Director, Museum Outreach and Engagement

International Arts & Artists; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

International Arts & Artists (IA&A), a nonprofit cultural diplomacy organization based in Washington, DC, seeks an experienced, results-driven Director of Museum Outreach and Engagement to lead the marketing, sales, and delivery of IA&A’s portfolio of traveling exhibitions.

The Director manages a professional team that places exhibitions in museums and cultural institutions across the United States and internationally, implementing those tours to the highest professional standards, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years professional experience in exhibition development or tour management.
• Experience in relationship-based earned revenue environments or direct marketing.
• Extensive national and international network in the field.
• Knowledge of art history and diverse media; specialization preferred.
• Experience with touring or inbound traveling exhibitions.
• Strong leadership and mentoring abilities.
• Budget management and contract negotiations experience.
• Experience with CRM systems (Monday.com preferred).
• Excellent written and verbal communication and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Cultivate and maintain long-term partnerships with museum directors, curators, registrars, and exhibition planners to secure exhibition presentations and identify new opportunities.
• Drive revenue by prospecting, negotiating, and closing bookings for IA&A’s traveling exhibition portfolio with museums and cultural institutions.
• Direct the full scope of tour marketing collateral — IA&A website, e-communications, media and social media, and targeted outreach to collaborators — working with the graphic designer and project management staff to ensure a high-visibility profile and strong booking rate for every tour.
• Oversee all elements required to bring an exhibition to market and keep it on the road — checklists, budgets, participation fees, condition and courier requirements, and tour logistics before, during, and after installation at each venue — ensuring every tour meets museum best practices and supports the strategic goals of both lenders and venues.
• Develop, track, and attain the annual divisional budget and supervise the development and management of individual exhibition budgets; prepare and execute lender agreements, host museum contracts, loan agreements, and guest curator contracts, ensuring all are current, professionally presented, and executed in a timely manner.
• Leverage Monday.com and data-driven analytics to facilitate precise forecasting and the refinement of internal sales processes.
• Remain attuned to trends, challenges, and opportunities in the museum field, and work with senior leadership to diversify IA&A’s offerings, sustain market share, and grow earned revenue.
• Serve as a representative for IA&A at conferences, industry events, and meetings, demonstrating deep content knowledge and a commitment to the organization’s mission of cultural diplomacy.
• Support the VP of Exhibitions in leading and mentoring the traveling exhibitions team across registrarial, exhibition management, and marketing functions; set priorities and workflow, support professional development, conduct annual performance reviews, and ensure the team meets established divisional targets.

Skills

Relationship management

Revenue generation

Leadership

Marketing

CRM systems

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Monday.com

Job description

Job purpose

International Arts & Artists (IA&A), a nonprofit cultural diplomacy organization based in Washington, DC, seeks an experienced, results-driven Director of Museum Outreach and Engagement to lead the marketing, sales, and delivery of IA&A’s portfolio of traveling exhibitions.

The Director manages a professional team that places exhibitions in museums and cultural institutions across the United States and internationally, implementing those tours to the highest professional standards, and developing long-term relationships with our venue partners. The Director is accountable for annual divisional financial goals, ensures all aspects of IA&A’s tours meet museum best practices and maintains a high level of visibility across the field.

The position is well-suited to a professional who is comfortable cultivating institutional relationships while also leading a team through the marketing, registrarial, and logistical work of bringing exhibitions to nationwide communities.

Duties and responsibilities

• Museum and Venue Relationship Management: Cultivate and maintain long-term partnerships with museum directors, curators, registrars, and exhibition planners to secure exhibition presentations and identify new opportunities.
• Exhibition Placement: Drive revenue by prospecting, negotiating, and closing bookings for IA&A’s traveling exhibition portfolio with museums and cultural institutions.
• Marketing & Communications: Direct the full scope of tour marketing collateral — IA&A website, e-communications, media and social media, and targeted outreach to collaborators — working with the graphic designer and project management staff to ensure a high-visibility profile and strong booking rate for every tour.
• Tour Delivery & Museum Standards: Oversee all elements required to bring an exhibition to market and keep it on the road — checklists, budgets, participation fees, condition and courier requirements, and tour logistics before, during, and after installation at each venue — ensuring every tour meets museum best practices and supports the strategic goals of both lenders and venues.
• Budget & Contract Administration: Develop, track, and attain the annual divisional budget and supervise the development and management of individual exhibition budgets; prepare and execute lender agreements, host museum contracts, loan agreements, and guest curator contracts, ensuring all are current, professionally presented, and executed in a timely manner.
• CRM & Data Integrity: Leverage Monday.com and data-driven analytics to facilitate precise forecasting and the refinement of internal sales processes.
• Market Insight & Growth: Remain attuned to trends, challenges, and opportunities in the museum field, and work with senior leadership to diversify IA&A’s offerings, sustain market share, and grow earned revenue.
• Organizational Representation: Serve as a representative for IA&A at conferences, industry events, and meetings, demonstrating deep content knowledge and a commitment to the organization’s mission of cultural diplomacy.
• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Support the VP of Exhibitions in leading and mentoring the traveling exhibitions team across registrarial, exhibition management, and marketing functions; set priorities and workflow, support professional development, conduct annual performance reviews, and ensure the team meets established divisional targets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of professional experience; 5+ years of relevant experience spanning exhibition development or tour management and revenue-generating work in a museum, gallery, or cultural organization, including supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated success in relationship-based earned revenue environments, or direct marketing.
• An extensive network nationally and internationally, paired with genuine interest in seeking new ideas from new sources.
• Broad general knowledge of art historical periods, artists, and diverse media; an area of specialization preferred.
• Knowledge of trends and challenges in the museum field and museum best practices.
• Comprehensive knowledge of, and experience developing and managing, exhibitions; experience with touring or in-bound traveling exhibitions strongly preferred.
• Supervisory and departmental leadership experience, with the ability to bring out the best in staff through effective leadership and mentorship, and a desire to build a cooperative and enthusiastic team.
• Budget management expertise and comfort with service, cost, and contract negotiations.
• Experience with CRM systems (Monday.com preferred).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and problem-solving ability.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines, supervise team deliverables, handle critical issues on short notice, and make timely decisions.
• High ethical standards in all activities, and the ability to maintain a sense of humor and a positive attitude when faced with conflicts and challenges.
• Interest in and enthusiasm for the visual arts and the museum field, and a desire to be part of a small, entrepreneurial nonprofit with a strong commitment to its mission.

Compensation

The starting salary range for this position is $75,000–$85,000 per year depending upon experience. This position is eligible for commission. IA&A also provides a comprehensive benefits package that includes health insurance (medical/dental/vision), retirement plan with an employer match (401k), paid time off (vacation/sick/holiday), cultural memberships (museums/theaters), and transit benefits.

Working conditions

International Arts & Artists is located in the historic Dupont Circle neighborhood in Washington, DC. This is a hybrid position. The incumbent is expected to work in the Washington, DC headquarters on a regular basis, with an in-office presence at least 3–4 days a week. Travel is approximately 15–20%, and occasional evening and weekend obligations will be expected.

Physical requirements

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work.

Direct reports

• Registrar(s)
• Exhibition Project Manager(s)
• Exhibition Marketing and Sales staff (2–3)