Senior Manager, Administration and Operations – European Paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Museum Studies

Job Title: Senior Manager, Administration and Operations – European Paintings

Job Status: Full-time

Location: New York, NY

Salary: $90,000 to $110,000

About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.

Since its founding in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. We are committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as the audiences we engage. Our staff members are art lovers who are passionate about working toward a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring art museum in the world.

At The Met, every staff member – from security officers to researchers to scientists and beyond – lives by our core values of respect, inclusivity, collaboration, excellence, and integrity.

Respect: Engage one another with collegiality, empathy, and kindness, always.

Inclusivity: Ensure that all are and feel welcome and valued.

Collaboration: Reach across boundaries to exchange ideas and work together toward our shared mission.

Excellence: Lead the cultural world in quality and expertise—and inspire curiosity and creativity.

Integrity: Hold ourselves to the highest moral standards, admit when we fall short, and then evolve.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

The Department of European Paintings is one of The Met’s most active curatorial departments with a curatorial, collections, and administrative staff responsible for studying, caring for, and providing access to the museum’s renowned European Paintings collection. Working in partnership with the Curator in Charge, the (Senior Manager) oversees strategic initiatives and projects and manages the day-to-day operations of the department. This position has supervisory, collections, financial, facility, fundraising and communications responsibilities, and plays an integral role in capital project planning and execution. Excellent project and team management, communication, negotiation and leadership skills are required. This position currently has seven direct reports, with administrative oversight over the full department.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

Management and Administration

Serves as partner and thought leader to Curator in Charge to manage priorities, ensure thoughtful execution of any strategic plans
Manages the Department’s workflow and project manage department initiatives, work cross departmentally to align milestones and deliverables; communicate plans to museum-wide key stakeholders
Manages administrator who oversees purchasing, office management, curatorial travel, facility maintenance, gallery installations, timekeeping, IS&T, and the day-to-day operations of the Department
Oversee the renovation of the European Paintings office renovation, including fundraising initiative, redesign, refurbishment, and staff move back to the offices. This project also includes the re-cataloging of the departmental library, including overseeing vendors and working on a long-term solution for library operations.
Manages coordinator who oversees department membership program, department communications, events, and acts as executive assistant to Curator in Charge
Coordinates Fellows, interns and short-term affliliates.
Manages two collection managers who oversee the department’s loan program, installations, accessioning and deaccessioning, storage, and collection information and access, and renovation/collection projects.
Manages three union technicians (art handlers) responsible for the care, movement, installation, inventory, and storage of the collection and exhibition furniture
Oversees Human Resources on behalf of the Department, including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, annual merit increases, conflict resolution and separation
Establishes plans and systems to ensure collaboration, efficiency, structure, and accountability
Acts as the department problem solver, negotiating and configuring action plans to overcome obstacles
Oversees departmental meetings, including managing agenda, presentations, and interdepartmental memos
Manages the renovation of European Paintings departmental offices and refurbishment of departmental library

Finance and Donor Management

Oversees Department operating and project budgets, donor funds and gifts, acquisition funds, and travel budgets
Oversees Friends of European Paintings membership program and budget
Manages department Visiting Committee meetings, partnering on strategy, agenda items, logistics, and communication
Drafts/reviews departmental contracts and agreements, approves all spending and timekeeping
Manages donor file archive and communication plans
Assists with fundraising communications and strategies, including the fundraising campaign for office renovations and staff salaries
Oversees all departmental events
Works closely with key donors on long-term financial planning and budget analysis
Reviews donor agreements and communication to ensure accuracies and align messaging

Collections and Curatorial Projects

Manages the skylight project, including working with teams across the institution to renovate and reinstall over 31,000 square feet of skylights to ensure the safety and security of staff and art
Manages the reopening of the pre-19th century paintings collection, including the refurbishment and reinstallation of 45 galleries and 1,000+ works of art; oversees installation schedule, and works with Collections Manager to coordinate collection movement, collections teams, construction footprint, external vendors, weekly project meetings with cross-departmental stakeholders, and communication to larger museum
Oversees and coordinates with Collections Manager collection move from temporary storage to permanent storage in FY24
Department interface with Retail Operations
Department liaison with other key administrative departments
Oversees 74,000+ square feet of gallery space, including partnership with security, facilities, and construction to ensure safekeeping of the art and manage emergency response

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

Masters degree in museum studies or related field or equivalent years of experience
Extensive knowledge of best practices in museum administration and collections management
8-10 years of experience leading and facilitating teams
Exceptional project management experience within a large institution, preferred
Excellent organization, communication and problem-solving skills
3-4 years administrative and collections management experience, required
Experience in museum setting, working especially with curators and conservators, and supporters and donors
Familiarity with TMS

Compensation Range:

Pay Rate: $95,000.00 – $110,000.00
The advertised pay scale reflects the good faith minimum and maximum salary range for this role. The advertised pay scale is not a promise of a particular wage for any specific employee. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, special licensing or qualifications, and other factors.

Location Requirements

At time of employment, employees are expected to be located within commuting distance of the Museum. “Commuting distance” means that they are located in one of following states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania (the “Tri-state and PA” areas), and be able to commute to and from the Museum in a single day.

Benefits Offerings

The Museum provides competitive compensation, and generous benefits and perks for all eligible employees. Note: Benefits Offering may differ based on Employee Status.

Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
403(b) basic retirement plan and optional matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match
Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and 13 Museum holidays
Long-term disability coverage
Flexible Spending Accounts & Health Savings Account (pre-tax income for eligible health care expenses)
Commuter benefits (pre-tax income for parking or mass transit expenses)
Free financial-planning services
Financial assistance for relevant coursework, seminars, and training programs
25% discount for staff in Museum shops
A subsidized staff cafeteria
Access to the Museums Council pass, which grants free admission to various museums and cultural institutions

Apply via NYFA

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.

The Met is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, The Met will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed in this process, please contact benefits@metmuseum.org.

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.