Association of Academic Museums and Galleries

The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico seeks a Curator of Education to coordinate and oversee the Museum’s wide-ranging educational programs, with a particular focus on K-12 outreach and engagement. The Maxwell Museum is a dynamic center of anthropological research and public engagement on the University of New Mexico campus, producing numerous in-person and virtual exhibitions and public and educational programs annually. Based in a culturally diverse state and region, the Museum hosts thousands of K-12 visitors per year, supported in part by an Adopt A Bus program for Title 1 schools. The successful candidate will join a dedicated team of museum professionals committed to serving and expanding our diverse audiences and will work with a variety of partners to develop and support educational programs that align with the Museum’s mission of “working toward greater understandings of the fullness of human experiences in the Southwest and the world” and vision of “reconciling injustices, restoring voices, and realizing community.”

We seek an experienced, creative, and forward-thinking museum educator to conceive and implement educational programs. The Curator of Education will serve as the principal liaison for the Museum to families, K-12 educators and students, schools, and community partners in the greater Albuquerque region and throughout the state. The Curator of Education will develop and coordinate the Museum’s robust array of current educational programs, including but not limited to school tours, family days, summer camp, check-out kits, and traveling trunk programs. With other Museum staff, the Curator of Education will lead efforts to continuously evaluate and improve the Museum’s educational offerings, modifying existing ones and developing new ones in response to community needs and interests and in alignment with the Museum’s mission and vision. They will provide opportunities for UNM students in anthropology, museum studies, education, and other programs to gain experience and participate in the development and implementation of educational programs in an informal learning museum context. They will train and oversee an active docent program and assist in fundraising to support educational programs.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Develop, refine, promote, implement, and assess educational programming related to the Museum’s exhibits, collections, and mission using a variety of delivery methods that serve New Mexico’s diverse communities. These can include, but are not limited to, guided school and group tours, virtual field trips and programs, in-school programs, family days, summer camps, check-out kits, a traveling trunk program, and online educational content.
2. Work closely with Head of Interpretation and Curator of Exhibition and other museum staff in the development and implementation of educational programming to support and enhance new exhibits and special events.
3. Promote and coordinate the Museum’s Adopt-A-Bus program for Title 1 Schools; represent the museum in community and regional educational collaborations.
4. Document, collect, review, and report evaluations of educational programs and use those evaluations in ongoing efforts to strengthen the Museum’s educational offerings.
5. Recruit, train, coordinate, and supervise volunteer and student docents and student employees.
6. Manage the teaching collection and materials that support educational programs.
7. Prepare and monitor budgets; write and/or facilitate proposal preparation for external funding for educational programs; identify and secure alternative funding/revenue sources to support educational programs.
8. Mentor University students in anthropology, museum studies, education, and related disciplines; may occasionally guest lecture in University classes.
9. Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in museum studies, anthropology, education, or closely related field; at least 5 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.
• Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in museum studies, anthropology, or education
• Background in four-field anthropology, including human evolution and past and present cultures of the U.S. Southwest
• Knowledge of and demonstrated engagement with Indigenous cultures and communities of the Southwest and/or beyond
• Demonstrated background and experience in informal science and/or arts education.
• Familiarity with national, state, and local standards at the K-12 level.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience of museum principles, objectives, and practices
• Demonstrated experience in creating, planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing diverse educational programs at the pre K-12  in museum or informal learning contexts
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with the public and a wide range of colleagues and constituencies in a diverse community.
• Proven ability to create, compose, and edit written materials; ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports.
• Demonstrated record of success in developing, planning, prioritizing, implementing and evaluating short-and long-range goals, meeting deadlines, and developing project budgets and projections.
• Experience in recruiting, training, supervising, and motivating student employees and volunteers within area of specialty.
• Experience with Adobe and Microsoft Suite; web and social media experience a plus.

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

• Moderate physical activity. Requires handling of average-weight objects up to 25 pounds or standing and/or walking for more than four (4) hours per day.
• No or very limited exposure to physical risk.
• Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment.
• Must be available to work occasional weekend or evening hours.

Campus: Main – Albuquerque, NM

Department: Maxwell Museum (937B)

Employment Type: Staff

Staff Type: Regular – Full-Time

Status:  Exempt

Pay: $3,731.87 – $4,017.00 per month (final salary dependent upon experience)

Benefits Eligible: This is a benefits eligible position. The University of New Mexico provides a comprehensive package of benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. In addition, UNM offers educational benefits through the tuition remission and dependent education programs. See the Benefits home page for a more information.

ERB Statement:  Temporary and on-call employees working an appointment percentage of 26 (.26 FTE) or greater, per quarter, will be eligible to earn retirement service credits and thus are required to make New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (NMERB) contributions. More information pertaining to your FTE and NMERB contributions can be reviewed on the NMERB Guidelines Clarified webpage.

Best Consideration Date: March 24, 2023

Application Instructions:  Applications should be submitted through UNM Jobs:

https://unm.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/18/home/requisition/23566?c=unm

Please include a letter of interest, a resume/CV, and names and contact information at least 3 supervisor references.

Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.