Chief Curator, Museums & Heritage Services
Toronto, ON
About the position:
Are you a visionary, capable of working collaboratively to shape the future of the City of Toronto's collections, curatorial and education programs to develop a knowledge centre at the Toronto History Museums? Are you willing to work with Torontonians to find and address the gaps in our collecting strategy, while being an ardent advocate for the existing collection at the 10 City-owned museums? The position of Chief Curator, Museums & Heritage Services in the Economic Development and Culture Division may be for you!
As a member of the Museum and Heritage Services senior leadership team, the Chief Curator works closely with the Director, Museum Site Leadership, Curatorial and Acquisition Committee, and various stakeholders, in bringing the Toronto History Museum's vision, mission and programming narrative to life, while reimagining its curatorial program.
What you'll do:
The City of Toronto's Art collection is a living experience and its presentations must be diverse and relevant to add value to the community. In the position of Chief Curator, you are the principal architect of that experience. Utilizing your expertise, you will direct the management of the City's fine art collection, and more than 150,000 objects, through the development and implementation of a collection management policy and procedures, development of strategies to enhance the collection, facilitating capital improvements to collection storage areas, and supporting initiatives to increase public access and diversify the collection. You will provide guidance and oversight into the collection spaces, including layout, design, planning, display and upkeep.
Working with the Director, Museum & Heritage Services, you'll set the direction, serve as content authority, and determine the master calendar for all exhibitions, ensuring a balance of scholarship and value for audiences in the community at large and the museums community.
Acting as a subject matter expert, you will have overall responsibility for the Education department, ensuring that the department enhances the visitor experience through curriculum, engages a diverse public, develops provocative programs and contributes to audience development. In this role, you will work cross-departmentally to implement a museum experience that incorporates the digital archives of the Museum, new technologies, and other visitor experience best practices, including the development and oversight into the scholarly content of publications for the museum.
Assuming all typical managerial responsibilities, you’ll supervise the day-to-day operations of assigned staff, ensuring effective teamwork, monitoring staff performance, promoting continuous learning and innovation, and establishing customer service excellence, as well as develop the annual budget, achieve revenue targets, and ensure that expenditures are controlled within approved budget limitations. You’ll also serve as a key member of the sponsorship/fundraising team to develop support for the collection, and exhibitions, and lead the effort to build the collection through gifts and financial support.
What you'll need to succeed:
Among the strengths you bring to the role of Chief Curator will be the following key qualifications:
- Post-secondary degree in a related discipline, i.e. Art History, History, Museum Studies, etc., (Masters or PhD considered an asset) or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Extensive curatorial experience, including exhibitions, publications and acquisitions.
- Extensive experience with museum management, including long-term planning, project management, grant-making, budget formulation and policy development.
- Considerable experience with qualitative and quantitative research in a related field (Published research to be considered an asset).
Through this background, you have acquired an advanced knowledge of Museological standards, Code of Ethics, Conservation Policy, Collections Management Policy, Exhibition and Education Policy, Research, Publications, and Copyright Policy, Disaster Policy, Health and Safety Policy, Security Policy.
An excellent communicator with strong interpersonal and customer service skills, you’re adept at facilitating effective presentations and at working effectively with, and supporting, multiple stakeholders (e.g. donors, collectors, artists, gallery owners, curators and scholars). These skills will be complemented by your sound judgment and ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines in an environment with shifting priorities. In addition to this, you bring to the table highly developed research and writing skills.
Above all, you have the ability to act as an Ambassador for the City of Toronto, Museum & Heritage Services, and support the Toronto Public Service values to ensure a culture that champions equity, diversity and respectful workplaces.
Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture, and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information, visit jobs.toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/CityTOjobs, on LinkedIn at Linkedin.com/company/city-of-toronto or on Facebook at Facebook.com/CityTOjobs.
How to Apply:
For more information on this and other opportunities with the City of Toronto, visit us online at https://jobs.toronto.ca/jobsatcity/. To apply online, submit your resume, quoting Job ID 14610, by February 7, 2021.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The City is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve. Learn more about the City’s commitment to employment equity.
Accommodation
The City of Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs. Disability-related accommodation during the application process is available upon request. Learn more about the City’s Hiring Policies and Accommodation Process.
