Employment Opportunity: Milton Historical Society

The Director is the chief administrator of the Milton Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) organization and reports to the Board of Trustees.  The Milton Historical Society is the social hub of a historic community of 2000 residents at the head of the Broadkill River in Milton, Delaware.   The Director is responsible for a wide range of administrative and programming activities to advance the society’s mission and will support the effort to complete an ambitious strategic plan.  During the next 5-10 years, the Milton Historical Society plans to expand its physical space creating a vital, attractive town center while preserving its high standard of dynamic programming, preservation, governance, and financial strength.

Responsibilities:

1.    Provide leadership in developing programs, projects and financial plans.

2.    Supervise the Visitor Services and Volunteer Coordinator and Administrative Asst. for Finance, oversee staff and volunteer training, and promote active participation by MHS members and volunteers to support the organization.

3.    Develop and maintain sound financial practices, work with the Finance Committee to prepare a budget and develop fundraising strategies to ensure adequate operating funds.

4.    Identify, prepare and submit grant applications to fund programs and needs and insure that all requirements of grants awarded to the Society are met in a timely and successful manner.

5.    Maintain official records and documents and ensure compliance with all pertinent regulations.

6.    Direct all activities involving research, documentation, collection and management of archival and society holdings and provide for safe, secure and environmentally appropriate storage of all items.

7.    Develop exhibits on and off site including collateral programs and activities that will enhance community participation.

8.    Oversee the maintenance of the Lydia B. Cannon Museum building and grounds.

9.    Inform the Board of Trustees of all conditions impacting the Society, prepare quarterly Board meeting agendas and minutes, and implement authorized plans and policies.

10.  Publicize MHS activities and accomplishments through the website, newsletters, press releases, online media and publications.

11.  Network with local, state, and regional historical and preservation groups to foster cooperative relationships.

12.  Interact in a positive manner with the community to foster trust, commitment and support for the MHS.

Qualifications:

1.    Possess an interest and passion for learning, preserving, and sharing the history of Milton and the Broadkill Hundred.

2.    Completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Museum Studies or a related area. 

Demonstration of training and experience in a museum setting.

3.     Exhibit strong interpersonal skills.

4.    Possess effective communication skills both verbal and written including public speaking.

5.    Demonstrate initiative, creativity and dedication.

6.    Demonstrate knowledge of conservation and preservation techniques.

7.    Demonstrate computer operation skills and experience required to manage the museum collection and analyze and share records and inventories. (Knowledge of Past Perfect software preferred.)

8.    Demonstrate ability to produce publications and utilize and implement web resources.

9.    Availability to supervise evening and weekend programs and events.  Scheduled events sponsored or supported by the Society, including those held in the evening and on weekends, can cause the time commitment required by this position to vary.  

The work schedule requires a minimum 4-day work week of 30 – 35 hours per week.  Hours are flexible; however some weekend and evening hours are required.  Interested individuals should email a cover letter, résumé, salary requirements and a list of three references to info@historicmilton.org by March 1, 2013.  

 

SMA Conference: Evil Nemesis or Grand Alliance: Exploring the Effect of Volunteers on Emerging Museum Professionals

This is my third year attending the SMA conference, and my first as a speaker.  During this time, I have transitioned from student to museum professional.  This experience raised in my mind many questions about the value of history education in the job market and the devaluation of the work of professional historians.  Positions once considered ideal for a newly minted historian are now highly competitive and graduates find themselves competing against colleagues with years more education and experience for entry level positions.  Many of these new professionals opt to volunteer at local institutions in the meanwhile, gaining work experience and waiting out the recession.  For some, this strategy ultimately secures them a paid position within the institution.  But what about the rest?  By willing to work for no pay, are new professionals doing themselves a disservice?  Are they unintentionally devaluing the years of training and expense spent to earn the title of historian?  

Small museums thrive on the time and work of dedicated volunteers or docents.  Without the efforts of those individuals vital programming, events, education, and outreach would never be accomplished.  Clearly, volunteers are a valuable asset to the small museum.  And so a catch-22 emerges.  How can we, as museum professionals, make the best use of our volunteers without writing ourselves out of a job?  What role do volunteers play at your museum?  My session will explore these questions and more in an attempt to ferret out how to achieve the fine balance necessary for a successful museum professional/ volunteer relationship.

-- Colleen Walter

Employment Opportunity: Carlyle House

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ASSISTANT 
Carlyle House Historic Park
Old Town Alexandria, Virginia 

Carlyle House is seeking a dynamic, proactive, creative, hands-on collaborator with a strong historical interest to assist with an expanding educational program.  An AAM accredited historic house museum dedicated to interpreting colonial Alexandria and the life of first owner John Carlyle (1720-1780), Carlyle House is owned and operated by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 

The Education and Outreach Assistant: 
• Promotes, schedules and teaches school and scout programs
• Promotes and schedules group tours
• Works with staff to plan and promote educational and interpretive programs, including school and scout programs, school outreach, public lectures, concerts, family and youth programs, and adult enrichment
• Works with a team to recruit, train, evaluate, schedule and supervise volunteer docents and museum teachers.  
• Plans enrichment programs and trips for volunteers
• Assists the Historic Site Administrator and Historic Site Specialist with all aspects of museum operations
• Works independently and as part of a team, with regular evening and weekend hours required 

Requirements:
Undergraduate degree in history or education required.  Concentration in museum studies or museum education or equivalent experience preferred.   Superb interpersonal skills to work with diverse patrons, public, children, volunteers and paid staff.   Solid speaking, writing, and organizational skills are crucial.  Must be versatile, energetic and people-oriented.  Knowledge of 18th-century history and decorative arts helpful.   Experience with small historic house museum preferred.  

The position is part-time at the rate of $16.89 per hour for 32 hours a week and 50 weeks a year.  Additional hours will be made available under a grant from the Friends of Carlyle House to plan and run a summer camp in July 2013. 

Send resume and cover letter to:
Sarah Coster, Historic Site Administrator            
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority            
e-mail: carlyle@nvrpa.org            
fax: 703-549-5738

Employment Opportunity: Lock House Museum

 The Susquehanna Museum of Havre de Grace at the Lock House is searching for an Executive Director (20 hours per week) and a Curator (10 hours per week). Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply for both positions, if interested in filling both.

The Lock House was completed in 1840 at the southern terminus of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal and served as the Toll Collector’s office and the Lock Tender’s residence until the canal ceased operations in 1900. Currently, the Lock House serves as a Museum that tells the story of the      S & T Canal and depicts the prominent role the city of Havre de Grace played in the history of our country.

The Executive Director position requires a Bachelor’s Degree in a related field (Master’s preferred) with 3 years of demonstrated success in leadership, fundraising, partnership development and financial management. The successful candidate must have strong written and oral communication skills; solid project management, marketing and fundraising experience; as well as problem solving and critical thinking skills.

The Curator must have a Bachelor’s degree in a related field and 3 years successful experience in handling artifacts and creating and maintaining exhibits. The successful candidate will be able to create innovative and stimulating exhibits, develop a plan to add to the Museum’s artifacts, help develop educational programs, and continue an ongoing effort to organize, catalogue and document the existing artifact collection.

Both positions include a broad set of responsibilities and community exposure that offer an extraordinary opportunity for professional and personal growth.

Additional information on the Susquehanna Museum and a complete description of both position available positions may be found on the Museum website at www.thelockhousemuseum.org.

Applications and resumes should be sent to Susquehanna Museum, PO 253, Havre de Grace, Md. 20178

SMA Conference: Suiting Up for Action: Developing a Super Strategic Plan

Rise and shine!  Join me for an eye-opening morning session (9:30 on Monday) that focuses on thinking through AND organizing your institution’s goals.  Strategic planning—creating a long-term roadmap for your organization—may seem like a daunting task, but will chart your course and prioritize objectives for both staff and board members. View a few examples of strategic plans and methods of creating them, including one for my organization, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. The session will help you to think about assembling your Strategic Plan “Dream Team”—the committee that helps to write the plan.

How much time will it take for your organization?  What will your final document look like?  Can you create a plan on a shoe-string budget? 

You may come up with the answers to these questions and have a few of your own to discuss during “Suiting Up For Action.”  I’m looking forward to SMA 2013 and a good talk over coffee—please join me for this information session, where I’ll give you access to some useful tools to begin your own Super Strategic Plan.

 

Ellen M. Owens
Executive Director
Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

SMA Keynote: Who’s Got Creative Superpowers? You Do!

When you read the word creative, do you imagine someone like the picture here?  Did you love art but at some point someone told you that you were no good at it?  Do you wish your small museum could really engage the community but feel hindered by a lack of money?  Do you think you’re creative but the other people in your organization are not?  Time to wake up those superpowers.

Over the past year, my colleague Rainey Tisdale and I have been working on a book about museums and creative practice.   We’re exploring what the research tells us about creative people and creative places and we’re trying out a host of tools that can help you put your creativity to work.

In my keynote address at the upcoming SMA conference I’ll be sharing some of our learning with you.  We’ve learned, no surprise, that creativity doesn’t happen when only one person talks, so don’t imagine that you’ll be able to sit quietly over your coffee.  I’ll be asking all of you to join me in some creative explorations.  After all, it’s an early morning talk entitled, “Wake Up Your Creative Superpowers.” Research has shown that creativity isn’t an innate quality, but rather it’s something we all can enhance—through practice.  If you want to get a head start on that creative practice, here’s a few quick tips before you arrive at the conference.

Look Around

Great ideas come from unexpected places.  Add one new source of information to your life, outside the usual.  Follow a European museum on Facebook;   listen to a science program if you’re an arts person;  or visit the zoo.

Look deeply at the things you see every day.  Spend thirty minutes sitting in your museum’s gallery or research library and just looking.  What does the space feel like?  What are people doing?  What does the place suggest to you?  What new ideas could you implement here?

Try It!

Creative innovations don’t come in that single flash of brilliance. Thomas Edison tested thousands and thousands of substances before he found the right one for an electric light filament.  That same persistence and willingness to keep moving despite failures characterizes any creative person or organization.   So go out today and prototype something;  anything.  Write a new label for a long-outdated permanent exhibit, put it up, and ask for visitor feedback.  Think up a new hands-on activity and try it out in your lobby or with incoming school groups.  Don’t like the results?  Revise and try again.

Collaborate

Ideas are built upon ideas—and often it’s people slightly outside the situation that have ideas worth sharing.  Walk down the hall and talk to another department about school groups or marketing.  Don’t have a department?  Talk to volunteers, or someone you know who’s in an entirely different business.

Get out those Art Supplies

You don’t have to be an artist with a canvas and palette to create.  Have a bin of art supplies--markers, Post-it notes, scissors, paper and tape—for use during meetings.  See what people create while talking through an issue.  The creative solution might be right there!

- Linda Norris

Image

William Merritt Chase by John Singer Sargent 1902, Wikepedia Commons

Reminder: Registration and Hotel Information for SMA 2013

2013 Annual Conference

Small Museum Association

Superheroes:
The Extraordinary Power
of Small Museums

February 17 - 19 / Ocean City, MD

To register online for this fantastic conference, follow this link: REGISTER ONLINE

To download a registration form to mail in, follow this link: MAIL-IN REGISTRATION

Check out the pre-conference program here.

Costs
Full registration = $160

Student registration = $135

Monday only = $115

Tuesday only = $60

Hotel
To reserve hotel rooms [remember to mention the SMA conference!]: Call 1-800-638-2100 or email them: info@clarionoc.com

Contact Us
Have questions for us? Contact SMA at information@smallmuseum.org.
You can also visit our website at www.smallmuseum.org. Like us at www.facebook.com/smallmuseumassociation.