Assistant Registrar

MoPOP; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 34,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Vision Insurance

Dental Insurance

Paid time off: 3.08 hours accrued per

Seattle Holidays

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

401k with vested match

Orca Pass or parking benefits

Job summary

MOPOP in Seattle seeks an Assistant Registrar to support stewardship of its permanent pop culture collection. Working with the Registrar and Collections team, you will handle acquisition, documentation, care, and loans, plus exhibition installation and deinstallation.

This full-time, hybrid role emphasizes strong organization, registration standards, and confidentiality, with opportunities to contribute to DEIA initiatives and museum operations.

Qualifications

• Experience with museum collections, registration, archives, cultural institutions, or comparable records/collections management work.
• Knowledge of registration and collections-management standards and practices, including documentation, storage, handling, packing, and shipping of artifacts.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to meet MOPOP requirements for operating museum vehicles, as driving and artifact transport are essential functions of the role.

Responsibilities

• Support Registrar with deaccessioned materials processing and records, including backlog items and preparing materials for reviews.
• Assist with oral history digitization and collections data cleanup, reconciling duplicates and linking digital records to TMS.
• Process and implement Permissions Agreements and Photo Licenses.
• Support the Registrar with environmental monitoring deployment and tracking in storage areas.
• Assist with incoming/outgoing loans, including loan documentation and shipping coordination; travel as courier when required.
• Document progress on reconciling old and abandoned loans in loan files and TMS.
• Catalog backlog of permanent collection objects, create new TMS records, standardize data, and photograph entries.

Skills

Museum experience

Registration knowledge

Records management

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Tools

The Museum System (TMS)

Job description

Location 120 6TH AVE N STE 100,Seattle, WA, 98109-5002,United States

Job Title: Assistant Registrar

Reports to: Registrar

Department: Collections

Supervises: Does not supervise others

Work Schedule: 40 hours per week, 5 days per week, hybrid work eligible. Occasional weekend/evening availability or travel may be required.

Salary: $25.00 - $28.00 per hour

Position Summary

MOPOP is seeking a detail-oriented Assistant Registrar to support the stewardship of MOPOP’s extensive permanent pop culture collection. Working closely with the Registrar and broader Collections team, this position supports the acquisition, documentation, management, care, and disposition of collection objects, as well as incoming and outgoing loans. The Assistant Registrar also contributes to collections documentation, exhibition installation and deinstallation, and other departmental activities that support the responsible stewardship of MOPOP’s collection.

Essential Job Duties (other duties as assigned)

Collections Management:

• Support the Registrar in processing deaccessioned materials, including addressing previously deaccessioned backlogs, assisting with the identification and documentation of objects proposed for deaccessioning, preparing materials for Collections Committee and Board review, coordinating approved disposition activities, and maintaining accurate records in TMS and object files.
• Support oral history digitization and collections data cleanup in collaboration with MOPOP Curators and the video team, including reconciling duplicate copies and numbering discrepancies, updating tracking documents, researching required release signatures, and linking digital records to TMS.
• Process and implement Permission Agreements and Photo Licenses.
• Support the Registrar with the integrated pest management program as related to the needs of the Collections department.
• Support the Registrar and Preparator with condition reporting and rehousing.
• Support the Registrar with deployment, maintenance, and tracking of environmental monitoring devices in museum and collections storage areas.
• Assist the Registrar with incoming and outgoing loans, including preparing and sending loan documentation and coordinating fine art shipping. Travel as a courier when required.
• Under the guidance of the Registrar, identify and reconcile old and abandoned loans, documenting progress and resolution in paper loan files and TMS.
• Catalog backlog of MoPOP permanent collection objects including creating new TMS (The Museum System) records, standardizing all object data, and photographing objects by auditing existing entries.

Collections Stewardship:

• Support the Collections team with exhibition installation and deinstallation across MOPOP galleries.
• Work alongside the Collections team to standardize and maintain TMS data for collection objects, including records represented in the online collection, and document related coordination in TMS and object files.
• Support the MOPOP Collections team with vault tours, object and gallery photography, and artifact transport.
• Under the guidance of the Preparator, perform upkeep and cleaning of exhibition casework and objects.
• Support the Registrar with documentation for loans and exhibitions, including inbound and outbound paperwork, receipts, and condition reports.
• Participate in MOPOP’s ongoing DEIA learning and contribute to departmental practices that support an inclusive and equitable workplace and museum experience.

MOPOP Community

• Support our internal culture which inspires and empowers our staff to live our mission to its highest standards.
• Contribute to a consistent customer service standard across all departments.
• Work to ensure customer service is ingrained at the core of the team and is reflected outward to our guests and other staff.

Preferred/Desired Qualifications

• Experience with museum collections, registration, archives, cultural institutions, or comparable records/collections management work.
• Knowledge of registration and collections-management standards and practices, including documentation, storage, handling, packing, and shipping of artifacts.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to meet MOPOP requirements for operating museum vehicles, as driving and artifact transport are essential functions of the role.
• Knowledge of legal and ethical considerations related to museum collections, loans, donations, gifts, bequests, and deaccessioning procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to handle proprietary and confidential information with discretion.
• Strong computer skills and experience with a collections database or comparable records-management system.
• Demonstrated attention to detail and strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage a continuous workflow in a high-volume, multitasking environment.
• Ability to manage multiple requests and priorities simultaneously and analyze and resolve problems effectively.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across teams, with strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Sound judgment and problem-solving skills, including the ability to recognize when questions or issues should be escalated.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a demonstrated service orientation.
• Ability to work effectively in an environment where workloads and priorities may vary daily.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working in a museum, cultural institution, or nonprofit organization.
• Experience with The Museum System (TMS).
• Experience supporting museum loans, exhibitions, deaccessioning, or collections documentation.

This full-time position includes Medical/Vision insurance, Dental insurance, 3.08 hours of accrued Vacation per bi-weekly pay period, Seattle Sick/Safe, up to 8 Company Holidays paid throughout the year, EAP, 401k plan with vested match schedule once eligible, and subsidized transportation benefits for Orca Pass or parking.

Why MOPOP?

We’re really glad you’re thinking about joining the team at MOPOP! We believe pop culture is a universal language capable of building connections across a range of people, no matter our differences in race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, ability, education, socio-economic status, ethnicity, country of origin, or any other characteristic that makes us who we are. For more than twenty years, we have been showcasing how music, film, fashion, video games, sports, and more spark those connections and create a lasting cultural impact.

MOPOP provides both a physical space and an emotional and intellectual opportunity for people from any background to explore, find and build community, and recognize their own creative potential. This applies not only to our guests, but also to our staff — be it in designing an educational program to engage the next generation of creators, trying to reach a new audience with a marketing initiative, preserving an artifact in our collection, or providing excellent customer service to a visitor. If this sounds like something you’d be into, we’d love to hear from you!

MOPOP’s Mission and Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

Our mission is to activate the world-shaping power of pop culture through participative experiences, discovery, and play. We believe pop culture connects us, and that it is powerful, complex, alive and who we are. MOPOP is actively committed to ongoing learning in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). In partnership with our community, we hope to also develop safe spaces for their application. This includes taking steps to continue increasing our awareness of institutional “-isms,” as well as uncovering and undoing the ways they show up in museum culture. We recognize this is a process that requires intentionality, energy, and resources, and we are developing a DEIA framework that can cultivate a work environment and museum experience that is truly welcoming for all.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We believe that having staff, interns, and volunteers with diverse backgrounds enables us to better meet our mission and encourage BIPOC, women, and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals to apply. We acknowledge that our work to build safe spaces and better systems for traditionally marginalized groups is ongoing and will require constant vigilance and expect all MOPOP employees to be part of our DEIA journey.

________________________________________

Please email [e-mail] if you need reasonable accommodations during the application or hiring process.

Requirements

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At MOPOP, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you are excited about a role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the candidate we are looking for!