Job Opportunities: Director, Conservation, Detroit Institute of Arts
Job Description
JOB TITLE: Director, Conservation
DEPARTMENT: Conservation
REPORTS TO: Vice President, Exhibition and Collection Strategies
CLASSIFICATION: Full-Time, Exempt
REMOTE WORK ELIGIBILITY: Partial
GENERAL SUMMARY
Under the direction of the Vice President, Exhibition and Collection Strategies, the Director, Conservation leads the department in the examination, documentation, preservation, restoration, analysis, and technical research of artworks in the DIA's encyclopedic collection and under its custody.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Manage the department, determining priorities and goals, scheduling and annual budget for all sections ensuring that department resources and staff support the museum's strategic goals and annual museum-wide goals, and that those goals are met on schedule and within budget.
Recruit, mentor, develop and successfully manage a team to achieve the strategic objectives and the present and future needs of the department in alignment with the museum’s annual priorities and strategic vision.
Create a collaborative work environment by using a performance support process including goal setting, feedback, and development.
Ensure that all collection preservation activities, including providing preventive conservation guidance, conservation research, treatment, and documentation, are conducted in adherence with the American Institute for Conservation Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice.
Develop conservation plans and procedures for the department and collection, identify opportunities for continuous process improvement for current policies and procedures for work that touches conservation and the care of the collection.
Act as department's primary liaison and collaborate with other departments across the museum in achieving core department and division functions and support the conservation staff in fulfilling their duties in the planning and installation of special exhibitions and permanent collection galleries, monitoring environmental conditions, evaluating potential acquisitions, and assessing and preparing objects for loan both outgoing and incoming.
Travel as a courier accompanying DIA artwork, loans, and traveling exhibitions. Supervise handling at airports, truck shipments, packing and installation/de-installation at borrowing institutions as needed.
Define preventive conservation parameters, coordinate HVAC system and air conditioning monitoring, and light level management, and collaborate with other teams in risk assessment, management, and emergency planning.
Provide technical guidance to resolve conservation issues in museum galleries, and guide other teams in maintaining ideal storage and exhibition conditions, handling, packaging, and storage.
Lead staff and coordinate departmental public outreach and advocacy activities that engage tri-county, state, national, and international audiences that promote accessibility to the department, collection, and special exhibitions. Activities include but not limited to digital media and print initiatives, public lectures, department tours, and teaching (K-12, undergraduate and graduate students).
Lead the department in collaborating with Development, the Director, President and CEO, and the VP of Exhibition and Collection Strategies in fundraising activities including donor cultivation, endowment-building, securing in-kind relationships with tech, industry, and university partners, and seeking grant funding opportunities.
Oversee department initiatives and support conservation staff in their pursuit of technical research on artworks including documentation of structure through written reports, scientific analysis, and imaging in support of acquisitions, treatment, curatorial and scholarly inquiries and exhibition and gallery content.
Promote the dissemination of this information by conservation staff at conferences, symposia, and in peer-reviewed publications with the goal of raising the profile of the department and the museum among our museum colleagues and with the public.
Responsible, as department head, for chemical safety in the department as defined by current MIOSHA Laboratory Standard.
Seek out and participates in ongoing professional development to remain up-to date on the newest materials, techniques, and advances in the field by reading professional publications, attending conferences and workshops.
Monitor and manage contracts including budgets and schedules for contract conservation services and other contractual services.
Foster, promote, and support Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) through the DIA values, active listening, embracing difference, and engaging with empathy to promote a culture of belonging among internal and external stakeholders.
Perform other duties as assigned.
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