Job location: University Museum

Employment Type: Full-time
Posted data: 2020-07-27
Req: JR00022031
University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Williams Director of the Penn Museum

Job Profile Title

Executive Director C

Job Description Summary

About the Penn Museum:

Established in 1887, the Penn Museum is home to one of the most important collections of artifacts and archaeological finds in the world. Each object, of the more than one million we steward in our collection, tells an irreplaceable and incredible story―from artifacts that reveal our first existence on earth to the only pharaonic palace in a museum collection outside of Egypt, and the largest ancient Sphinx you can see in the western hemisphere, who, through a major recent renovation, now welcomes visitors in our Main Entrance.

Our journey as an institution began with the first American excavation in the Middle East—a groundbreaking undertaking in the history of archaeological research—of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Nippur. Since that time, our work as an active research institution, through over 300 field excavations or anthropological research projects around the world, has been a defining pillar of our mission and a key differentiator for the Museum on a global scale. This work is continued today by 22 curators, 5 teaching specialists, and over 150 affiliated
consulting scholars.

A majority of the objects we house come from these field excavations and research projects, and are organized in eleven curatorial sections. These include both archaeological collections and 120,000 ethnographic objects documenting and meaningful to the peoples of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Stewardship of this collection is an important part of our mission; in some instances collection stewardship engages tribal nations and source community stakeholders. Housed in 40 storerooms within the Museum and offsite, these vast and
varied collections are in active service to the University of Pennsylvania community, and to researchers and borrowing institutions nationally and internationally.

The excavation and research project records are held in our Museum Archives and used extensively by our curators and interpretive planners to provide truly insightful and compelling context to our galleries, where visitors can travel the entire globe in a day―from Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Mediterranean, to the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the pyramids of early Mexico and all the way up to the lives of Native American communities today.

We welcome over 180,000 annual visitors each year, drawn to our exhibitions, galleries, and extensive range of public programs from throughout the Greater Philadelphia region and Northeast Corridor, as well as national and international visitors. Those who can’t make the trip in-person can explore through the Digital Penn Museum, where they can delve into our collections, and watch films and lectures: more than 400,000 objects in the collection have online records, and visitors from all over the world engage with our online program content,
with YouTube views regularly surpassing 1.5 million views per year, and over 3 million views in the current year.

Education is and always has been at the heart of our mission. An Academic Engagement Department established in 2013 to facilitate greater use by Penn faculty and students of its collections through object-based learning now serves over 5,000 Penn undergraduates and 150 classes each year in museum-based curricular activities. Academic Engagement Program offerings now include intensive classes, work-study opportunities, summer fieldwork support, senior capstone programs, social programming, and student-led docent tours. In fall 2014, a
year after the establishment of the Academic Engagement program, the Penn Museum, with Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, launched the Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials (CAAM). CAAM offers the facilities, materials, equipment, and expert personnel to teach and mentor Penn students in a range of scientific techniques crucial to archaeologists and other scholars as they seek to interpret the past in interdisciplinary contexts that link the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. Courses offered through CAAM, range
from undergraduate freshmen to graduate seminars; a minor in archaeological science is also offered.

Combining this Center with opportunities to work with extraordinary archaeological collections, and to participate in varied and stimulating excavation projects, is unique in North America, and has established Penn Museum as a leading archaeological teaching center in the world.

Beyond campus, the Penn Museum serves over 35,000 K-12 students onsite each year, including 6,000 Philadelphia Title I public school students through a unique partnership with the School District of Philadelphia in a multi-stage, gift and grant-funded middle school program, Unpacking the Past. The program offers students a unique, up-close experience with ancient civilizations, enhancing their learning through hands-on lessons aligned with the common core curriculum. Unpacking the Past encourages students’ curiosity and invites them
to return to the Museum for additional exploration by offering each one a free household membership for a full year. The Museum is also a leader in distance learning, offering remote classroom learning across North America and beyond.

The Penn Museum is in the final year of a comprehensive $102 million campaign, Building Transformation, part of Penn’s Power of Penn Campaign, concluding on June 30, 2021. “Building Transformation” works on more than one register: we are transforming our building through a game-changing renovation and reimagination process, including reinstallation of more than 44,000 square feet of gallery space, and by making our building fully accessible to everyone—families with strollers, people who need assistance in walking—for the very first
time. But we are also building into our institutional fabric a fundamental philosophical transformation, embracing a commitment to tackle barriers to equity for our entire community— our staff, our public, and our research and community partners—and rethinking how to activate gallery experiences with new kinds of programming.

This work is intended to add up to an entirely new Museum experience, that offers a very public welcome, and exciting, compelling entry points to our collection and the stories it has to tell. To make sure these changes penetrate the consciousness of the public, our campaign work includes a fundamental reintroduction of our Museum to the community, through branding and identity work and strategic planning in public programs, advancing our goal to become a destination that will attract and welcome new and more diverse audiences and
permanently change public perception of our Museum.

In November 2019, we celebrated the completion of the inaugural phase of the physical transformation, unveiling our new Penn Museum to the public, with more than 10,000 square feet of reimagined galleries and public spaces across our Museum’s Main level: We opened a new Sphinx Gallery, Mexico and Central America Gallery, and Africa Galleries. Along with the Middle East Galleries, opened in April 2018, and our long-term exhibition Native American Voices: The People – Here and Now which opened in 2014, all our Main Level galleries are bright, recently renovated spaces, follow leading practices in exhibition design and interpretive
standards, and include cases with localized climate control and screened light levels for rotating displays of textiles. We also unveiled a fully renovated and air-conditioned 615-seat Harrison Auditorium, new restrooms, elevators, and visitor lounges. Along with the physical changes, and through a major regional marketing campaign including television partnership, we launched a new brand, created to signal openness and welcome public visitors.

The phase of the Building Transformation now underway is the renovation of the Egyptian Wing, opened in 1927, which includes 15,000 square feet of galleries over two floors which will be reimagined and reinstalled with our exceptional collections from Egypt and Nubia, including the installation of the architectural elements of the Palace of Merenptah at soaring full height of over 23 feet. The storerooms on the lower floor will also be renovated and reinstalled with compact storage, study spaces, and a seminar room, allowing teaching directly amid the collections, and unparalleled access for visiting scholars. Also in development are a new gallery of Human Evolution, and a gallery of Ancient Israel and Its Neighbors, making connections across cultures from the southern Levant and eastern Mediterranean. A final phase of the Building Transformation will see new galleries of Asia, and the renovation of the Museum’s famed Rotunda.

The Penn Museum is a center of the University of Pennsylvania reporting to the University Provost and is advised by a Board of Overseers which operates under guidelines established by the University Trustees. The Museum’s Board of Overseers currently has twenty-five Active Members (of maximum thirty allowed by Trustee bylaws). Two Overseers are also University Trustees, including the Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Overseers. There are also five Ex-Officio Members who are University and volunteer group representatives, including the Museum’s own Williams Director, the University of Pennsylvania President and Provost, and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Finally, there are three Emeriti Members (a maximum of three allowed by Trustee bylaws); two are also University Trustees Emeriti.

In line with the University of Pennsylvania’s Responsibility Center Management model, the Museum is responsible for managing its direct revenue and expenses and must plan for and achieve a balanced operating budget every fiscal year. Additionally, the Penn Museum has a five-year forecast that accounts for the building renovation and the temporary effects on various revenue streams as galleries are taken offline for renovations. This forecast ensures the Museum will continue to be in strong financial health, ready to offer strong programmatic activity to audiences during the renovation project. The Museum is funded through a variety of
sources, including investment income (managed with the University of Pennsylvania endowments); gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations; grants; subvention from the University of Pennsylvania; and earned revenue from admissions, catering and rental fees, artifact loan fees, traveling exhibitions fees, publications, and K-12 and public programs.

The Penn Museum respectfully acknowledges that it is situated on Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Unami Lenape.

Job Description

Reporting to the Provost of the University of Pennsylvania and working in partnership with the dedicated Board of Overseers, expert curators, a talented staff, and the faculty at the University, the Williams Director of the Penn Museum is responsible for providing vision and strategic leadership for the Museum, ensuring that it fulfills its mission as both an academic and public-facing institution, as well as overseeing its day-to-day operations. A steward of a vast collection of more than one million objects, the Williams Director will maintain the Museum’s momentum in supporting the University’s teaching and research mission while also engaging the public. The lead ambassador for the Penn Museum locally, nationally, and globally, the Williams Director will lead the fundraising campaign to complete its ambitious Building Transformation plan with new galleries of ancient Egypt, Nubia, Asia, and the physical renovation of the wings in which they sit. With a vision for how the Museum can leverage its strengths to deepen its engagement with students at the University of Pennsylvania, in the City of Philadelphia, and around the world, the Williams Director will develop and execute a new strategic plan. Finally, the Williams Director will be fluent in museum best practices, including current discussions regarding decolonization, and have an appreciation for and sophisticated understanding of material culture.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to:

Provost

Direct reports:

Executive Director of Advancement

Merle-Smith Director of Learning and Public Engagement

Director of Marketing and Communications

Chief Operating Officer Deputy Director, Chief Curator, Head of Collections and Research

Other key relationships:

Board of Overseers

Dean, Penn Arts & Sciences

Vice Provost and Director, Penn Libraries

Executive & Artistic Director, Annenberg Center

Director, ICA

Dean, Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Senior Vice President, Development and Alumni Relations

Civic leaders in Philadelphia

Leaders of other Philadelphia Museums

Association of Art Museum Directors

Alliance of American Museums

CANDIDATE PROFILE

The University of Pennsylvania is seeking a creative and inspirational individual to lead the Penn Museum at this transformational moment for the Museum and our world. A global citizen with a deep commitment to scholarship and education for all, the Williams Director will have a strong reputation for cutting-edge leadership in the museum field and demonstrate both a passion and track record of success in engaging a wide range of audiences. A great public communicator, he/she/they will be able to translate anthropological and archaeological research and collections to all audiences, instilling excitement, passion, and an appreciation for the relevance of the Penn Museum’s collection of material culture to our current society. The Williams Director will have a vision and interest in building local and international relationships that expand anthropological knowledge and share the future potential of the Penn Museum through partnership. The Williams Director will demonstrate a strong commitment to anti-racism and inclusion as evidenced by his/her/their track record in recruiting and developing a diverse staff, creating a culture that welcomes difference, and meaningful engagement with typically underrepresented and underserved audiences. He/she/they will also demonstrate the interest, empathy, understanding, cultural agility and courage to sensitively and creatively engage with issues raised by communities that contest the provenance of artifacts. With a commitment to the research agenda of the scholars that the Penn Museum supports, the successful candidate will work effectively with faculty and students at Penn. In addition to developing synergies with arts groups at Penn, the Williams Director will forge impactful partnerships across the city of Philadelphia and around the globe. A strategist, the Williams Director will balance the four-fold focus of the Museum – teaching, research, collections stewardship, and public engagement – while leading the institution through all of the political complexities of operating a museum in the 21st century. This is an opportunity to support world-class active research, further realize Penn’s gift to Philadelphia, and continue to create "the best classroom in Philadelphia" as well on the university campus and across the globe.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE

Museum Leadership

Experience at a managerial level in a museum with public-facing programs.

Subject Matter Expertise

A museum professional with expertise in a relevant subject including anthropology, archaeology, art history, history, and classics. Ph.D. in a relevant field.

External Stakeholder and Community Engagement

Has served as an ambassador for an organization that engages with a wide range of audiences, ideally including the general public, civic leaders, and scholars. Experience with international and indigenous repatriation is a plus.

Demonstrated Commitment to Equity, Anti-Racism and Inclusion

Demonstrated success fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace built on equitable policies and procedures. Has a track record of including and engaging historically underserved and underrepresented communities, a crucial part of the Penn Museum’s mission.

Proven Track Record of Fundraising

Has experience raising financial support from individual and institutional donors and adapting successfully to a changing philanthropic landscape.

Fiscal Acumen

Experience with managing budgets; has responsibility for prioritizing and allocating resources.

Experience Leveraging Technology

Embraces technology and can demonstrate utilizing technology to improve services, visitor experience and/or create content

CRITICAL LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES

Creative and Bold Organizational Leadership

Possessing unparalleled collections that are essential to the human story, the Penn Museum needs a bold, strategic and entrepreneurial leader to complete fundraising for and implementation of its ambitious Building Transformation plan, and launch discussions and planning for the next iteration of the Museum. The Williams Director will bring a sense of urgency, courage, and imagination in shaping and realizing opportunities to strengthen its academic and scholarly mission, make the Penn Museum welcoming to all the communities of Philadelphia and expand its reach across the nation and the globe. The leader will develop and execute an aspirational and achievable plan to fulfill this vision of an even more innovative and impactful institution.

Community Building and Community Engagement

With a talented team, bold-thinking Board, and engaged University administration, the Williams Director enters an eco-system where collaboration and partnership are essential to success. The next leader will embrace the opportunity to develop strong relationships within and beyond the Museum walls. Within the University of Pennsylvania, the Williams Director will develop authentic, trusted relationships with the faculty, students, and leaders of the institution, always seeking ways to support the intellectual and community life of the University. Externally, the Director will build partnerships, relationships, and joint efforts with the most impactful scholarly, educational, and community leaders across the globe, nation, and in the neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Known as a good listener, compelling speaker, and creative thinker, the Williams Director will connect with all stakeholders, spending time to understand their perspectives, and to communicate the Penn Museum’s goals. An inspiring speaker who will captivate audiences large and small, the successful candidate will build excitement and support for the vision of the Museum.

Collaborative Organizational Leadership

In a Museum that benefits from the support of the University, generous donors, and an exceptional team, the next Williams Director will bring strong executive skills, a strategic mindset, the highest level of integrity, and clearly-honed business acumen. Maintaining a healthy tension between pragmatism and bold ideas, the Williams Director will set ambitious plans and match resources with the articulated goals. Valuing transparency and collaboration, he/she/they will consult broadly, welcome debate, and then make the critical decisions. The successful candidate will mentor and support a strong administrative team; create a culture that attracts talented, diverse staff and volunteers; set clear expectations and hold people accountable for their performance. The Williams Director will embrace the opportunity to build upon a strong partnership with the University’s administration and the Board of Overseers.

OTHER PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

An exceptional listener and builder of authentic relationships

Conveys a sense of awe for the stories carried by unusual and rare objects

Global perspective

Flexible and undaunted by change

THE SEARCH PROCESS

The University of Pennsylvania has retained the executive search and leadership advisory firm Spencer Stuart to support it in the search for the next Williams Director of the Penn Museum. Qualified individuals who wish to submit their application materials should send a substantive letter of application that addresses the specifics of the position and a curriculum vitae to PennMuseum@SpencerStuart.com. If you wish to nominate a candidate for this position, please send an email message with supporting materials to PennMuseum@SpencerStuart.com.

The University of Pennsylvania is committed to providing fair and equitable consideration of all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, place of birth, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, or status as a member of the armed forces or veteran of the armed forces, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Provost's Center

Pay Range

$90,000.00 - $500,000.00

Affirmative Action Statement 
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements 
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.