Head of Research and Collections
Deadline for receiving applications is Sunday August 7, 2011.
Send all application materials to palestinianmuseum@gmail.com
Brief Job Description
Reporting to the Director of Museum Operations, and working as a member of the Senior Leadership team of the Museum, and as the Senior Curator of the Museum, the Head of Research and Collections provides day-to-day leadership and direction to the curatorial team and staff within the Division. The Head contributes to the development of annual operating budgets and corporate plans ensuring that the Division’s programmes are sufficiently supported and recognized in these institutional documents. The Head develops and maintains standards, criteria and guidelines to assure that curatorial and research efforts are carried out in a thorough and objective manner and adhere to established academic norms as represented by the finest universities and museums. The Head develops and maintains standards, criteria and guidelines for the development of all collections and collection management systems consistent with the Museum’s operating budget, corporate plan and international best practice.
General and Operational Duties and Responsibilities
Research
- Responsible for managing the Museum’s research programmes in Tangible Culture, Intangible Culture, and Society & History by coordinating the Museum’s curators (including Adjunct Curators or contract staff) in all matters of research, documentation, and publication advancing knowledge on and about Palestinian issues consistent with the Museum’s mission, vision and goals.
- Provides leadership in the academic interpretation of the Museum’s collections.
- Conducts original research in at least one area of Tangible Culture, Intangible Culture, and Society & History supportive of the Museum’s mission, vision and goals.
- Ensures curatorial participation in exhibition development teams and ensures that all Museum exhibits and programmes are based on academically sound research and presented in a balanced manner.
- Monitors storyline development, selection of objects, illustrations, and supporting media for all exhibitions, and coordinates the drafting of interpretive text (in the Hub, Branches, and Centres of Palestinian Culture).
Collections (including Library and Archive Collections)
- Management of all Museum collections including: acquisition, deaccessions and disposals, registration, incoming loans, organization, storage, and preservation.
- Oversees the Museum’s collecting strategies (part of the corporate plan), recommending to the Taskforce collections-related policies and developing procedures for ensuring the approved policies are adhered to by reviewing and continually evaluating the Museum’s policies and procedures.
- Oversees proper documentation procedures for all collections.
- As part of an institutional programme, cultivates donor relations in order to garner support for the Museum’s collections.
Supervisory Duties and Responsibilities
- Provides direct overview and oversight of the members of the Division team as to the performance of their duties, their efficacy, and their adherence to all appropriate policies, practices and directives.
- Responsible for ensuring that short- and long-term range goals are developed and implemented by the Divisional team to achieve organizational goals.
- Carries out performance review for direct reports of the Department Heads.
Financial Duties and Responsibilities
- Guides and directs the development and expenditure of the Division’s budget, financial planning and goal setting for all research, collections and library programmes.
- Monitors the preparation of grant applications supporting the Museum’s research, collections and documentation and archival programmes.
General Requirements and Qualifications
- A minimum of Master’s Degree and two years experience, in Palestinian history, art, anthropology, archaeology or a closely related field, or equivalent life and work experience.
- Expertise and proven research interest in one or more of the Museum’s core curatorial areas (Tangible Culture, Intangible Culture, and Society & History).
- A proven background in scholarly research.
- Demonstrated managerial, planning, organizational and administrative skills; strong interpersonal and excellent written/oral communication skills; high level of presentation skills.
- Ability to provide strong leadership and strategic direction; inspire and motivate staff, volunteers and donors; establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of representatives of public and private organizations, private collectors, universities, support groups, and the general public.
- Ability to manage and work within a team and to delegate appropriate responsibilities and authorities while providing appropriate oversight.
- Spoken and written fluency in Arabic, strong reading ability in English and good spoken English are preferences. Competency in other languages is a benefit.
- Ability to reside in the West Bank and travel extensively internationally.
Nature of Employment and Compensation
- The Head of Research and Collections is a contract position.
- Salary is to be negotiated, based on relevant and related experience and education.
- Benefits are to be negotiated but will be competitive for comparable positions at organizations similar in activities and scope in the region.