DIRECTOR SEARCH

ST. PETERSBURG MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

 

Please direct all inquiries to the retained search consultant: Opportunity Resources Inc., [log in to unmask] (further contact information below)

 

BACKGROUND

            The Museum of Fine Arts of St. Petersburg, Florida, a Palladian-style building beautifully sited adjacent to the city’s downtown waterfront, was opened to the public in 1965. In 2008, a new 39,000-square-foot wing designed by Yann Weymouth of Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum more than doubled the Museum’s size.

            The Museum’s collection now encompasses almost 15,000 objects, from Greek and Roman Antiquities and Pre-Columbian, Native American and Asian art to European and American painting, sculpture and photography. The significance of the collection is evidenced by the number of loans requested by other prominent museums. Berthe Morisot’s rare sculpture Head of Julie Manet (Artist’s Daughter) was recently in an exhibition at Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris and another significant O’Keeffe was on exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art earlier this year.

            Three major exhibitions are mounted annually and ten in total. Most recently The Baroque World of Fernando Botero drew a large number of visitors. The 2005 Dale Chihuly show broke all previous attendance records, drawing 170,000 visitors. The following year Monet’s London: Artists’ Reflections on the Thames, organized by the Museum around its own Monet, attracted over 100,000 visitors and then traveled to The Brooklyn Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art.

            The extraordinary breadth and scope of the exhibition schedule and the collections provides the Education Department with a broad range of teaching opportunities for children and adults and opens myriad possibilities for public programs.

            The Museum of Fine Arts operates with a budget of $2.8 million and a full-time staff of 19 and 9 part-time. The Museum is governed by a 26-person Board of Trustees.

            The MFA is presently completing the reaccreditation process of the American Association of Museums.

THE POSITION

The Director reports to the Board of Trustees through its President. S/he is an ex-officio member of the Board and works and communicates closely with its executive committee, other committees and individual members. The Director’s primary responsibilities are to provide vision, strategic planning and implementation for the Museum’s advancement and to ensure financial stability and continued programmatic excellence. S/he will take a leadership role in program development and, with staff and Board, in all fundraising and marketing activities, including the recently launched campaign to raise a $5 million endowment fund.

The Director will play a significant role in continuing the Museum’s upward spiral and expanding its visibility and recognition nationally and internationally.

§  Qualifications and Characteristics

While no candidate will possess all of the skills and attributes listed, the successful candidate will possess many of the following:

•     At least ten years professional experience gained at an art museum in progressively senior positions; advanced degree in art history.

•     Demonstrated success in fundraising, donor cultivation and solicitations and ability to devise new and innovative methods for increasing earned income.

•     Evidence of securing or initiating successful blockbuster exhibitions and sponsorship for these exhibitions; active network and relationship with national and international art institutions, especially through exhibitions and cultural tourism experience.

•     A keen appreciation of the MFA’s mission.

•     Evidence of successful leadership through strong interpersonal skills with staff, board and patrons; talent for building trust and confidence.

•     Demonstrated experience in collections management, conservation, accessions and preservation.

•     Dedication, discipline and ambition to translate vision into concrete achievement.

In addition, the candidate must possess:

•     Exceptional oral and written communication skills.

•     Demonstrated ability to think strategically and creatively, and to oversee day-to-day operations.

•     Demonstrated financial management skills and experience with marketing, media relations and branding.

•     Ability to oversee transformation and modernization of technological resources.

•     Skill and comfort managing creative people.

•     A passion for the job needing to be done.

•     A roll-up-sleeves work ethic, an open mind, outgoing personality, self confidence and a sense of humor.

Address all inquiries and recommendations in confidence,

to the retained search consultants (e-mails are preferred):

Freda Mindlin or Nancy Kaufman

Opportunity Resources Inc.

196 East 75th Street, Suite 14H

New York, NY 10021

Voice (212) 744-4409

Fax (212) 744-5004

[log in to unmask]

Opportunity Resources Inc. is an executive search firm retained by trustees of
cultural organizations to execute searches for senior level executives.
Opportunity Resources has specialized for over twenty-five years in providing
 search services to non-profit cultural institutions nationwide.