Director of Programming and Community Engagement

Dubuque Museum of Art; Dubuque (IA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Dubuque Museum of Art (DuMA) seeks a Director of Programming & Community Engagement to lead a dynamic portfolio of educational experiences and public programs during its residency in the Millwork District and beyond as it prepares to open a new campus in 2028.

The Director will build a financially sustainable program mix, foster inclusive community engagement, and drive earned revenue while strengthening relationships with visitors, members, schools, families, artists, and donors.

Qualifications

• Strong candidates may come from museum, education, membership organizations, nonprofit leadership, or related fields.
• Experience managing educational, public, and member programs.
• Experience developing programs that attract and retain participants.
• Comfort managing budgets, pricing, earned revenue, and program economics.
• Strong community and relationship-building skills.
• Experience managing staff, volunteers, teaching artists, contractors, and collaborative teams.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and project-management skills.
• Sound judgment, adaptability, and reliable follow-through;
• Experience in an organization undergoing meaningful growth and change.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a profitable portfolio of annual programs that attract new audiences, bring the mission and exhibitions to life, drives urgency, and strengthens relationships with existing audiences.
• Develop and manage programs for children, families, educators, students, members, corporate members, and other audiences.
• Supervise, coach, and develop DuMA’s Volunteer Coordinator and other Learning & Engagement staff or contractors as assigned, and recommend future staffing needs.
• Within approved plans and budgets, build community partnerships and use evidence to guide program design, pricing, enrollment, and staffing to expand access, meet revenue targets, and determine which programs to grow, adapt, or discontinue.
• Collaborate with Advancement, Communications & Marketing, Curatorial & Collections, and Business Operations within clearly defined areas of ownership.
• Ensure programs reflect appropriate youth protection, participant safety, accessibility, privacy, and data-quality practices.
• Collaborate with Advancement to understand which programs drive membership revenue.
• Participate actively in DuMA’s leadership team and contribute to a workplace culture of trust, accountability, collaboration, clear communication, and reliable follow-through.

Skills

Education program management

Community engagement

Budget management

Staff leadership

Job description

The Dubuque Museum of Art (DuMA) seeks an ambitious and forward-thinking Director of Programming and Community Engagement as it prepares to open a new campus in 2028. DuMA seeks an organizational leader who combines strategic vision with creative energy—someone motivated by experimentation, thoughtful risk-taking, collaboration, and the opportunity to expand how an art museum serves its community. The Director is expected to pilot programs during the Museum’s residency at DuMA in the Millwork District that can be scaled when the new campus opens.

The Director will shape a dynamic, inclusive, and financially sustainable portfolio of educational experiences and public programs that amplifies the Museum’s mission, deepens community engagement, attracts participants, generates earned revenue, and cultivates lasting relationships with visitors, members, and donors.

The Role

The Director of Programming & Community Engagement reports directly to the Executive Director and is a member of DuMA’s leadership team. The Director is responsible for building a compelling, financially sustainable portfolio of learning, programming, and community-engagement experiences that:

• increases participation and repeat attendance;
• strengthens membership and audience development;
• generates earned revenue;
• deepens relationships with schools, families, artists, members, and community partners; and
• builds audiences and engagement leading into DuMA’s new campus.

This is both a strategic and hands-on role. The successful candidate will be an educator, relationship-builder, and collaborative leader who will understand what audiences value, manage program economics, create meaningful and memorable experiences, and lead work from idea through execution and evaluation.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a profitable portfolio of annual programs that both
  • helps attract new audiences, brings the mission and exhibitions to life, drives urgency; and
  • strengthens relationships with existing audiences by creating reasons for repeat visitation and deepened learning and engagement.
• Develop and manage programs for children, families, educators, students, members, corporate members, and other audiences.
• Supervise, coach, and develop DuMA’s Volunteer Coordinator and other Learning & Engagement staff or contractors as assigned, and recommend future staffing needs.
• Within approved plans and budgets, build community partnerships and use evidence to guide program design, pricing, enrollment, and staffing to expand access, meet revenue targets, and determine which programs to grow, adapt, or discontinue.
• Collaborate with Advancement, Communications & Marketing, Curatorial & Collections, and Business Operations within clearly defined areas of ownership.
• Ensure programs reflect appropriate youth protection, participant safety, accessibility, privacy, and data-quality practices.
• Collaborate with Advancement to understand which programs drive membership revenue.
• Participate actively in DuMA’s leadership team and contribute to a workplace culture of trust, accountability, collaboration, clear communication, and reliable follow-through.

What Success Looks Like

Success will be assessed against annually approved targets including:

• participation, repeat engagement, audience growth, membership growth, capacity utilization, and participant satisfaction;
• program revenue, contribution margin, access, and performance against approved financial objectives;
• learning outcomes and deeper member and community connection;
• strong, sustained school, artist, volunteer, and community partnerships;
• accurate reporting and evidence-based portfolio decisions;
• effective staff leadership and cross-departmental collaboration; and
• achievement of approved audience-building and opening-readiness milestones for the new museum campus.

Qualifications

Strong candidates may come from museum, education, membership organizations, nonprofit leadership, or related fields.

We are especially interested in candidates with:

• experience managing educational, public, and member programs;
• experience developing programs that attract and retain participants;
• comfort managing budgets, pricing, earned revenue, and program economics;
• strong community and relationship-building skills;
• experience managing staff, volunteers, teaching artists, contractors, and collaborative teams;
• excellent communication, organizational, and project-management skills;
• sound judgment, adaptability, and reliable follow-through; and
• experience in an organization undergoing meaningful growth and change.