Assistant Administrator – European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Job Title: Assistant Administrator

Job Status: Full-time

About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Since it was founded in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

The Assistant Administrator oversees the day-to-day coordination of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Curator in Charge’s office, which is responsible for overseeing The Met’s European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collections and exhibitions program as well as all other related functions from patrons and acquisitions to project management. The Assistant Administrator will manage the Curator in Charge’s calendar; travel; coordinate departmental meetings as assigned; and maintain departmental files. This position works closely with the Senior Administrator to run an efficient and organized office, and provides general support to the department as needed. This position also handles special projects assigned by the Curator in Charge and Senior Administrator. The Assistant Administrator must be able to handle many tasks at once and work collegially with staff in other Museum departments, as well as with all external parties including donors, supporters, colleagues, and dealers.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

Support Department’s Curator in Charge

  • Schedule internal and external meetings on Curator in Charge’s behalf related to exhibitions, acquisitions, programs, patrons, trustees, museum staff; preparing meeting materials, paperwork, and research, drafting agendas with the Curator in Charge and follow up with minutes and action points.
  • Organize travel including itineraries, transport, hotel bookings, coordinating visas, and preparation of spend authorizations and expense reports in Workday.
  • Manage Curator in Charge’s presentations including drafting speaking points, organizing presentation structures, compiling images and creating PowerPoint decks, researching and fact-checking.
  • Manages tech support and office organization for office of Curator in Charge.

Support Department Activities

  • Coordinate application review and onboarding of ESDA Fellows, Volunteers, and Interns.
  • Provide support to Wrightsman Fellows and Friends of ESDA programs including drafting correspondence, designing/sending/tracking invitations, and coordinating special events.
  • Coordinate ongoing VIP and group visits to The Met in collaboration with Group Services and Development.
  • Manage departmental projects independently or in collaboration with Exhibition Project Managers, Digital, or Publications as assigned by Curator in Charge and Senior Administrator.
  • Coordinate and ensure ESDA meets departmental deadlines related to acquisitions, gifts, and gallery rotations in collaboration the Senior Administrator, General Manager of Collections, Counsels Office, and Exhibitions.
  • Manage Departmental convenings and study days, including organizing event logistics; tracking budget; corresponding with participants; preparing, collecting, and processing honoraria.
  • Manage and coordinate approval for all internal gallery requests in collaboration with Special Events, Education, Communications and ESDA’s Collections Team.
  • Manage Departmental communications including the bi-annual newsletter, the @met_esda Instagram account, and the ESDA departmental website.
  • Oversee departmental travel budget and provide Workday assistance as needed. Researching Travel itineraries, hotels, fares, car rental and coordinating booking, completing spend authorizations and expense reports.
  • Procurement Ambassador: Coordinating with Procurement on orders and deliveries; payment for supplies and equipment; processing departmental invoices. Managing the department purchase card and coding purchases as appropriate.
  • Collaborate with the Administrative Team on day-to-day basis on matters pertaining to the smooth operation of the office. Provides support to Curators as needed.

General Department Administration/Front Office

  • Escort and greet visitors, maintain equipment, file correspondence and other documentation related to department, take meeting minutes; secure keys, email accounts, ID cards, etc. for new staff, fellows, interns and volunteers.
  • Manage the Seminar Room calendar and maintain technology.
  • Pick-up and drop-off mail from Mail Services and Receiving; Coordinate large departmental mailings including sending exhibition catalogues and newsletter.
  • Serve as Computer Liaison Group (CLG) representative.
  • Other duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS:

Fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO authorized vaccine (or approved for an exemption as a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, sincerely held religious belief, or pregnancy, or because you are a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sex offenses).

Experience and Skills:

  • Three years of experience in arts administration or other administrative roles preferred
  • Excellent organizational skills, detail oriented, and ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
  • Excellent communication skills.
  • Ability to interact and communicate effectively with all staff as well as the Board of Trustees, donors, and visitors. Proactively build strong relationships and trust with colleagues at all levels of management.
  • Proven experience with a variety of administrative tasks including filing, answering phones, and managing an executive calendar.
  • Ability to screen and prioritize specific inquiries.
  • Ability to take initiative and work well under pressure especially in situations with shifting priorities.
  • Strong written and verbal skills; ability to communicate and interact at all levels of the organization.
  • Thorough proficiency in Workday, Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel with willingness to learn new computer programs required.

Knowledge and Education:

  • B.A. required; M.A. preferred
  • Familiarity with art history, decorative arts and design history, and standard museum procedures, policies, and practices preferred
  • Fluency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) required
  • Fluency with project management systems, such as Workday and JIRA, preferred

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Applicants are asked to please provide a cover letter in addition to your resume, expressing your interest in the position. Applications can be submitted via the posting on LinkedIn. Alternatively, applications can be submitted via email to Careers@MetMuseum.org – please reference position “Assistant Administrator – ESDA“ in the subject line of the email. Applications received with the requested cover letter will be given priority.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, alienage or citizenship status, marital status or domestic partner status, genetic information, genetic predisposition or carrier status, gender identity, HIV status, military status and any other category protected by law in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, lay-off and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.