Museum Outreach Director

Overall project description:
Wilkening Consulting has been retained by New York State to conduct an operational survey of New York State Museums. We will be attempting to collect attendance, financial, and other information from as many museums in the state as possible.


Contractor responsibilities:
The Museum Outreach Director will be primarily responsible for maximizing participation in this critical research. Project responsibilities include:

• Finalizing and implementing a communications plan, including supporting email and USPS communications from NYS museum organizations and agencies
• Working directly with NYS museum staff/volunteers to help them complete the data collection survey, including following-up and reminding them to participate as necessary
• Developing educational materials used to support capacity building through data collection among NYS museums, such as infographics, templates, videos, workshops, etc.

While 100% participation by NYS museums is the ultimate goal, a realistic goal is a 60 – 70% participation rate.

Contractor qualifications:
Experience:

• Has worked in the museum field; small museum experience preferred
• Exposure to/understanding of museums of different sizes and types
• Development of educational materials, such as curricula, running workshops, etc.
• Volunteer management
• Familiarity with New York State and its museums
• Competence at collecting and working with basic museum data (e.g., visitation data, budgeting, etc.)

Other desired attributes:

• Ability to build strong relationships with museum board, staff and/or volunteers
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to motivate others
• Well-organized and thoughtful planner
• Persistence

This position requires a valid driver’s license and the ability to travel around New York State for in-person visits to museums as needed.

Contractor compensation and budget:
We expect this contractor to be working full-time on this project for approximately six months. The budget for this work is $60,000 plus pre-approved expenses (including travel expenses, attendance at the MANY annual meeting, etc.).

As a short-term contractor, you are responsible for providing your own equipment and fulfilling the contracted goals. You are also responsible for any tax obligations, benefits, etc. We are going to pay a set fee per our contract, and celebrate with you when the contract obligations are fulfilled in a timely manner.

To apply:
We’ve put together a short questionnaire for interested contractors to complete. You can download the questionnaire here in advance, and when you are ready, go to this link to submit your initial proposal.

Please do not call or email us about the position. We’ll share our progress on hiring this contract position on our website, and try to be as transparent as possible.

We can’t wait to hear from you!