate expansions, in 1993, 1996 and 2009, which added modern gallery space and state-of-the-art storage facilities, plus an outdoor sculpture garden completed in 2000. A fourth expansion to be completed in April 2012 will provide space for programs, events and rentals. Today, the old Bucks County jail, once a place of fear and despair, has been transformed into a welcoming center of culture and art.

In its first two decades, the James A. Michener Art Museum has amassed a permanent collection of over 2,200 objects that reveal the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the Bucks County, Pennsylvania region. From Thomas Hicks' and Jonathan Trego's mid-nineteenth-century portraits, to Edward W. Redfield's twentieth-century impressionist landscapes, to the family photographs of contemporary artist Emmet Gowin, the Michener Art Museum's permanent collection documents the changing relationships of artists to their physical and cultural environments as well as the technical and conceptual innovations that are part of the vibrant and colorful history of Bucks County's visual arts. The Michener Art Museum's mission to serve as a center for the study of the region's artistic traditions guides the museum's collecting focus on art of the Bucks County, Pennsylvania region. With that vision the Michener has acquired what is arguably the finest collection of Pennsylvania impressionist paintings in public hands.

In addition to its permanent collection galleries, the museum presents approximately 15 changing exhibitions each year offering a broad spectrum of periods, styles and mediums from all over the world. The museum also offers a wide variety of on and offsite programs and resources for schools, adults and families.

The museum operates with a budget of approximately $2.4 million and a full and part time staff of 40. It is governed by a 22 member board of trustees.

Please follow this link to learn more about the
James A Michener Art Museum

OPPORTUNITIES
The period of major physical expansion of the museum took place during its first 20 years. Phase II of the Master Plan for Facilities will culminate in the 2012 opening of a new wing for programs, events and rentals. Opportunities for the new director will focus on programs, collections and staffing and will include:

• enhancing the museum’s community/regional involvement by bringing a new and exciting vision to the organization and developing exceptional exhibits and educational programs;

• continuing to build the Pennsylvania Impressionist collections and expanding in new, mission-driven directions including Studio Craft and Contemporary Art;

• reviewing and expanding the museum’s strategic goals and developing action and business plans;

• developing the museum’s national reputation and its attraction as a destination for visitors from elsewhere in the United States and abroad;

• reviewing the organizational structure, titles and job descriptions and working to build back staff positions and an effective structure.

The director will:

• Provide vision and lead the museum in setting a course for future.
• Oversee the development and management of a vital and engaging exhibition program consistent with the museum’s mission.
• Assure the preservation and conservation of the collection and work with the collections committee on the growth and development of a distinguished collection consistent with the museum’s mission.
• Encourage and develop a comprehensive educational program that maintains high academic standards.
• Recruit and retain a professional staff capable of realizing the museum’s mission and take responsibility for hiring, evaluating and terminating all staff.
• Prepare an annual operating budget for approval by the board of trustees based upon the recommendation of the finance committee and monitor and dispense institutional funds in a prudent manner to protect and make effective use of the museum’s financial resources.
• Educate the board about professional museum practices and help to keep the board abreast of national and regional trends and developments which affect the museum.
• Work with the board, the staff, and the community to identify and secure the necessary resources which will allow for the continuing development of the museum.
• Maintain the highest ethical and legal standard in all professional actions of the staff and board, and in the corporate actions of the museum.

The new director will be:

• An experienced professional with proven success in guiding an organization of comparable complexity and scale, with the ability to build on the museum’s significant achievement and to map an exciting program for the future;

• An individual with knowledge of art who can work closely with curators, scholars, collectors and artists to care for and grow the permanent collection and assure a stimulating exhibition and education program;

• An entrepreneurial and persuasive leader who can inspire the board, staff and new and existing constituencies;

• An individual with excellent management skills who has experience in strategic planning, financial planning and budgeting, fund raising, public speaking, marketing and audience development;

• An energetic and friendly individual capable of and interested in working with the local community as well as with national and international organizations and individuals.

The new director must have at least 10 years of increasing responsibility in a museum with the past 5 years in a senior position, and an advanced degree in Art History or a related field. S/he will be a bold thinker and a risk taker with entrepreneurial skills and the willingness to be a visible ambassador for the museum. In sum, the new director will be cognizant of the history of the museum and the relationship with the city of Doylestown, while at the same time able to bring new vision, passion and ideas to the museum.

Doylestown Alive

Bucks County


COMPENSATION
The salary is highly competitive and will be based on the experience and needs of the final candidate.

START DATE
Spring 2012

PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATION
Applicants should submit a resume, a one-page narrative describing interest and experience, and the names of three references. Applications will be reviewed by Management Consultants for the Arts, an executive search firm working with the museum’s board of directors.

Send applications via email to Management Consultants for the Arts, Linda Sweet, Partner, Box JAM, care of MCAWall2@gmail.com

Management Consultants for the Arts, Inc.
Linda Sweet, Partner
Box JAM
MCAWall2@gmail.com Preferred

Fax: 203-353-0893