[Nhcoll-l] Job Posting: Executive Director, Harvard Museums of Science and Culture

[Ford, Linda]

Please direct any correspondence to:  harvardmuseums at spencerstuart.com<mailto:harvardmuseums at spencerstuart.com>

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POSITION AND CANDIDATE SPECIFICATION

HARVARD MUSEUMS OF SCIENCE AND CULTURE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Prepared by: Mary B. Gorman
Sally M. Sterling
Diane L. Carlyle

Assignment: 62483-001

Date: July 26, 2012

POSITION SPECIFICATION

Client Organization
Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) includes some of the world's premier collections in a great variety of disciplines, and the faculty and staff associated with those collections are widely recognized for their scholarship. Portions of these collections have been visible to the public for more than a century.

The Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with the faculty leaders of six museums1, announced in spring 2012 the establishment of a new consortium, the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture (HMSC), to focus on developing a strong, coordinated public face of these exceptional collections.

History
In the mid-1990s, faculty leaders associated with several of these institutions believed there would be significant advantages from increased cooperation across their public activities. This led to new alliances, one of which has in recent years shown itself to be especially effective: the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) as the public face of three parent museums: the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard University Herbaria, and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum. This collaboration centralized groups of staff for most public functions, including the development and installation of exhibits, educational programs for both K-12 students and teachers and members of the Harvard community, public lectures and programs, membership and annual fund programs, and the educational travel program. Museum administrative functions, such as visitor services, operations, the gift shop, finance, marketing, and function rentals are also centralized.

Faculty oversight and curation of individual collections with unified management of the HMNH public programs has been a successful model, yielding excellence in both the academic and public functions of the museum collections and building an important and visible public museum presence at Harvard.

Now, building upon this success, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has created a new consortium to manage and coordinate the public functions of all museums dedicated to
science and culture with the expectation that this combined entity will provide increased opportunities for collaboration and innovation that will engage Harvard students, the broader Harvard community, and the general public.

Position Summary
Reporting to the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and partnering with the Faculty
Executive Board2, the Executive Director has overall responsibility for the Harvard
Museums of Science and Culture. In close collaboration with the faculty leaders of the
parent museums and other key stakeholders, the Executive Director will establish and
implement a vision for the HMSC. He/she will be responsible for the public-facing
functions of the museums including exhibits, education, public programs, development,
and administration and operations of them. In addition, the Executive Director will
facilitate the learning opportunities available from engagement with the collections, the
research, and the faculty associated with the parent museums, and will work closely with
the faculty directors and curators of each of the museums to enable and encourage
access to their extensive collections and research by Harvard undergraduates, graduate
students and faculty members as well as with local schools and the general public.

Key Relationships
Reports to:      Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Executive Board

Direct reports: Administrative Director
Director of Exhibits
Director of Education
Director of Public Programs
Director of Travel Programs
Assistant Director of Development

Other key relationships:
Directors of the Parent Museums
Curators of the Parent Museums
Harvard Faculty
Directors of other, non-FAS museums at Harvard
Administrative leaders at Harvard and FAS

Primary areas of oversight include: exhibition planning and implementation; K-12 student and teacher programs; public programs, lectures and events; public visitation for each museum within the consortium; development; travel programs; visitor services; community outreach; operations, including facilities; and internal and external communications.

CANDIDATE SPECIFICATION: KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

Ideal Experience
The Executive Director will be a visionary, collaborative leader who has had a positive,
sustained effect in a complex environment. Combining a strong engagement with science
and culture with experience as a museum professional, the candidate will have a track
record of partnering with colleagues to define and implement a vision for innovative
programs and exhibits. The person will have experience developing and communicating
the excitement and energy of a creative enterprise, and will have experience working with
multiple invested stakeholders.

The Executive Director will bring solid management and communication skills, as well as  experience with strategic planning, budgeting, fundraising and human resources in an environment with multiple constituents. The person will have demonstrated effectiveness in building relationships at all levels of an organization, in nurturing a service orientation, and in gaining trusted advisor status within a museum or the academy. The person will be a seasoned manager with experience recruiting, developing, and retaining a high performing workforce with a focus on building diversity and instilling values related to equity and inclusion. The successful candidate will also demonstrate the ability to build and maintain effective external relationships with alumni, current individual donors, foundations, and other potential supporters of HMSC.

Critical Competencies for Success

Visionary Leadership
The Executive Director will, in partnership with the faculty leadership of the parent museums and the FAS more broadly, chart an ambitious course for this newly merged museum consortium and lead its implementation. Working with faculty directors, the Executive Director will lead an iterative process to develop a vision for the HMSC that will build upon the preeminent collections and will encourage innovative initiatives in exhibitions and programming. The forward-thinking Executive Director will engage with the faculty and curators in exploring creative opportunities to leverage the collections of the parent museums and the intellectual capital of the Harvard faculty, staff and students. In developing this vision, the HMSC Executive Director will be a catalyst in the discussion of how to engage multiple constituencies in the museums, including Harvard undergraduate and graduate students, Harvard faculty, K-12 teachers and students, and the general public. The new Executive Director will be a compelling spokesperson for the HMSC, communicating the vision of the new entity, raising excitement, and cultivating new friends and donors.

Relationship Building
As the leader of a consortium that oversees the public functions of these key museums within a major research university, the Executive Director will develop strong relationships with the faculty leadership and staff of the parent museums, the faculty and administration of Harvard and FAS, and other critical stakeholders. The leader should be able to interact effectively with people at all levels throughout the HMSC and Harvard University and should achieve trusted adviser status with the Faculty Executive Board and the Dean of FAS. During the development of this new entity, the Executive Director will build connections among the parent museums in a manner that engenders trust and confidence. The Executive Director will encourage a culture of collaboration and teamwork where colleagues within the HMSC and its parent museums share
perspectives, imagine bold opportunities, solve problems, and celebrate successes.

Organizational Capacity Building
In a newly merged organization with aspirations, the Executive Director will oversee the administration, operations, and outreach of the HMSC with the goal of creating a high performing organization committed to continuous improvement. With the active involvement of the leaders of the parent museums and the FAS administration, the HMSC Executive Director will guide the development and adoption of sound short and long-term financial and operating plans that support the goals of the strategic plan. The leader will model the importance of identifying creative solutions to issues that impact the consortium's performance, and will establish collaborative, transparent processes for prioritizing activities, allocating resources, and introducing changes. The staff at HMSC will understand the goals of the organization and their roles in fulfilling them; and all will appreciate the critical importance of providing a high level of service to all stakeholders of the institution. Finally, the Executive Director will work with the Dean, the consortium as well as the FAS Director of Development to develop and implement a fundraising strategy, and to steward donors and key stakeholders of the museums.

Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages individuals
of all backgrounds and cultures to consider this leadership position. The University's
commitment to inclusivity encompasses, but is not limited to, diversity in nationality,
ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability.
Nominations may be sent via email to harvardmuseums at spencerstuart.com<mailto:harvardmuseums at spencerstuart.com>.
1
The six museums include the Museum of Comparative Zoology*, the Harvard University
Herbaria*, and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum*, the Semitic Museum, the Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments. (*
indicates that public functions of these museums constitute the Harvard Museum of Natural History.)

2
The Faculty Executive Board includes the faculty leaders of the six parent museums.
Harvard Museums of Science and Culture


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