Head of Collections

March 22, 2023

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Head of Collections Job Description

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College (CSFAC) welcomes applications for the full-time position of Head of Collections. The CSFAC Museum is committed to an ongoing process of making the items it stewards as accessible as possible to its diverse public. The Head of Collections plays an essential role in these efforts and is a senior member of the museum team charged with the functional care and stewardship of the collections held by the CSFAC. The Museum cares for approximately 17,000 works of art and material culture composed primarily of Native American (Pueblo, Plains, Plateau, and Great Basin cultures), Hispanic and Spanish Colonial, and 20th and 21st Century American art. Reporting to the Director of Visual Arts and Museum, the Head of Collections provides vision and leadership for the Collections department composed of an Assistant Collections Manager, Assistant Registrar, and interns.

Responsibilities

Lead long-range planning efforts and day-to-day activities relative to stewardship and care of the collections, including planning for and implementation of art storage efforts, collections management and preventative conservation strategies, movement of art objects, tracking of accessions and deaccessions, and collections inventory planning and execution. Creates work plans for collections care and stewardship; delegates appropriately; oversees and enforces accountability structures within department.
Leads Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) related compliance efforts including Tribal consultations and partnership development, liaising with NAGPRA consultants, distributing inventories, managing the Museum’s NAGPRA compliance tracker and related data, and facilitating repatriations when appropriate.
In partnership with the Museum Education Manager, facilitate collections-based academic engagement for Colorado College students and faculty. Participate in and provide support for other educational efforts; serves as department representative for public engagement/donor engagement; and partner with campus colleagues to share practices and resources across the Museum and Campus collections. • Guided by principles of critical cataloguing, develop the Museum’s approach to data management— database lexicon and structure, records mitigation, creating a user guide, and training staff. Develop these strategies in consultation with campus partners and visiting advisors including Tribal representatives and descendent community members relevant to the collection, and others as appropriate. Work with campus partners to ensure that this data is as accessible as possible to College constituencies and the Museum’s publics and partner with the Office of Information technology to continue to refine the digital archiving system for the FAC.
Ensures that the FAC’s policies and procedures that relate to its collections and loans to/from the FAC are consistent with current and evolving museum best practice and are upheld by all departments. Develops new policies where none exist in consultation with the museum and FAC leadership teams.
Act as liaison to the College’s office of insurance and risk management; determine and arrange adequate insurance for all museum objects, to include appropriate coverage during shipping; file liability and damage claims as necessary.
Supervise collections staff, interns, and volunteer program; provides oversight to contract conservators and registrars as needed. Work with Human Resources to post vacancies, recruit and hire, train, schedule and assign work, provide work direction and problem-solving assistance, set goals, review performance, update job descriptions, and oversee professional development and disciplinary actions.
Lead the Collections staff, particularly the Assistant Registrar to oversee agreements for outgoing and incoming loans, special exhibitions, or permanent installation of objects, including contractual arrangements, loan agreement forms, exhibition agreements, condition reports, facility reports, cataloging information, and other collections documents.
Lead the Collections staff, particularly the Assistant Collections Manager, in the proper inventorying, maintenance and documentation of all Museum objects and acquisitions.
Monitor and coordinate conservation of collections objects; process gifts and acquisitions and copyright and reproduction requests in a timely manner; with the support of the Collections team monitor all collections and exhibitions to appropriate environmental standards; implement a regular pest management program; train staff and others in proper art handling techniques.

Required Qualifications

Master’s degree in museum studies, art history, anthropology, or related field or equivalent experience to include a minimum of two years in a management or leadership capacity; knowledge of current policies and standards on collections care and management, and demonstrated experience with legal and ethical standards for museums, including fair use, copyright, provenance, and accessioning and deaccessioning processes, as well as insurance practices for fine arts; experience facilitating NAGPRA compliance; knowledge of archival storage and art handling best practices, as well as conservation assessment protocols and exhibitions organization; commitment to inclusive and collaborative collections care practices and proven ability to facilitate broad access to collections;. demonstrated skills at departmental budgeting, management, and supervision, and fostering teamwork and collaboration.

Excellent project management skills, including ability to plan and organize multiple projects, prioritize duties, meet deadlines, manage budgets, and work effectively both as part of a team and independently; excellent interpersonal and communication skills, collaborative and intellectually adventurous; good judgment and ability to handlevconfidential/sensitive information with discretion; ability to communicate effectively and develop positive relationships with people from different cultural backgrounds; desire and ability to work with a wide range of audiences and stakeholders; proficient with relevant computer software; ability to operate standard office equipment and use small hand tools. Physical requirements include ability to lift, carry, push/pull objects up to 50 pounds, including rare objects.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in College teaching; some knowledge in the areas of artwork and items in the Museum’s care; knowledge of museum theory and practices; knowledge of The Museum System database. Knowledge of, or a willingness to learn, Adobe Creative Suite and other related programs. For further information and details on how to apply please visit the Careers at Colorado College website at https://employment.coloradocollege.edu/postings/6697. The position will remain open until filled.

Annual salary range $58,392-78,829/year

Equality Statement

At Colorado College, we are dedicated to dismantling systemic and institutional discrimination. We embrace diversity and support a community where all individuals, without exception, feel valued, empowered, and treated equitably. Guided by the College’s Antiracism Plan, we work to foster an equitable and inclusive environment for all who teach, learn, work, and live in our community.

Colorado College is committed to equal opportunity for all employees and applicants in all aspects of the employment relationship—including (but not limited to) recruiting, hiring, promotions, compensation, benefits, and access to training—without regard to race, creed, color, caste, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity or gender expression, perceived gender, sexual preferences and sexual orientation), disability, marital status, veteran status, age, genetic information, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.

Accommodation Statement

The College values all persons and welcomes applicants with disabilities. The College will provide reasonable accommodations to otherwise qualified employees and applicants with disabilities, provided the reasonable accommodations do not pose an undue burden on the College. If you have a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation, including an accommodation during the application process, please contact the Office of Human Resources at (719) 389-6421 or HRdepartment@coloradocollege.edu.