Job: Director & President, The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA), Minneapolis, MN

Deadline: January 14, 2019

HOW TO APPLY

Nominations and inquiries are welcome.

Qualified candidates should email cover letter and résumé (Word documents preferred), salary request or range, and names of 3 references with contact information by January 14, 2019, to Connie Rosemont, Senior Search Consultant, and Marilyn Hoffman, Principal, at: searchandref@museum-search.com.  References will not be contacted without prior permission of the applicant, and all applications and nominations are kept confidential.  EOE.

OVERVIEW

The Museum of Russian Art seeks an experienced Executive Director and President, gifted at communications and passionate about Russian art and culture, to lead this young, vibrant museum toward its goal of becoming a nationally recognized center for Russian art and culture. The Museum seeks a highly visible leader, open and responsive to sophisticated cultural contexts, and an enthusiastic and effective fundraiser with experience in management and operational infrastructure. S/he will leverage the young Museum’s unique assets and its current momentum to build larger audiences, strengthen operations, and financially anchor the Museum for the future. The Director must be able to establish networks nationally and around the globe to bring world-class art loans and programming opportunities to the Museum.

The Museum was originally established in 2002 to exhibit founder Ray Johnson’s important collection of Soviet-era Russian paintings.  In 2007, the Museum was transformed into an independent, nonprofit museum with a broad mission to promote and celebrate the artistic and cultural contributions of Russian art and culture and to promote deeper understanding of Russian history. The Museum owns a small and growing collection of Russian paintings, works on paper, folk art and decorative objects from the late 19^th century to the present, and the caliber of several of its collections is unparalleled outside Russia. Changing exhibitions feature a wide selection of Russian arts from earlier eras to today. The Museum represents an important cultural holding in the US, and with its robust calendar of exhibitions, lectures, music, dance, theater, poetry, and other cultural events, it can now boast of being the premier institution in the U.S. focused on the intersection of Russian art, history and culture.

The Director will play an important role in implementing a new strategic plan that strengthens this profile while engaging broader and more diverse audiences locally, regionally and nationally. S/he will be a strategic thinker with vision, who will develop the museum’s annual budget of $1.3 million and lead its operations.  The Museum currently serves 35,000 visitors annually through 10 exhibitions in three galleries and 40-50 programs (most of them sold out). The Museum boasts one of the finest museum stores in the region.  The Director will oversee a staff of 13 (FT and PT), plus 30 volunteers and 13 docents, and will be a nimble and creative problem-solver, ready to evaluate and enhance systems, structures, and programming. The Director will work closely with the 19-member board to plan for the museum’s long-term financial security and to manage the Museum’s renovated Spanish Colonial Revival building, recognized for its intimacy, beauty, and high museum standards.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Lead a beloved small museum with untapped potential that already punches well above its weight due to its quality art collection, admired historic building, devoted and energetic staff, engaged board, and enthusiastic community support.
• Leverage and promote the uniqueness of the Museum’s mission and holdings.
• Educate visitors and add to a positive cultural understanding of Russian art and culture in the U.S. at a time when there is great interest in Russia but much negative news.
• Continue to build on a programmatic vision that situates the museum as a quality and relevant art experience as well as a locale for community cultural engagement.
• Take on the challenge of anchoring a young organization financially, securing its long-term future.
• Live and work in a large, philanthropic city known for its support of culture, a city that is also safe, friendly and welcoming.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide vision and leadership for the 11-year-old museum, partnering with the Board to set direction, goals and priorities for the museum’s future.
• Garner the annual resources needed to meet the current operating needs of the museum.
• With the Board, create a long-term plan for building endowment and financial sustainability.
• Be an enthusiastic and effective fundraiser and provide significant leadership in identifying opportunities and raising funds, helping to personally cultivate major donors and foundations, working in collegial partnership with the Development Officer and an active and engaged Board.
• Lead, inspire and mentor staff; foster a culture of recognition and respect.
• Work with the Board, staff and stakeholders to define long-term strategies for the collections, programming and interpretation for the U.S.’s only museum dedicated solely to a full range of Russian art and to Russia’s cultural contributions.
• Provide oversight and input for an active and distinguished curatorial program of exhibitions, and for the panoply of public programs.
• Build the Museum’s network and partnership opportunities with museums, collectors and cultural institutions regionally, nationally and internationally to enhance sharing and exchange of exhibitions, loans, expertise, and programs.
• Oversee marketing strategies to augment visibility and community connections, to continue to grow visitation and broaden audiences, and to promote the Museum and its offerings locally, nationally, and internationally.
• Review organizational infrastructure and align it with strategic plans and efficient operations as the Museum continues to mature.
• Develop the annual budget and effectively manage and stretch resources.
• Provide appropriate care for and stewardship of the building and collections;
• Maintain highest level of museum best-practices and standards.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• At least 4 years’ experience as a museum director or in an equivalent nonprofit executive leadership position; art-museum experience preferred.
• Advanced degree in art history, Russian studies, museum studies or equivalent.
• Ability to speak and read Russian desirable.
• Enthusiastic champion of Russian art and culture; familiarity with Russian art preferred.
• Strategic thinker, able to put challenges in perspective and make sound recommendations for advancing the museum.
• Ability to develop and execute an ambitious programmatic vision backed by disciplined financial and operational planning.
• Enthusiasm for fundraising for general operations, special programs, and capital projects. Experience with private-donor development campaigns, major gifts, or planned giving preferred.
• A public-facing person, invested in sharing the mission of the museum with others.
• Strong communication skills. An engaging, inspiring and confident public speaker.
• Experience with a young museum or organizational start-up is an asset, especially an ability to spot and implement key operational structures for staffing, budgeting and marketing.
• Track record of managing and stretching modest budgets.
• A skilled and flexible manager and good listener who can multi-task, delegate, and foster a team environment.
• A diplomatic negotiator with high emotional intelligence, a consensus builder.
• Familiarity or experience working with Russian-speaking or similar ethnic cultural communities or cultural organizations, here or abroad and embrace of cultural diplomacy, is a plus.
• S. work papers; a visa application cannot be supported by the museum.