Job Description
Position Overview
The Vice President of Exhibits is a critical position for GLSC in this time of growth. The organization is in the middle of a comprehensive campaign that includes the renovation of flagship galleries. The Vice President will lead the way in developing new exhibitions and improving exhibit experiences in ways that are mission-centric and field-leading. This position gives the ideal candidate a platform to help set the organization’s direction and deepen its impact for generations to come, positioning GLSC as a leader among science centers. The ideal candidate is an experienced creator of audience-focused interactive STEM exhibits, with a proven track record in the field, and a positive approach to team-building and collaboration. The candidate should value working and leading in an environment that fosters a sense of fun, community service, and data-driven decision making. This is an opportunity to join a mission-oriented, experienced, and passionate leadership team that is successfully completing a comprehensive campaign, and actively envisioning the opportunities ahead as Cleveland transforms its downtown lakefront.
Responsibilities:
The Vice President of Exhibits leads and develops a passionate team of exhibit professionals that maintain, repair, improve, and develop a compelling range of interactive exhibits in strong alignment with GLSC’s guiding principles and mission. As such, the ideal candidate will have experience with, and will be enthusiastic about, creating exhibit experiences that are open-ended, require persistence, and reward collaboration. These exhibit experiences should focus on helping children and their families see themselves as people who can do STEM, as a future career pathway or as an important way to enrich their lives. These exhibit experiences should be robust enough to inspire family conversations and change behaviors.
The Vice President will be called upon to inspire, develop and manage an excellent team. The ideal candidate will be an effective coach. They will communicate clearly with staff, inspiring them to do good work, stay within budgets, grow as a professional, collaborate effectively with all other departments, and to meet deadlines. The Vice President must lead the team in effectively and creatively project managing across constant maintenance and improvement of existing exhibits, creating new exhibitions, and collaborating with partners and experts on the long-term vision.
The ideal candidate is expert at developing and growing partnerships internally and externally. The Vice President of Exhibits will work closely with the Vice President of Education in order to ensure that exhibit experiences are connected or relevant to programs for families, students, and teachers. Identification and development of important content for learning experiences across the organization must be a collaborative and flexible process across the departments.
The Vice President must lead the way in creating a collaborative process. Exhibit development teams will include educators, science communicators, and science experts from the organization as well as external content experts. The exhibit development and design process will prioritize early prototyping and ongoing evaluation in collaboration with the education team, and one that also keeps in mind the needs of the marketing, operations, and development teams. The ideal candidate will be an effective communicator at every level of the organization and with external partners. The ideal candidate will also be comfortable being directly involved in the development team’s fundraising efforts, and will have had prior experience with raising revenue for exhibits.
Reporting Relationships
The Vice President of Education will report to and work closely with the President & CEO, Dr. Kirsten Ellenbogen. For almost thirty years, she has been in the business of researching, developing, and leading learning experiences in science centers and other informal learning environments. In her work as the third President & CEO of GLSC, she has launched transformative strategic partnerships with education and corporate leaders to change the community’s narrative around advanced manufacturing and technology through STEM education for diverse middle-school youth and families. She began her work in museums at the Detroit Science Center as a Demonstrator and has worked at five museums and consulted for more than thirty. Her career is marked by extensive national collaborations and field-building activities with the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation. Her service in the community includes appointments to the North Coast Development Corporation and the Cleveland Water Alliance, where she serves as board chair.
The Vice President’s peers include the Vice Presidents of Development, Operations, and Education, as well as the Director of Finance, and the Senior Manager of Human Resources. The Exhibit Department includes positions in production, development, maintenance, and design.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Qualifications:
Education and Work Experience Qualifications
- The demonstrated capacity to fulfill the role described above.
- Ten years of experience working in a museum setting with STEM-focused interactive exhibits, non-profit management, evaluation, and development of grants and budgets. At least five years of staff leadership and management with a proven track record of developing staff.
- A great combination of competence, generosity of spirit, toughness, and humility.
- A passion, understanding, and strong commitment to the mission and vision of GLSC.
- B.A. or B.S. from an accredited institution preferred. Ideally will have expertise in science, but without exception, must be a passionate science enthusiast and lifelong learner.
- Demonstrated success in setting and achieving annual, multi-year strategic goals.
- Ability to implement financial plans and budgets, identify, secure, and ensure compliance with a variety of funding sources.
- A personal style that is positive and supportive. Strong personal integrity and work ethic, as well as a sense of humor and perspective.
- Proven success in managing and motivating a high-functioning diverse staff.
- Superior communication skills to express the mission and education program innovations with clarity, passion, and persuasion.
Working Conditions/Physical Requirements:
This position is typically based in the Exhibit Department offices and in GLSC’s program spaces and exhibit galleries. It may include occasional periods of working outdoors in varied weather conditions. The Vice President’s staff includes people who work regularly with chemicals and gases including, but not limited to, liquid nitrogen, dry ice, nitric acid, hydrogen, and oxygen. Training will be provided.
Rate: $108,000 to $120,000
Great Lakes Science Center is proud to provide staff members with a benefits program that offers choices designed to meet their individual needs and lifestyles. Eligible staff members can participate in the following benefits programs:
- Free Parking
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Employee Assistant Program (EAP)
- Paid Time Off (PTO) & Paid Holidays
- 403b Retirement Savings Plan with Match
- Association of Science & Technology Centers Membership
- Northeastern Ohio Intermuseum Council (NEOIMC) Membership
- and more!
COVID-19 Safety and Guidelines
Great Lakes Science Center is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for our staff (paid and unpaid), and guests. In accordance with our COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, all staff are required to be vaccinated and/or boosted against COVID-19. Reasonable accommodations will be made for those who cannot take the vaccine due to health or religious reasons.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
It is the policy of GLSC to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) free from illegal discrimination, harassment and retaliation to all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religious affiliation, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, immigration status, age, source of income, familial status, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, disability or any other basis protected by applicable law. GLSC complies with applicable state, federal and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment.
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