Fine Art Museum Director

This is an exciting time in the history of the Middlebury College Museum of Art, as we look forward to opening a new, 35,000 sq. ft. museum at the center of campus. The museum is being designed by the architectural firm Allied Works and scheduled to open in 2029. In partnership with colleagues in and beyond the museum, the new director will shape the installation plan for the permanent galleries, craft a visionary roadmap for special exhibitions and programming, and establish the museum as a center for vibrant dialogue about the arts, democracy, and the common good.

The Director provides strategic, curatorial, and administrative leadership for the College’s art museum. The Director ensures the museum fulfills its mission as a teaching museum central to the liberal arts curriculum while serving as a regional and national leader in the arts. The Director is responsible for managing the collection, securing funds through grants and donor relations, fiscal management, and integrating the museum into the intellectual and cultural life of the College.

This is a full-time, benefits eligible, salaried position with a hiring range of $127,000 - $162,000 per year.

Core Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Establish and implement a vision for the museum’s collection, exhibitions and educational programs that support the College’s mission and enhance national visibility.
• Curatorial and Collection Management: Oversee the care, preservation, acquisition and deaccessioning of the collection, serving as the curatorial authority for the college’s holdings.
• Exhibition Planning: Direct the planning, development, and execution of the museum’s exhibition program.
• Academic Integration & Educational Programming: Collaborate with faculty to design curricular and co-curricular programs, teaching opportunities, and student research internships while maintaining strong relationships with academic departments and the campus community.
• Fundraising & Advancement: Partner with Advancement to cultivate donors, secure gifts, and build the museum’s endowment; secure funds through grants; serve as primary ambassador for external engagement.
• Administration & Finance: Manage operations, budgets, including tracking expenses and ensuring fiscal integrity.  Maintain accreditation and ensure that effective policies and highest ethical standards are in place and enforced.
• Community Engagement: Build partnerships with regional, national, and international institutions; foster public access and outreach.
• Staff Development: Recruit, mentor, and retain a diverse team of museum staff, fostering a collaborative and high-performing work environment.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree in art history or a related discipline required, Ph.D. in Art History or a related discipline strongly preferred; significant curatorial and administrative experience in a museum setting required.
• At least 7–10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in a museum setting.
• Demonstrated success in fundraising, donor engagement, and managing significant budgets.
• Record of curatorial excellence and scholarly contribution.
• Strong commitment to theoretical and experiential undergraduate learning through museum work.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including presentation and public speaking skills, and the ability to engage with a wide range of constituencies.
• Demonstrated leadership skills to guide and inspire a team of professional staff.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

No special physical demands. Occasional evening or weekend work may be required.

Other:

An offer for this position is contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check and references.

Benefits

As an employee of Middlebury College in Vermont, you will enjoy being part of a vibrant supportive community.

Middlebury offers its employees excellent compensation and competitive health, dental, life, disability, generous retirement matching, and vision benefits, and a generous time-away program - up to 34 days per year, increasing as the term of service lengthens. Employees are eligible for robust educational assistance programs. The result is a very high quality-of-life in a gorgeous setting. Middlebury Colleges offers its employees excellent compensation and other perks of employment including:

• MiddCard Privileges: access to athletic facilities, discounts at the college store, library privileges, and cultural and sporting events. Spouses or domestic partners are eligible to receive a card with the same privileges.
• Discounts on season passes at Middlebury College's Snow Bowl, the Ralph Myhre Golf Course and the Rikert Outdoor Center.
• Access to our Partner Inclusion Program that provides comprehensive support services to the spouses and partners of Middlebury employees.
• A full listing of our benefit offerings can be found on our website or click to see some of the other fun perks of working at Middlebury, whether in Middlebury, VT or Monterey, CA!

Middlebury College is an equal-opportunity employer where diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values. To this end, the College recruits talented and diverse faculty, staff, and students from across the United States and around the world. Middlebury College encourages applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of other protected classes and historically underrepresented communities. The College also invites applications from individuals who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.