Website Tennessee State Museum
The Manager of Exhibitions and Publications will oversee all administrative aspects of the planning and implementation of museum exhibitions, obtaining and tracking rights and reproduction information, exhibition and collection publications. The ideal candidate will understand rights and reproductions and exhibit management, be highly organized and motivated, have exceptional project management, budget oversight, communication, and interpersonal skills, and be dedicated to continuing and enhancing the excellence of an institution with a deep commitment to history. This position will work under the supervision of the Director of Operations and collaborate closely with other operational staff, communications staff, curatorial staff, registration staff, and all other museum departments. This position will supervise all Exhibitions and Publications staff, currently 2 positions.
Responsibilities
Staff Management and Internal Communications
• Manage and oversee exhibitions and publications staff, vendors, and independent contractors.
• Serve as liaison across all Museum departments for all exhibition and collection publication projects.
• Create, circulate, and update organizational timelines, procedures, and guidelines for publications and exhibitions, lead bi-weekly exhibition department meetings and monthly interdepartmental meetings on upcoming exhibitions and related projects.
Budget Management
• Assist the Director of Operations in developing and managing project and fiscal year budgets for the exhibitions and publications department.
• Review and submit invoices for payments to contributors, suppliers, and vendors in a timely manner.
• Develop and generate budget reports and projections for the Director of Operations monthly and as needed for other administrators.
• Prepare budget reports and expense summaries on exhibitions and publications for grant reporting if applicable.
• Assist in any grant applications or fundraising efforts for exhibits and publications as needed with Director’s Office.
Exhibition and Publications Project Management
• Develop and track production timelines for all aspects of exhibition and publication planning, development and implementation in collaboration with department staff, curators, communications, and Director of Operations.
• Use Basecamp and/or other identified systems to internally track, assign and monitor deadlines to ensure projects are completed in a timely and successful manner.
• Develop and review various agreements, exhibition contracts with partner organizations, publication contracts, and contracts with independent contractors and other vendors related to exhibition and publication projects providing feedback to leadership as needed.
• Secure rights and reproductions for images and audiovisual materials related to exhibition and publication projects and track proper use of captions and lender information.
• Secure image rights for use in publications, exhibitions, website, public relations and marketing use, as well as retail endeavors for the agency.
• Assist Collections staff as needed to secure blanket permissions or non-exclusive contracts for new acquisitions when possible.
• Monitor all contracts to ensure obligations are met in a timely manner.
• Develop and maintain and follow exhibition and publication procedures, and update, revise and maintain exhibit and publication guidelines in conjunction with communications department.
• Draft, maintain and distribute exhibition and publication checklists for internal and external use.
• Facilitate process for exhibition and/or gallery related leaflets, guides, etc. in conjunction with communications and curatorial departments.
• Develop and maintain yearly exhibition calendars in collaboration with the Executive Director, Director of Operations, curators and exhibitions department staff.
• Coordinate and manage relationships with internal and external copyeditors and proofreaders for all exhibition- and publication-related copy and texts.
• Provide texts, images, captions and information on exhibition and publication projects to the communications and education departments for use in press releases, marketing, and educational materials.
• Coordinate installation photography of exhibitions and photography needs for special exhibition and publication projects in close collaboration with the communications, curators, and museum staff.
• Maintain and provide updated exhibition-related information in the Argus database as well as in hard copy files in collaboration with the registration department.
• Identify and liaise with co-publishers, printers, distributors, authors, designers, artists on publication projects.
• Compile front and back matter for publications, including acknowledgments, table of contents, bibliography, notes, copyright page, and index as needed.
• Create and manage distribution list for publications, distribute catalogues internally, and send catalogues to lenders, writers, and other contacts.
• Create, maintain, and archive project files for publications and exhibitions.
• Develop and document best practices to protect the museum from liability and maintain expertise in copyright law.
• Coordinate, track, and execute incoming image requests with appropriate internal stakeholders.
Requirements
QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
• Attention to detail and excellent organizational, project management, research, writing, and editing skills.
• A thorough understanding of intellectual property law, including “fair use” and similar copyright issues, is required.
• Basic understanding of digital imaging standards and formats
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and prioritize multiple projects with competing deadlines.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software, in particular Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
• B.A in History, Museum Studies, Art History, Non-Profit Administration, or equivalent.
• At least 3 years of experience with exhibitions, publications, project management, and/or staff management in a museum context preferred.
• At least 2 years of experience in a rights acquisition position preferably within a museum, cultural institution, or image archive.
*This position will not oversee any marketing or communications related publications.