The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (LPA) has been an essential provider of information, ideas, inspiration, and education for people worldwide for more than 50 years. LPA is a unique combination of scholarly research center and circulating public library housed in one building located on the campus of Lincoln Center, the world’s leading performing arts center. LPA is a public space for information sharing and collaborative creation. LPA collaborates with colleagues across the world to realize goals that will benefit not just the patrons of LPA, and NYPL, but its global constituency.

LPA is open 6 days a week and is visited yearly by more than 500,000. LPA has a robust lending library and provides free and open access to millions of physical items, archives, videos, and recordings found in its research collections. On average 95,000 people visit LPA’s exhibitions yearly, and over 28,000 people attend LPA’s free public programs. Each year the Library also hosts hundreds of students for exhibition tours, classes, and research orientations. The Library’s exhibitions and public programs are inspired by and highlight LPA’s unique collections.

The Library for the Performing Arts seeks an Associate Director for Exhibition and Public Program Administration to manage the logistics of free exhibitions and provide support for LPA’s public programs. The Associate Director plays a key role in the development and implementation of LPA’s vision and goals for public engagement. The Associate Director joins a senior management team dedicated to making LPA an exciting and vital cultural resource for arts enthusiasts and performing arts communities worldwide. Providing the driving force that will successfully showcase LPA’s collections, the Associate Director functions as chief project manager, research and plan exhibitions, provides support for the public programs managers, oversees exhibition finances and budgets, and fosters and manages partnerships with other museums and cultural institutions.

Principal Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Associate Director for Exhibition and Public Program Administration will be responsible for all aspects of planning, development and implementation of LPA’s exhibitions, public programs, and special events. The Associate Director:

• Creates and manages exhibition installation and de-installation schedules, including planning, coordinating, implementing, and supervising the installation and de-installation process and managing all exhibition related personnel
• Collaborates with Communications team to promote all programming and other LPA activities, including coordination of details relating to press events and exhibition receptions
• Partners with NYPL Development office to create fundraising strategies and pursue funding for exhibitions, auditorium and exhibition space enhancements, public and special programs, and the general growth of the Library’s exhibition and programming departments
• Cultivates and strengthens relationships with artists, critics, museum colleagues, and professional organizations to enhance LPA’s reputation within local, national, and international performing arts communities
• Supervises the exhibitions and public programs staff and guest curators to enhance the artistic and intellectual quality of LPA’s exhibitions and public programs
• Develops exhibition and program budgets, and monitors and maintains budget responsibility and efficiency for the department
• Coordinates loans, loan agreements, and fine art shipping for materials used in LPA exhibitions
  Manages the delivery and return of NYPL archival material used in LPA exhibitions to the Library’s research divisions

Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Direct supervision for 4 staff members in exhibitions and programming
• Oversight of temporary personnel, security, art handlers, operational personnel, and other site-specific technicalities

Key Competencies:

• Accountability and Professionalism
• Customer Service
• Collaboration and Teamwork
• Job-Specific Knowledge and Skills
• Leadership and Management
• Performance Management and Development

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in Art History, Fine Arts, Museum Studies, or related field
• 5+ years of curatorial, and/or museum management experience
• Minimum 5+ years of relevant experience managing complex exhibition programs, including financial analysis, insurance, strategic planning and budgets
• Experience with art handling, transportation, and knowledge of museum best practices
• Successfully demonstrated people management experience
• Strong interpersonal and written communications skills, including effective negotiation skills and diplomacy
• Effective collaboration skills and the ability to partner with internal and external stakeholders to accomplish department or project objectives
• High degree of organizational skill and ability to manage multiple projects in various stages of development
• Demonstrated initiative and the ability to execute an ambitious program of temporary exhibitions and events
• Exceptional judgment and discretion in handling confidential matters
• Proficient with Excel spreadsheets and databases systems, bookkeeping and accounting procedures

Preferred Qualifications:

• In-depth knowledge of one or more of the performing arts preferred

Work Environment:

Research Library, Office setting

Hours

• 35 Hour Work Week
• Evenings, Weekends and Extended Hours as Required
• Non Union