Executive Director, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology (0422) #82247

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.

As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic and social value.

We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles, Principles of Community, and Strategic Plan.

At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups (staff organizations). Our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley.

Founded in 1901, the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley is dedicated to the study of human cultures across time and geography. Our mission is to steward an expansive, diverse, and internationally-renowned collection of objects to advance knowledge and understanding of cultural difference, creativity and innovation. As a university museum dedicated to research and teaching, we support scholarly inquiry, research, and engagement with communities, scholars, and the larger public.

Our internationally-known museum collection includes over three million objects from around the world, extensive documents, photographs and film recordings. Major collections include ancient Egyptian artifacts, Andean pottery and textiles, Etruscan artifacts, and ethnographic objects from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania.

The Hearst Museum upholds repatriation as a core institutional value and a vital part of its ethical stewardship responsibilities. The Museum holds a significant number of North American ancestors and cultural objects that are eligible for repatriation under NAGPRA, CalNAGPRA, and the UC Office of the President's Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation Policy. While formal repatriation activities are coordinated through UC Berkeley's NAGPRA Program within the Office of Government & Community Relations in the Office of the Chancellor, the Hearst Museum plays an active and ongoing role in supporting these efforts. The Museum works closely with the NAGPRA Program to coordinate, prioritize and facilitate resources and space to advance repatriation efforts, and to coordinate access to holdings for Native American communities under Duty of Care.

Position Description

The next Executive Director of the Museum will chart a strategic path that both acknowledges the Museum's colonial legacy and seeks opportunities for repair and healing. The executive director will continue to prioritize the partnership with the NAGPRA team while enhancing opportunities for research and teaching, expanding understanding of the collection, and working toward engagements with descendant communities and the broader public.

The Executive Director provides overall vision, leadership and management for the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Working closely with its council of faculty curators, the Museum's external Advisory Board, and with input from campus and community stakeholders and the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Executive Director is responsible for establishing and leading implementation of the overall strategic direction for the Museum, to ensure its sustainability and stability, and to develop and prioritize programming that supports the robust stewardship of, engagement with, and ethical use of its significant collections.

The Executive Director serves as an internal and external spokesperson for the Museum, fostering collaborations and encouraging study and engagement with the collections by a wide range of scholars, including descendant communities, and building relationships and opportunities for public and donor engagement. The Executive Director holds both leadership and management responsibility for the Museum, including supervision and direction of staff, overall stewardship of the collection, oversight of the physical resources of the Museum, and development/implementation of financial and fundraising plans to enable the Museum's priorities.

The First Review Date for this role will be early December. This position will be open until filled.

Strategic Leadership and Planning

• Provide overall vision and leadership for the Museum, ensuring the Museum's continued sustainability and impact as a research and educational institution in the Bay Area, nationally and internationally. Lead, consult, and contribute to conversations around museums and collections; synthesize and leverage these campus and national conversations into ideas and plans for the Museum moving forward. Serve as an effective advocate and spokesperson for the Museum on the campus, and in the community locally, nationally and internationally. Develop and maintain productive working relationships with UC faculty, administration and students, volunteers, donors and key community leaders and organizations.
• Develop and oversee implementation of a new strategic plan and direction for the Museum, in consultation with campus and community stakeholders and the Museum's advisory board and councils. Strategically guide the development of programs and activities in alignment with available resources. Pursue funding opportunities to experiment, and sustain successful programming. Align resources and staffing to support identified priorities.
• Serve the academic/museum mission by engaging with faculty to integrate the Museum into campus teaching and research initiatives; develop and oversee public programming and outreach strategies to increase the awareness of, and access to, the Museum's collections for campus and broader communities. Expand access to the collection for research and teaching; encourage projects that deepen the understanding and interpretation of the collection through physical and digital access.
• Establish short- and long-term priorities and oversee planning for all operations and administration of the Museum. Establish and communicate policies and procedures that affect the Museum and its community.

Financial and Team Resource Management & Fundraising

• Develop, manage and oversee the Museum's $1.6M annual budget. Strengthen the overall financial stability of the organization through planning, budgeting, financial management and cost-effective operations.
• Develop and lead a robust fundraising and grant-writing strategy to allow expansion of programming and support the sustainability, priorities, and goals of the Museum.
  Creatively identify and develop opportunities; collaborate with the Vice Chancellor for Research office, the campus development community and the Hearst Museum Advisory Board to raise funds for the Museum's ongoing work and special projects through extramural grant proposal writing and donor and foundation philanthropy.
• Hire, manage and develop staff through coaching, delegation, and mentorship. Address staffing gaps through filling of priority positions and clarification of realistic roles and scopes. Work with staff to rebuild and support a positive and collaborative team environment.
• Seek opportunities to improve and modernize facilities and infrastructure, including pursuing grant and philanthropic support, and expansion of digital access.

Stewardship of the Collection

• Ensure the development and preservation, robust access and stewardship, and ethical use of the Museum's extensive and complex collections. Creatively activate the collection to serve both its core purpose - advanced research and study - and its public-facing educational mission.
• Seek funding to support continuous conservation and preservation of objects and archives. Supervise the exhibition, lending, conservation, storage and other specific tasks associated with the collections of the Museum. Prioritize and renew the collections through limited donations and acquisition, and/or strategic deaccessioning as deemed necessary, in concert with long term strategic plans.
• Collaborate with UC Berkeley Government & Community Relations and the campus NAGPRA Program to ensure respectful and proper care of, and intentional and consistent support for repatriation of, Native American ancestors and cultural objects held in the Museum. Ensure regular and close communication and coordination of Museum and NAGPRA program activities, including loaning of space and staff resources. Consider opportunities for repatriation of cultural objects to other sovereign governments as appropriate; develop policies and practices to support respectful care and/or return.
• Ensure full compliance with national museum standards and UC policies regarding security, care and curation of all collections. Develop and oversee regular updates to Museum policies regarding collections management, disaster management, etc.
• As appropriate, seek to renew accreditation under the American Alliance of Museums (last re-accredited in 2018).

Community and Stakeholder Engagement

• Foster relationships with campus constituencies, descendant communities, and multiple partner organizations to increase visibility of, access to, and engagement with the Museum's collections and programs.
• Seek opportunities to partner with other campus/external museums and libraries, professional/trade organizations, local consulates and communities connected to cultures represented in the Museum, and others, to leverage connections and complementary collections and activities.
• Partner with the UC Berkeley Tribal Liaison, Native American Thriving Initiative and Native American communities to foster new relationships with the Museum, and explore collaborative programming. Support Native American community visits to the collection in keeping with Duty of Care.

• Pursue relationships with additional international descendant communities and sovereign entities as they express interest.

• Demonstrated experience in a leadership role within a university museum, research institution, or related cultural heritage organization. Proven success in strategically leading a museum or collection, preferably with a research focus.
• Proven ability to develop and implement strategic initiatives in a complex institutional environment. Experience building trust and leading through change.
• Experience building and/or managing organizations, including strategic planning and resource development. Ability to balance multiple perspectives and competing needs and priorities.
• Ability to lead and make sound decisions in a complex, dynamic and fast-moving environment. Strong ability and/or deep experience in engaging communities and incorporating feedback and relationships into strategies and programming.
• Demonstrated experience in staff management, supervision and leadership, including assessing, coaching, developing, managing, and mentoring professional and/or represented staff.
• Demonstrated people management and conflict resolution skills to effectively lead and motivate others.
• Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills; ability to build the confidence and trust of campus leadership, faculty, staff, and community members. Demonstrated interest and success in fostering partnerships and working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong communications skills; ability to represent the Museum internally and externally with multiple constituencies. Proven track record of earning trust and maintaining strong, collaborative relationships.
• Strong skills to be successful in donor cultivation, fundraising, and relationship-building. Knowledge of federal and state granting agencies and private foundations; track record of success in applying for grant funding.
• Knowledge of working in an academic environment, including the engagement of faculty and students in research and programming.
  Understanding of museum business operations, including budgeting, financial management, and marketing. Skills in budget and project management, problem-solving, flexibility, and process improvement.
• Knowledge of priorities, policies, and structures typical of university museums.
• Expert knowledge of, and substantial experience in standard curatorial practices and current trends. Understanding of the principles of conservation / preservation. Knowledge of norms for selection, evaluation, and exhibition of objects in a cultural institution.
• Experience formulating, implementing and evaluating outcomes of long-term strategies for collections management, curatorial initiatives, and/or public engagement to ensure sustainable growth, relevance, and impact.
• Familiarity with ethical and legal standards, and international conventions pertaining to the acquisition, ownership, management and repatriation of ethnographic and archaeological collections. Understanding of current regulations and expectations relating to repatriation under the Federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and California CalNAGPRA.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and awareness of institutional dynamics; ability to engage with and influence a wide range of audiences. Skilled in navigating sensitive conversations and balancing competing interests with diplomacy and professionalism.
• Advanced degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training

• PhD in a relevant field
• Background or experience in the humanities and social sciences, including Museum Studies, Area Studies, Anthropology, Classics, Ethnic Studies, History of Art, etc.
• Background or experience in object-based public education and research.
• Deep experience working with and in descendant communities.

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is high 100's.

The full classification range for this role is $138,200.00 to $271,200.00.

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.