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Tara Young
Director of Education and Public Programs
Higgins Armory Museum
100 Barber Avenue
Worcester, MA 01606
Phone: (508) 853-6015 x 15
Fax: (508) 852-7697
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www.higgins.org
The Higgins Armory Museum
Executive Director Position Profile
www.higgins.org <http://www.higgins.org>
4/20/07
Mission: The Higgins Armory Museum is a non-profit educational institution that presents the history of arms and armor in a broad cultural context, as shaped by the museum's guiding principles. The museum achieves its mission by preserving, researching, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for the benefit of the general public and specialized audiences.
Background:
The Higgins Armory Museum evolved from a private collection into what is today the only museum in the western hemisphere devoted solely to the collection, preservation and exhibition of arms and armor. The founder, John Woodman Higgins, a prominent Worcester industrialist during the early twentieth century, spent a lifetime building his extensive collection, which focuses on arms and armor from medieval and Renaissance Europe, with areas of secondary strength including feudal Japan and ancient Greece and Rome. Higgins believed strongly in the link between art and industry. He had the museum constructed on the site of his Worcester Pressed Steel factory in hopes that his private collection would help to inspire the factory workers.
The original 1929 art-deco building, which the museum still occupies today, was one of the first all steel and glass curtain-wall structures built in America; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Inside, its high ceilings and gothic arches are reminiscent of a medieval castle and offer an appropriately atmospheric setting for the museum's collection.
Central to the museum's mission is the mandate to interpret its collections in a "broad cultural context." Open year round, the museum attracts more than 50,000 domestic and international visitors annually. The Education and Public Programs Department welcomes approximately 15,000 K-12 school group visitors whose annual visits are part of their curriculum and are tied into state frameworks. Numerous college and senior citizen groups also visit the museum on an annual basis. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the museum hosts a variety of special exhibits throughout the year and conducts an ongoing program of lecture series, symposia, professional development workshops for teachers, demonstrations of historical combat, and classes in such subjects as genealogy, heraldry and fencing.
The American Association of Museums in its most recent reaccreditation report described the museum as "a place of national significance...with superb collections."
Organization Profile
The Higgins employs 41 staff members, 13 full-time and 28 part-time, representing the following disciplines:
* Education - 3 FT, 24 PT
* Curatorial - 2 FT, 2 PT
* Administration - 8 FT, 2 PT
Reporting to the Executive Director are: Director of Finance and Operations, Director of Development [currently vacant], Marketing and Special Events Manager, Membership Coordinator, Director of Education, and Curator.
The current annual operating budget is $1.2 million, which has consistently been balanced. Approximately 60% of revenue comes from admissions, store sales, and program income. The other 40% is generated through grants, fundraising, and investment income. The Higgins has an investment portfolio of $4 million.
The Higgins is currently engaged in a capital campaign to fund building repairs, the construction of a "children's museum" within the Higgins Museum and the endowment of a curator position.
The Board of Trustees brings a wide variety of expertise such as legal, construction, insurance, engineering, finance and accounting, and general business management. The Incorporators support the Higgins through membership, fundraising and as ambassadors for the institution.
Key Organizational Opportunities
Some of the opportunities which the new Executive Director will address are:
* The Higgins holds one of only a handful of significant arms and armor collections in the Western Hemisphere. These artifacts have an enduring appeal for audiences, and represent an underdeveloped area of scholarship, affording the Higgins the chance both to enhance the popular potential of its collections and also to build on its status as a global center for arms and armor scholarship.
* Within the past five years, the museum has initiated a dynamic program of touring exhibitions, beginning with a six-year tour of treasures from its collection to 17 sites around the country. The new Executive Director will need to build on this and similar initiatives to increase the museum's visibility at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
* A $5 million Capital Campaign is half-way to meeting its goal. The new director will continue this effort and complete implementation of Phase I of the "Master Plan."
* Although a balanced budget has kept the museum operating in the black, the new Director will need to provide for increased investment in staff, marketing and infrastructure through identification of new and increased sources of revenue and philanthropic support.
* The museum needs to build on ongoing initiatives to appeal to a broad audience in addition to our primary audiences of families and school groups. This will include reaching and attracting the many other constituencies for whom the collection and its theme have broad appeal.
* The current strategic plan was written in 2002 with two phases - the first through 2005 and the second from 2006 forward. Many items have been completed, and it needs to be reviewed and updated, to remain a vital management tool for staff and board.
* The museum needs to embrace new and evolving operating methods and procedures to help to assure success in the 21st century, including the increased use of digital technologies internally and in interpretation and the delivery of information. This would involve such areas as online activities, virtual tours, internal management procedures, and interactive web pages.
The ideal candidate will bring the following:
IDEAL EXPERIENCE
* Demonstrated success in leading a nonprofit organization, including a strong working relationship with a volunteer Board of Directors.
* A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in a museum or comparable organization; at least five at a senior managerial level. Advanced degree preferred.
* A record of success in management, planning, organization, administration, and project management.
* Demonstrated success in fundraising; solid experience in identifying and soliciting contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations.
* Strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills. Public affairs/public speaking experience is desirable.
* Knowledge of material culture and historic preservation.
* A museum background and knowledge of current museological practices.
* Experience in working with city/municipal political processes and key decision makers.
IDEAL PERSONAL PROFILE
* Intellectual curiosity and a passion for learning.
* An innovative and entrepreneurial self-starter who works well without direct supervision and who can grow and strengthen a mature organization.
* Strong administrative ability to translate goals into action in a cost-effective manner.
* A leader who can effectively manage and motivate staff.
* A firm understanding of business/financial principles in order to anticipate and implement new methods of funding the museum's activities.
* A creative thinker who can develop, communicate and implement a vision and long-range plans for the Higgins's growth.
* An individual who can make effective use of the members of the Board while providing necessary support to them.
* An excellent communicator who can effectively present the Higgins's goals and programs to prospective donors and to the public.
* A consensus-builder who can work with diverse individuals and groups to achieve the Higgins's mission.
* Ability to collaborate with and assume leadership in the museum/heritage community.
Salary is commensurate with experience.
Please send resume, cover letter, and salary requirements to: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
The Higgins Armory Museum is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and is committed to attracting a wide range of diverse candidates
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