Associate Manager of Friends Group, American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Museum Studies

Job Title: Associate Manager of Friends Group, American Wing

Job Status: Full-time

Location: New York, NY

Salary: $75,000 – $85,000

Description

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.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

Founded in 1924, the American Wing is the only western collecting area of The Met’s seventeen curatorial departments to regularly blend so-called fine and decorative art in our more than 75 galleries. With a collection of roughly 20,000 works by African American, Asian American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American makers, ranging primarily from the mid- 17th to early-20th century, the American Wing represents one of the largest and most comprehensive holdings of North American artistic expression in the world. These collections include paintings, sculpture, drawings, furniture, textiles, regalia, ceramics, basketry, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, as well as historic interiors and architectural fragments, produced by highly trained and self-taught artists, both identified and unrecorded—comprising an expansively defined American art housed within a global museum.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

You will be responsible for managing the administrative functions associated with the American Wing’s two support groups—Friends of the American Wing (a group of 92 paying members) and the William Cullen Bryant Fellows (a group of 52 paying members)—the American Wing Visiting Committee (advisory board); American Art donors; and departmental special events including, but not limited to, event programming, exhibition openings, and external communications. You will work in close collaboration with the Curator in Charge and Senior Manager and serve as the primary liaison with the Development Office. You will be responsible for collecting and communicating information between the Curatorial and Development staff, keeping thorough records of donor interactions and support. With other administrative staff in the American Wing, you will work as a team, providing administrative support and executing the daily tasks necessary for smooth operations of the Department, including general office administration, when needed.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

Organize, manage, and execute the support groups’ schedule of events, including approximately four programs each season and an annual gala dinner.
Plan and execute two annual trips – Friends of the American Wing Day Trip and William Cullen Bryant Fellows travel.
Collect and track membership fees, draft renewal and acknowledgement letters; assist in onboarding new support-group members.
Serve as the primary point of contact for all Friends and Bryant Fellows; field questions regarding special events and membership.
With Department Head and Senior Manager, plan and execute Visiting Committee meetings, departmental exhibition openings, special programs, luncheons, and other similar events with relevant departments across the Museum.
Serve as a liaison between the curatorial team and Development colleagues, collecting and relaying information regarding donors in a timely fashion.
Work with American Wing staff to plan and coordinate content and production for all membership communication including newsletters, event invitations, and e-blasts; design invitations, etc., in InDesign.
Create and maintain donor spreadsheet and social media.
With Associate for Administration, maintain department donor files.
With Associate for Administration, answer/direct incoming telephone calls; receive guests and visitors to the office.
Facilitate private group tours with curators.
Other duties as assigned.
Please submit a cover letter with your application.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required, MA in an art-related field preferred.
4 years of administrative and/or special-events experience in a museum or similar non-profit environment.
Experience in development/fundraising, managing donor/patron groups, and running special events, preferred.
Strong interpersonal skills and absolute discretion required in working with high-level American Wing donors and supporters.
Demonstrable ability to create and maintain precise and well-researched records.
Superior organizational skills and ability to work on a team and coordinate events across various departments.
Excellent time management and planning for long term projects.
Ability to maintain composure in a busy environment.
Demonstrable initiative and ability to work independently as well as part of a team.
Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
Attention to detail with follow through.
Computer literacy, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and InDesign etc.

COMPENSATION RANGE:

Pay Range: $75,000.00 – $85,000.00 / Annually
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 AAM

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.