Organisation : Jewish Museum of Australia
Location : Australia, Melbourne (St Kilda)
Work type : Full-time
Sector : Arts & Culture
Salary type : Annual Package
Application closing date : 16 Aug, 2019
About the organisation
The Jewish Museum of Australia was established in 1977 by a group of passionate and dedicated volunteers, led by the visionary Rabbi Ronald Lubofsky AM (1928-2000). During the Museum’s first years of existence, the Committee, organised exhibitions at the Myer gallery and the Tramways Board building, started to acquire objects for the Museum’s collection, and searched for premises for the museum.
In 1982, June Helmer (1922-2017), one of the founding Committee members, invited her brother, the then Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen (1919-2011), to become the Patron of the Museum in time for the opening of its temporary premises in the disused classrooms of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, South Yarra. Over the next 13 years at that location, the Jewish Museum of Australia presented over forty wide-ranging exhibitions, several of which travelled nationally. The Museum attracted significant communal support and won several prestigious industry awards.
In 1992 the Jewish Museum of Australia purchased a building in Alma Road, St Kilda opposite one of Melbourne’s most beautiful synagogues, the St Kilda Hebrew Congregation. On 20 August 1995, the then Governor General, Bill Hayden, officially opened the Jewish Museum of Australia, Gandel Centre of Judaica, named in honour of the Museum’s lead benefactors, John and Pauline Gandel.
Mission statement
We engage people with Jewish culture in order to:
– help Jews become proud of, connected to and knowledgeable about their heritage;
– promote understanding and appreciation of Jewish culture and people in the wider community; and
– build a society in which cultural diversity and difference is embraced and respected.
Our values
1. Community
2. Pluralism
3. Learning
4. Creativity
5. Quality
Key result areas
Building bridges
Activities that deliberately bridge communities
Relevance & responsiveness
Listening and responding to the community’s needs and interests
Access to our collection
Creative and compelling ways to access our collection, on-site and on-line
Visitation and participation
Widen and deepen, on-site and on-line
Engaged staff and volunteers
Appreciated, motivated and contributing
Relationships for the future
Relationship-building as the basis of financial security
About the role
The Jewish Museum of Australia seeks a dynamic, visionary and experienced leader to be its next Director & CEO.
This position will suit someone with exceptional leadership and communication skills, ambition and a visionary drive to build on the success of recent years and lead the Museum into its next chapter.
Befitting a role of this seniority, the successful appointee will be responsible for the general management and fiscal leadership of the Museum. The Director & CEO will guide the development and execution of both short and long-term strategies and plans, bearing full responsibility for their implementation in concert with a talented leadership team under the supervision of the Museum’s board.
The role requires an exceptional communicator, given its span of operations including interactively effectively with a wide array of constituencies, including major donors, government organisations, visitors, volunteers and community organisations across the Jewish and wider communities.
The Director & CEO will need to be a collaborative leader; capable of working with senior leadership as well as the Board to navigate and articulate the strategic direction of the Museum. This direction must meet the needs of – and be relevant to – younger audiences born into the digital age. Experience with and a willingness to directly fundraise are essential attributes of our candidate.
The successful candidate will have the proven ability to promote the best from a strong team of 15-plus part-time and casual staff and over 100 regular volunteers. They will ensure the Museum’s culture is inclusive, collaborative and positive, as well as creatively bold and ambitious.
We envisage the new Director & CEO will have at least seven years not-for-profit experience as a leader or manager within a museum, educational institution, historical society, arts or cultural organisation. Strong networks and experience within the Jewish community are preferred. Qualifications should be in museum studies, Judaic history, the arts, anthropology or similar. A deep and thorough knowledge and passion for Jewish history is essential.
With a deep desire for preserving history and an enthusiasm for passing that value onto others through engaging storytelling, this opportunity will be attractive to a qualified candidate with an authentic passion for the mission and vision of the Jewish Museum of Australia.
How to apply
Applications not allowed for this job listing.
Please quote in application: Museum Director/CEO via Pro Bono Australia.
Sector: #Arts_and_Culture
