Associate Director, Curatorial

National Museum of Wildlife Art; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

MOPOP in Seattle seeks an Associate Director, Curatorial to provide day-to-day leadership of the Curatorial Department and shape the museum's exhibition program. The role balances direct exhibition ownership with people leadership, long-range planning, and stewardship of consistent curatorial standards.

The position requires 8+ years in curatorial work, 3+ years of management, and strong collaboration across teams to deliver engaging exhibitions and stories for MOPOP's audiences.

Qualifications

• Minimum eight years of curatorial or exhibition development experience in museums or related cultural institutions.
• Experience leading large-scale exhibitions and complex initiatives.
• At least three years of managerial experience.
• Strong knowledge of exhibition development, interpretive planning, collections stewardship, and museum standards.
• Excellent organizational, communication, writing, presentation, leadership, and collaboration skills.
• Familiarity with traveling exhibitions, budgeting, grants, contracts, and institutional partnerships preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee MOPOP exhibitions (on-site and traveling) from concept through post-opening operations.
• Collaborate with Curatorial, Exhibition Design + Planning, Collections, Exhibition Fabrication, Video, Marketing, Advancement, Facilities, and other teams.
• Lead interpretive framing, storytelling, and visual aesthetics across exhibitions and digital platforms.
• Develop exhibition content across themes, didactic text, media narratives, and visitor experiences.
• Manage budgeting, vendor coordination, contracts, and traveling exhibition planning.
• Support long-range planning and institutional curatorial initiatives with the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer.
• Coordinate with related teams on exhibition calendars, rotations, and gallery refreshes.
• Assist with installation, deinstallation, and post-opening stewardship as needed.
• Conduct oral history interviews and contribute to institutional storytelling related to exhibitions and collections.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and rigorous departmental culture.

Skills

Curatorial leadership

Exhibition development

Staff management

Museum standards

Communication

Tools

Collections management systems

Exhibition software

Digital interpretation platforms

Job description

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer, the Associate Director, Curatorial provides day-to-day leadership of MOPOP’s Curatorial Department and plays a key role in developing and delivering the museum’s exhibition program. The position leads major exhibitions and institutional initiatives while overseeing curatorial staff, departmental workflows, interpretive quality, scholarship, and cross-functional collaboration.

Serving as both a senior working curator and departmental leader, the Associate Director balances direct exhibition ownership with people leadership, mentorship, long-range planning, and stewardship of consistent curatorial and interpretive standards across MOPOP’s exhibition portfolio. Working within the strategic direction established by the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer, this role ensures the Curatorial team has the clarity, resources, collaboration, and leadership necessary to successfully deliver the museum’s exhibition and storytelling priorities.

This role works general business hours Monday through Friday, and does require some weekend and evening work to support MOPOP events. This role is hybrid eligible (up to 2 days remote). All MOPOP employees must reside full-time in the state of Washington.

Essential Job Duties (other duties as assigned)

Exhibition Development:

• Lead and support MOPOP exhibitions (on-site and traveling) from concept through post-opening operations


• Collaborate with Curatorial, Exhibition Design + Planning, Collections, Exhibition Fabrication, Video, Marketing, Advancement, Facilities, and other teams throughout exhibition development processes


• Lead or contribute to interpretive framing and storytelling, aesthetic direction, graphic approach, exhibition layout, interactive strategy, and media integration


• Develop exhibition content across various mediums including themes, concept materials, presentations, didactic text, digital interpretation, media narratives, and visitor-facing experiences within exhibition spaces and digital platforms


• Manage or contribute to exhibition-related budgeting, vendor coordination, contract review, and traveling exhibition planning


• Support long-range exhibition planning and institutional curatorial initiatives in collaboration with the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer


• Collaborate with Curatorial, Collections, Exhibition Design + Planning, and Exhibition Fabrication teams on the exhibition calendar, including long-term exhibition rotations, gallery refreshes, annual initiatives, and artifact swap planning


• Support exhibition installation, deinstallation, gallery continuity, and post-opening stewardship efforts as needed


• Conduct oral history interviews and support institutional storytelling initiatives related to exhibitions and collections

Department Leadership:

• Provide day-to-day leadership and management of the Curatorial Department, translating institutional and exhibition priorities into clear departmental goals, workplans, and expectations.


• Directly supervise Curators and additional Curatorial staff, including coaching, performance management, goal setting, mentorship, workload management, and professional development.


• Oversee allocation of curatorial assignments and exhibition leadership opportunities, balancing organizational priorities, staff capacity, development opportunities, and equitable distribution of work.


• Establish and maintain effective departmental workflows, communication practices, documentation, and knowledge sharing.


• Ensure consistent standards for curatorial scholarship, interpretive quality, accessibility, storytelling, and visitor experience across the exhibition portfolio.


• Foster an inclusive, accountable, collaborative, and intellectually rigorous departmental culture.


• Partner with the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer on departmental planning, staffing, resource needs, and long-range curatorial priorities.


• Represent Curatorial in cross-functional planning and strengthen partnerships with Curatorial, Exhibition Design + Planning, Collections, Exhibition Fabrication, , Video, Marketing, Advancement, Facilities, and other teams.


• Cultivate and maintain relationships with artists, scholars, lenders, donors, community partners, and peer institutions in support of exhibitions and institutional priorities

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:

• Minimum 8 (eight) years of curatorial or exhibition development experience in a museum or related cultural institution


• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale exhibitions and managing complex exhibition initiatives


• Minimum of three (3) years of managerial experience


• Strong knowledge of exhibition development, interpretive planning, collections stewardship, media integration and museum standards


• Excellent organizational, communication, writing, presentation, leadership, and collaboration skills


• Experience with traveling exhibitions, donor engagement, budgeting, grants, contracts, and institutional partnerships preferred


• Familiarity with collections management systems, exhibition software, and digital interpretation platforms preferred


• Commitment to anti-racism work and DEIA-centered curatorial practice


• Broad knowledge of popular culture, including music, film, fashion, gaming, fandom, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and social movements