Museum Operations Manager - Visitor Services & Programs

Ruchman and Associates, Inc.; New London (CT); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Ruchman and Associates, Inc. (RAI) seeks an experienced Program Manager to lead daily operations, workforce management, and service delivery for a high-visibility federal museum. The role covers visitor services, education programming, IT/AV support, and surge staffing.

The ideal candidate will oversee staffing plans, coordinate with government stakeholders, and ensure operational readiness, including safety and crowd-control measures during peak events.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in management, public administration, museum studies, business, or related field.
• 5–8 years of experience managing operations, programs, or staff in a museum, cultural institution, visitor-center, federal facility, or high-volume public attraction.
• Demonstrated experience supervising multi-disciplinary teams (visitor services, education, technical support).
• Proven ability to manage staffing schedules, shift coverage, and high-turnover roles.
• Strong background in quality assurance, risk management, and customer-facing operations.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Tier 1 (T1) / NACI Public Trust clearance.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to support occasional extended hours during peak events.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership, quality control, scheduling, and risk management for all museum support functions.
• Direct daily operations across Visitor Services, Education & Public Programming, and Technical/AV Support.
• Manage staffing plans, shift coverage, and performance for a year-round operating schedule.
• Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and training of baseline and surge personnel.
• Support new hire onboarding including Tier 1 NACI background check
• Maintain operational readiness and ensure rapid response to technical outages, exhibit issues, and visitor-flow challenges.
• Coordinate with USCG stakeholders, museum leadership, and contractor team members.
• Lead project phase in activities to achieve full operational capability.
• Monitor SLAs, produce performance reports, and implement corrective actions.
• Manage risk, safety stewardship, and crowd control strategies during peak visitor periods.
• Support event operations, VIP visits, and high-visibility public engagements.

Skills

Leadership

Staffing planning

Risk management

Quality assurance

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in management/public administration/museum studies/business

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

IT/AV exhibit systems

Job description

Ruchman and Associates, Inc. (RAI) seeks an experienced Program Manager to lead daily operations, workforce management, and service delivery for a high-visibility federal museum. The role covers visitor services, education programming, IT/AV support, and surge staffing.

The ideal candidate will oversee staffing plans, coordinate with government stakeholders, and ensure operational readiness, including safety and crowd-control measures during peak events.