Living History Program Lead – Associate Curator

High Desert Museum; Bend (OR); Hybrid; USD 56,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

The High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon seeks an Associate Curator of Living History to lead the Living History program and develop immersive content tied to regional history.

Responsibilities include managing staff and volunteers, maintaining artifacts and period structures, planning ticketed programs, and collaborating with the Education & Engagement team to highlight under-told histories, while aligning with museum goals and standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in history, anthropology, museum studies, education, or related field.
• 4 years of experience leading interpretive programs or educational outreach.
• 2 years of experience managing a team of full-time, part-time, and seasonal staff as well as interpretive volunteers.

Responsibilities

• Manage the daily operation of the Living History program.
• Maintain artifacts, historic furnishings, and period buildings associated with experiential engagement.
• Oversee the daily operations of Living History sites including maintenance/upkeep of High Desert Ranch period structures and garden.
• Manage living history interpretive team members including training, scheduling, and program activation in accordance with SOPs.
• Recruit, train, manage and schedule Living History volunteers.
• Supervise, train, evaluate and assist volunteers in delivering Living History interpretive presentations and informal experiences for audiences of all ages.
• Manage the Living History budget including planning, tracking, and coding.
• Collaborate with the Director of Education & Engagement to research, plan, develop and implement Living History interpretive programs.
• Collaborate with Education & Engagement Team to highlight under-told histories of the High Desert.
• Plan and implement ticketed and revenue generating programming utilizing the developed Living History interpretive strategy.
• Develop and maintain written SOPs inclusive of overarching daily operations and differentiated programming.
• Work cross-departmentally to ensure programming success.
• Support after-hours and special event programming.

Skills

Oral communication

Written communication

Organizational skills

Interpretive programming

Team management

Volunteer management

Independent work

Cross-department collaboration

Flexibility

Weekend availability

Education

Bachelor’s degree

NAI interpretation certificate preferred

Job description

The High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon seeks an Associate Curator of Living History to lead the Living History program and develop immersive content tied to regional history.

Responsibilities include managing staff and volunteers, maintaining artifacts and period structures, planning ticketed programs, and collaborating with the Education & Engagement team to highlight under-told histories, while aligning with museum goals and standards.