Director of School and Tour Programs

Description

Job: Full-time, Exempt, Non-Union

Supervisor: Barbara Brown Lee Chief Learning and Engagement Officer

Salary: $68,000–$75,000 commensurate with experience

General Purpose

Direct the Museum’s School, Teacher, Tour, and Docent Programs to deliver engaging and inclusive learning experiences with the Museum’s collection and exhibitions, centering the Museum’s vision to connect people with art, each other, and the world. Lead and inspire school and tour programs staff and a passionate docent corps of lifelong learners and museum ambassadors to advance the Museum’s strategic plan goal to connect through programs by setting programmatic goals, structure, budget, policies, and effective practices. Develop recruitment and training strategies to continually grow and diversify the docent corps and support cultural fluency and engagement. Serve as a member of the Extended Leadership Team for the Museum.

Duties & Responsibilities

Oversee and develop School, Teacher, Docent, and Tour Programs at the Milwaukee Art Museum to reach 50,000 participants annually.

• Supervise Associate Educator of School and Teacher Programs, Tour Administrator, and a corps of over 100 active docents leading school and adult tours.
• Support over 130 emeritus docents to stay actively engaged with museum programs and legacy-building activities.
• Nurture a workplace culture of welcome, learning, and curiosity to inspire standards of excellence and impact in School, Teacher, Docent, and Tour Programs, centering the Museum’s strategic plan.
• Advance the Museum’s strategic plan pillar to Connect Through Programs, with a focus on Goal 2: Grow Curriculum-Based Opportunities for Elementary-Higher Education Institutions to support teachers and arts-rich classroom and museum-based learning across the educational spectrum.
• Develop, manage, and course-correct annual School, Teacher, Docent, and Tour Program budgets of approximately $100,000/year, including over $50,000/year in grant support.
• Assist Development Department with program specific fundraising and grant writing.
• Work with Marketing/Communications to promote program offerings.
• Recruit and coordinate interns, volunteers, and guest educators/artists/presenters as needed.
• Serve as an active member of departmental and cross-departmental teams, including exhibition program planning and the Museum’s Extended Leadership Team (ELT).
• Develop and deliver a docent continuing education program, including weekly lectures by guest curators, artists, educators and community members, that centers cultural fluency in learning about the Museum’s collections and exhibitions, as well as DEAI, teaching, and engagement strategies.
• Work continually with docents to improve touring and teaching skills and cultivate familiarity in all collection and audience areas, assuring tours align with DEAI institutional priorities, academic standards, and the needs and interests of guests.
• Manage the Associate Educator of School and Teacher Programs, responsible for School and Teacher Program delivery, including the Junior Docent School Program, school tour content and resource materials, training for special school tour programs, teacher workshops and resources, etc.
• Grow and diversify the Museum’s docent corps by actively recruiting 25-30 new docents for each new class from across the community.
• Conduct new docent training classes that include teaching on the Museum’s collection, tour strategies, docent mentor partners, behind-the-scenes workshops and class assignments, with the assistance of other museum staff and docents.
• Identify docent performance issues and provide coaching or corrective action when appropriate.
• Oversee Docent Council and their activities, including Art for All, docent learning workshops, docent travel, docent coffees/luncheons and publication of Docent Digest.
• Coordinate online/hybrid delivery of docent lectures/meetings/workshops via Zoom.
• Manage and continually develop docent website for 300 docent and staff users using WordPress, Vimeo, and Zoom platforms.
• Serve as liaison between docents, curatorial staff and other MAM departments
• Work with Curatorial and Design Departments to secure exhibition and collection resources for docent website and docent training.
• Research, develop, and pilot a paid Teaching Artist Fellowship program with the goal of diversifying the Museum’s gallery teachers and providing opportunity for participants to connect to other fellowship/staff opportunities in the Museum.
• Manage Tour Administrator roles and oversee tour scheduling/greeting/processing procedures and protocols to deliver excellent customer service and create a welcoming environment for all visitors.
• Oversee and develop docent-guided tours for adult audiences served through tourism industry, corporate events, and special programs.
• Lead adult tours for VIP guests and other specialty groups as needed.
• Stay current and actively engage in the larger field of museum education through professional affiliations such as Wisconsin Art Education Association (WAEA), National Art Education Association (NAEA), National Docent Symposium (NDS), and American Alliance of Museums (AAM).
• Manage, implement, and/or assist with special projects as assigned.
  
  

Ability to work evenings and weekends as program schedule requires.

Requirements

Education/Experience Requirements:

Master’s degree in art history, art education, museum studies or related field. Minimum seven years of experience in gallery teaching, developing and coordinating training programs, and supervising staff and volunteers. Strong working knowledge of art history, museum education standards, theories, and practices, along with Pre-K-12 learning and teaching strategies, curriculum, and standards. Skilled teacher in object/inquiry-based learning with excellent public speaking skills. Exceptional management and interpersonal skills, including tact and diplomacy, with demonstrated ability to lead and coach both staff and volunteers. Well-honed management, evaluation, organizational, and collaboration skills. Excellent oral and written communication skills. IBM-compatible computer skills, including MSOffice software and Zoom. Bilingual/Multilingual in Spanish and/or other languages a plus.

Physical Requirements

• Remain stationary up to 6 hours per day
• Lift up to 25lbs; Move objects over 50 lbs with assistance of a cart or hand truck
• Move about museum and campus on demand
• Ability to work on computer and use telephone
• Ability to communicate and exchange information with staff, Docents, and stakeholders
• Close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus
  
  

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all qualifications, responsibilities, duties and skills.

Milwaukee Art Museum is an EOE/M/W/Vets/Disability Employer.

DEAI Statement

The Milwaukee Art Museum is an equal opportunity employer. The Museum recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and other protected status as required by applicable law.

We are committed to recruiting, developing, compensating, and retaining professional staff that reflect our community. We aspire to be a diverse workplace where talented people want to come, stay, and do their best work.

We stand committed to the work ahead, informed by our community, which we will support with our best thinking, our deepest empathy, and the courage to embody the convictions shared in our Strategic Direction.