Collections Manager / Registrar at the Morris Museum

Job Title: Collections Manager/Registrar

Job Status: Full-time

Location: Morristown, NJ

Salary:  $45,000 – $48,000

About the job

Morris Museum, A Smithsonian Affiliate

Collections Manager/Registrar

The Morris Museum curates beauty, experience, thought, and conversation centered in its collections of art, music, history, and science. Founded in 1913 in Morristown, New Jersey, the Museum serves both a local and international constituency through its wide variety of collections, exhibitions, and performing-arts productions. With a long tradition of serving its surrounding communities, the Museum provides extensive, family-friendly educational programs, complemented by sophisticated public programming for adults. It also houses the creatively utilized, 312-seat Bickford Theatre.

Over the last century, the Morris Museum has evolved from a single collection displayed in a curio cabinet, to one of the most vibrant cultural destinations in New Jersey. Originally known as the Morristown Children’s Museum, we have made education a central part of our mission since the beginning. Today we are proud to be the only Smithsonian affiliate in the state, and home to an ever-evolving array of innovative exhibitions and events that reflect the diversity and vitality of New Jersey.

The Collections Manager/Registrar is responsible for establishing and maintaining high standards of collections care utilizing best practices including inventory, storage, monitoring environmental conditions, housing, cataloguing, appraisal, and providing access to the collections. The Collections Manager/Registrar is an integral part of the Exhibits team at the Morris Museum, and will participate in installations, deinstallations, and other exhibits work.

Position: Collections Manager/Registrar

· Full time, exempt. Salary range $45,000 – $48,000, commensurate with experience.

Essential Functions:

  • Perform work in accordance with best practices and ethical standards.
  • Oversee a variety of professional registration duties in support of collections management and exhibitions, including the development and maintenance of practices and procedures to ensure comprehensive documentation of objects under the custody of the museum.
  • Assist in the creation and maintenance of detailed catalog records for the museum’s permanent collection in the collections database (CatalogIt).
  • Catalogue acquisitions; manage bequests, purchases, loans, and other collection duties.
  • Coordinate incoming and outgoing loans by corresponding with lenders and borrowers, reviewing loan agreements, and obtaining insurance certificates as required.
  • Supervise unpacking, repacking, condition reporting, installation, and deinstallation of loaned materials and permanent collection objects.
  • Supervise loan of objects for changing exhibitions and perform condition reports on a range of object types. Oversee the packing of loan and collection artworks. Coordinate domestic and international shipping of artworks for on-site exhibitions.
  • Oversee photography of the collections and the documentation, preservation, access, and distribution of the museum’s curatorial images, including rights management and copyright compliance according to professional standards and best practices.
  • Organize existing collections storage and establish plans for future storage needs. Ensure that storage spaces are safe from physical and environmental hazards.
  • Assist with the care of the collections through proper object handling, cataloging, numbering, condition reporting, location recording, and the management of regular inventories.
  • Research and coordinate appropriate packing and shipping arrangements for all loans. Coordinate the transfer of artwork to/from the Museum including the organization of transportation, couriers, security, insurance, unpacking, storage, with emphasis on documentation. Coordinate the transfer of artwork to/from loan venues other than the museum.
  • Assist with routine maintenance and monitoring of all galleries, including the cleaning of display components, tracking, and recording of environmental conditions and integrated pest management, and assisting with updates as needed.
  • Participate in planning the collections pages on the museums website and in managing the digital sources for object content and images.
  • Assist with organizing, maintaining, and ordering supplies for aspects of collections management and exhibition work.
  • Train and supervise curatorial interns and volunteers, as assigned.
  • Review and update the Collection Management Policy and Emergency Management disaster planning and recovery procedures (last updated Spring 2022).
  • This position description identifies only the essential functions and responsibilities of this position. It does not include all aspects of the position, or additional duties that may be assigned by the Director of Exhibits and Collections.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Minimum 5 years of experience working with an arts or historical collections.
  • Master’s degree in art history, museum studies, cultural heritage management, or a closely related field.
  • Demonstrated experience with object handling, packing, transport, and storage.
  • Experience in preventative conservation, including strong understanding of best practices in object handling, exhibition, and storage materials and supports.
  • Proficient knowledge of a collections management system.
  • Integrated Pest Management experience.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in art history, museum studies, humanities, or a closely related field.
  • Three years of professional experience managing archives and/or object collections in a museum or similar environment.
  • Thorough and current knowledge of museum collections management standards and best practices
  • Advanced knowledge of a collections management system.
  • Experience with copyright and permissions for photographic usage
  • Demonstrated experience managing the care, preservation, and documentation of museum collections, especially in museum registration, collections management software, object handling and housing, loan procedures, and exhibition installation.
  • Excellent communication skills. Demonstrated organizational and planning skills. Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with a demonstrated attention to detail.
  • Proficiency in computer applications, particularly the Microsoft Suite including Teams.

Key Relationships:

· The Collections Manager/Registrar plays an integral role on the curatorial team, reporting directly to the Director of Exhibits and Collections.

Workplace Requirements

  • 35 hours/week
  • Ability to pass a background check.
  • Expected to participate in ongoing professional development and/or education to stay current on best practices for collections care and other museum activities.
  • Must have reliable transportation.
  • Must be able to work occasional after hours and weekend shifts.
  • Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.

Physical Demands

  • The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
  • The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Able to perform moderate physical activity, such as climbing moveable ladders, kneeling, and standing or walking for extended periods of time.

TO APPLY

Apply via LinkedIn

The Morris Museum is an Equal-Opportunity Employer, dedicated to the goal of building a multicultural staff, with a passion to reach and serve our expanding, diverse public. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities.