Museum Preparator/Designer

City-of-Montgomery,-Al; Montgomery (AL); On-site; USD 42,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Paid annual leave

Paid sick leave

Holidays

Job summary

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) seeks a skilled art care professional to manage the care, safety, and maintenance of artworks inside and outside the museum in Blount Cultural Park.

The role involves coordinating installations, preparing works for exhibition, and maintaining sculpture lighting, landscaping, and related facilities. Requires significant carpentry and CAD/graphic design proficiency, with five years of relevant experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Museum Studies, Fine Arts, Studio Art, Art History, Graphic Design, Architecture, or related field with five years of art care experience.
• Experience handling, maintaining, and caring for artworks or artifacts, including carpentry, matting, and framing.
• Proficiency in graphic design software and CAD programs for exhibition graphics and layouts.

Responsibilities

• Care for artworks in exterior spaces, including sculpture garden and grounds, and coordinate installations and de-installations.
• Prepare artworks for exhibition by matting, framing, and other techniques; design and fabricate exhibition furniture and graphics.
• Move art for storage or display, prepare items for safe shipment, and supervise interior/exterior care and budgets.
• Report to the Senior Curator of Art and ensure compliance with museum policies.

Skills

Art handling

CAD

Graphic design

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Museum Studies / Fine Arts / Art History / Graphic Design

Tools

CAD software

Graphic design software

Job description

Salary Information

Compensation plans are based on a multi-step progression system. The pay range reflects the entry level and maximum salary potential in the assigned pay grade.
A starting salary may be negotiated and will be commensurate with education, training and experience in alignment with pay administration policies and Montgomery Personnel Board Rules & Regulations.

Nature of Work

The fundamental reason this classification exists is to manage the care, safety, and maintenance of the art and environments in the interior and exterior of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in the Blount Cultural Park.

• Responsibilities for artworks on Museum grounds include caring for exterior art, including the Caddell Sculpture Garden and the Terrace and Till Fountain, which includes the care of the bronze sculpture; scheduling and coordinating installations and de-installations; maintaining sculpture lighting; grounds-keeping for all surrounding areas; and maintaining landscaping elements and the pool.
• Responsibilities for artworks on Museum interiors include moving art in and out of storage, preparing art for exhibition by matting, framing, and other techniques, scheduling installations and de-installations of exhibitions, preparing art for safe shipment, designing and fabricating exhibition furniture and other customized systems, and installing, designing, and fabricating specific graphics and virtual exhibition designs.
• This position maintains inventories of equipment and materials, schedules services for recurring annual interior and external care, and budgets for necessary treatments and care of sculpture and grounds.
• This position is supervised by the Senior Curator of Art.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Museum Studies, Fine Arts (Visual Arts), Studio Art, Art History, Graphic Design, Architecture, or a closely related field, and five (5) years of experience in the handling, maintenance, and care of art or artifacts, to include fine carpentry work, matting, and framing, and the use of graphic design software and Computer-Assisted Design (CAD) programs in the creation of exhibition graphics, layouts, or related design elements.
NOTE: Qualifying education, training, and experience that provide the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job will be considered.

Special Requirements

Must possess a valid Alabama driver’s license as needed to pick up parts from local vendors and transport works of art.
May work overtime, weekends, and holidays. May require out-of-town and out-of-state overnight courier travel.

Kind of Examination

Applications are being accepted to fill one (1) vacancy and any vacancies that may occur during the life of the register. The current vacancy is with the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. Applicants will be screened and qualified based on the education and experience on the application. If more than five (5) qualified applications are received, the application will be used to rank applicants on the register. Tied scores will not be broken (in accordance with Personnel Rules and Regulations, Rule VII, Section 3). If there are five or less qualified applicants, they will be considered equally qualified and placed on the register in alphabetical order.

Additional Information

• BENEFITS: Employees are offered a competitive benefits package which includes health, dental, and life insurance, paid annual and sick leave, paid holidays, and a retirement program.
• DRUG TEST: Employment may be conditional upon the potential employee passing a pre-employment drug test. (The drug test may require the submission of a sample of hair, finger nails, and/or urine that will verify illegal drug use).
• BACKGROUND CHECK: Employment may be conditional upon the potential employee passing a background check. (Candidates will be asked to provide consent prior to the administration of background checks.)
• EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: Discrimination against any person in recruitment, examination, appointment, training, promotion, retention, discipline, or any other aspect of personnel administration because of political or religious opinions or affiliations or because of race, national origin, or any other non merit factors is prohibited. Discrimination on the basis of age, sex, or physical disability is prohibited except where specific age, sex, or physical requirements constitute a bona fide occupational qualification necessary to proper and efficient administration.
• REQUEST FOR ACCOMMODATION: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is the responsibility of the applicant with a disability to request accommodation which he/she requires in order to participate in the application or examination process. The Personnel Department reserves the right to require documentation of the need for accommodation under the ADA. In order to request accommodation in the application or testing process, contact the Personnel Director at [phone].
• I9: Prior to your employment, you will be required to provide to your employer documentation of your identity and employment eligibility in order to comply with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
• UPDATE OF CONTACT INFORMATION: It is your responsibility to update your contact information (address, phone, email) so that we can contact you about jobs. Please visit the Update Contact Information page to log in and update your contact information at any time.