JOB SUMMARY: The Exhibit Manager is a creative self-starter who demonstrates great enthusiasm and strong project management skills. They have a drive to succeed and will contribute to the growth of the museum and join a team of professionals dedicated to providing audiences with fun, engaging and educational experiences. The full-time Exhibit Manager is responsible for the overall success of all exhibits and contributes to the development of printed material for audiences of all ages. The Exhibit Manager will work closely with the staff, volunteers, and external partners to develop, plan, and execute successful exhibitions that align with the strategic and interpretive goals of the museum and best practices within the field.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM: Founded in 1952, the Yakima Valley Museum provides residents and visitors with impactful exhibits and programs that focus on central Washington’s unique cultural and natural history. The Museum is one of only three museums in Eastern Washington accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and with a 65,000 square foot facility, is one of the largest cultural history museums in the state. The Museum’s collection consists of over 48,000 objects, including an art collection of 1,400 works, and a large regional archive and library.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Exhibit Design and Development:
– With Executive Director, create and maintain an annual schedule for engaging and inclusive exhibitions that connect with the museum mission.
– Works with the Executive Director to develop and manage an exhibit budget.
– Collaborate with museum staff, appropriate external community partners, and/or guest curators to develop new exhibitions that align with interpretive and strategic goals of the museum.
– Lead the research and development of themes and content for exhibitions, ensuring accurate and inclusive historical and cultural information, aligning research to the interpretive goals and outcomes.
– Incorporate metrics for exhibit evaluation and contribute to the on-going evaluation of current exhibitions and proposed research topics.
– Lead the design of internal exhibition projects aligning to museum exhibition best practices and standards.
– Manage installation of all exhibition projects both external and internal.
– Communicate plans with outside vendors to ensure timelines are met.
– Leads the fabrication of internal exhibition projects, either developing in-house or communicating and organizing with outside contractors.
– Contributes to the development of public programming with other staff that align with interpretive goals of the museum.
Exhibit Maintenance:
– Maintain all permanent and temporary gallery spaces.
– Manage all installation, framing, and mount making either in-house or coordinating with outside contractors when needed.
– Collaborates with Curator of Collections and Facility Maintenance Coordinator to schedule large scale maintenance projects.
– Perform daily exhibit maintenance checks and exhibit cleaning schedules to ensure the safety and success of all exhibits prior to opening for visitors.
– Coordinates the repair any broken/worn exhibitions to ensure safety and functionality.
– Collaborates with Curator of Collections to ensure alignment with best practices when working with objects on exhibit.
– Maintain all interactive exhibits, coordinating with IT support when necessary.
– Collaborate with Facility Maintenance Coordinator on maintaining the workshop area, ensuring safety and regular maintenance of machinery.
Graphic Design:
– Design internal promotional material, including but not limited to: flyers, brochures, and rack cards.
– Collaborate with museum staff to design graphics for the lobby monitor, outside signage, educational worksheets and signage.

REQUIREMENTS:
– Working knowledge of museum exhibit best practices and standards.
– Working knowledge of hand and power tools for exhibit construction, installation, de-installation and maintenance.
– Interest in local and regional history, its context within American history, and other related disciplines.
– Sensitivity to diverse perspectives and ability to represent them in a respectful manner.
– Proven ability to work with tools and must demonstrate proper safety when using equipment.
– Strong customer service, communication, project management and organizational skills.
– Strong attention to detail and creativity.
– Ability to prioritize tasks and work under pressure to meet scheduled and unexpected deadlines.
– Ability to work as part of a team and collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders to reach common goals.
– This position requires frequently standing and lifting 25 pounds or more;
PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:
– At least 3 years in museum or gallery exhibition design, curation, collections, exhibit maintenance, or graphic design.
– Experience with Adobe products.

EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION:
This position is full-time, 40 hours a week, hourly position paid within the range of $26-$32 per hour based on skills and experience. This is 40 hours per week and includes health and dental insurance (paid at 90% for health insurance and 100% for dental), up to 3% match with museum retirement program, and paid time off and sick time which can be discussed during the interview process. While this position will mainly be a Monday-Friday position, there may be occasional evening and weekend work required.
Yakima Valley Museum is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. Diverse perspectives and experiences enhance the richness of our work and reflect our community. We expect that not all candidates will meet every criterion in this job description, and some candidates may decide not to apply if they do not meet every line in the description. We encourage you to apply anyway!
Yakima Valley Museum is an equal opportunity employer.
To apply: Send resume, cover letter, and example of work product that highlights the skills and experience you bring to this position to Liz Hobson at liz@ yvmuseum.org by August 30th, 2024.