Agora Project Fellow at the Museum Association of New York

About the Museum Association of New York

The Museum Association of New York (MANY) helps shape a better future for museums and museum professionals by uplifting best practices and building organizational capacity through advocacy, training, and networking opportunities. MANY serves over 1,400 museums across New York State including museum studies professors and students, libraries and archives, and museum industry partners. Founded in 1962, MANY is the only statewide museum service organization for New York with 760 member museums, historical societies, zoos, botanical gardens, and aquariums. The 25 members of the board of directors are divided between the ten economic development regions representing the expertise and skills of the diversity of those who call New York home. We produce in person networking and professional development programs in every region of the state and our annual conference attracts over 450 museum professionals. In the past three years over 5,000 people from 48 states and eight nations participated in virtual programs that keep our community connected and informed. We have three full-time staff whose work is assisted by contracted professionals and grant funded positions.

Position Type: Grant Funded, Time Delimited

From July-September 2023, this will be  a part-time, maximum of 20 hours a week, position with a hybrid/flexible schedule at $24/hour. For the following 30 months beginning October 1, 2023 and ending March 30, 2026, the position is full-time exempt at a salary of $55,341. Starting October 1, 2023, hours will be Monday to Friday 9 AM to 5 PM, some weekend availability required as needed for travel within New York State. Benefits include paid time off. 

Location

The project fellow will be required to work from the MANY office in Troy, NY starting October 1, 2023. A hybrid schedule July-September 2023 will be possible with one afternoon a week in the MANY office in Troy required. Project schedule and travel will necessitate occasional, independent, remote work. 

Reports to

Megan Eves, Project Director and Assistant Director for Programming and Communications


Project Overview
General Responsibilities:
Qualifications/Required experience:

“A New Agora for New York: Museums as Spaces for Democracy” is a humanities discussion program series that will use the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street Exhibition Voices and Votes: Democracy in America as a launching point to support the work of twelve museums and their communities to explore, reflect on, and tell the story of their role in the evolution of American Democracy and envision the future of our nation as we approach the Semiquincentennial. The Voices and Votes exhibition will be installed for six weeks at twelve museums from March of 2024 through January of 2026. The project will help the museums build their capacity to engage with their communities with access to: Consulting and Advising Scholars, New York State Museum education and curatorial staff, AASLH’s Vital Resources program, training by HNY staff in leading Community Conversations, and access to the OurStoryBridge digital platform to produce oral histories. Programs will include two planning symposia for museum staff and scholars, the development and installation of an exhibition of materials from the museum’s collection that tells the story of their community’s relationship with democracy, a lecture by a project scholar, an oral history gathering project, a Community Conversation discussion program led by HNY staff, and a workshop for local teachers to help build their knowledge and leadership skills. 

The Project Fellow will work with MANY and museum staff, project partners, and scholars to:

  • plan symposia
  • plan, implement, and document local exhibitions
  • work with project scholars to schedule consultations, lectures, and travel
  • help museums identify community partners 
  • plan, schedule, and help implement Community Conversation and Teacher Workshop programs

The Project Fellow will visit each museum twice: once for documentation and once for a program. They will digitally document the objects in each local exhibition for a web based gallery. They will help moderate a virtual discussion forum using MANY’s social media guidelines, and work with the Project Director to create social media posts about the project and help museums strategize publicity and execute marketing plans.

  • MA or PhD program in a humanities discipline (including public history or museum studies) completed within the last five years.
  • Must either be either a U.S. citizen or a foreign national who has been living in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least three years.
  • Current driver’s license
  • Broad intellectual interest and commitment to museums, learning, and public engagement
  • Demonstrable experience in event planning and implementation
  • Demonstrable strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to prioritize tasks
  • Demostrable excellence in communication skills, including verbal, written, and visual presentational skills
  • Proven accuracy and attention to detail
  • Strong interpersonal skills; highly capable of working independently and contributing to a dynamic team
  • Excellent computer skills with experience with Zoom, G-Suite, and Adobe Creative Cloud preferred.

Candidates from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the museum field are encouraged to apply. MANY is committed to achieving and supporting a diverse workforce through all aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotions, wage and salary administration, benefits, and training. Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.

MANY provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, physical disability, pregnancy, 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.

To apply

Send a copy of your resume and a one-page cover letter that clearly addresses how your skill set meets the qualifications and required experience to: info@nysmuseums.org before 5 PM on June 30, 2023. The subject line of your email should read: Agora Project Fellow Application