Job opportunity: Director of the Palestinian Museum

Job title: Director
Location: the Palestinian Museum, Birzeit
Deadline: Saturday, March 10, 2018

Background
The Palestinian Museum is a cultural institution, dedicated to promoting an open and dynamic Palestinian culture at the national and international levels. The Museum contributes to producing narratives about the history, culture and society of Palestine. The Museum is one of the most exciting new cultural projects in Palestine and is a flagship project of Taawon (Welfare Association).

The Palestinian Museum Director reports to the Museum’s Board which in turn reports to the Board of Trustees of Taawon.


Position
Reporting to the Board, the Director is responsible for the overall performance of the Museum and its day to day activities. S/He will provide strategic leadership and management expertise for the newly established Palestinian Museum, with overall responsibilities for the Museum’s programmes, scholarship, staff, budgets, fundraising, marketing, communications and facilities. Working closely with the Board and the Museum’s executive management team, the Director will shape the curatorial, scholarly, education and outreach programmes to deliver on the Museum’s mission. S/He will define and implement local and international marketing and public relations strategies to raise the profile of the Museum and strengthen community relations, locally and in the diaspora. The Director will establish the infrastructure to transform the Museum into a mature and independent organisation. S/He will develop and implement short and long range financial plans and sound financial controls, in accordance with the Board’s framework. The Museum’s Director will be regarded as one of Ramallah’s civic leaders and become an active participant in the city and the Palestinian cause at large.

It is expected that the Director will be an inspiring leader and able administrator who will:

Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership and Management
–Work with the Board to establish overall direction, including strategic plans and action plans, and oversee their implementation to achieve the vision and mission of the Museum; serve as ex-officio of each committee
–Cultivate a strong and transparent working relationship with the Board and ensure open communication about the measurement of financial, programmatic, and impact performance against stated milestones and goals
–Ensure ongoing local programmatic excellence, programmes evaluation, and consistent quality of finance and administration, fundraising, communications, and systems; recommend timelines and resources needed to achieve the strategic goals
–Provide inspirational leadership and direction to staff and ensure the continued development of a professional and efficient organisation; establish effective decision-making processes that will enable the Museum to achieve its short and long-term goals
–Actively engage, energize and strengthen relations with advisory committees, Taawon the mother organisation, other partnering organisations, donors, NGOs and volunteers
–Promote a culture of excellence across the Museum’s activities and at all levels within the institution
–Ensure effective systems to track progress, and regularly evaluate programmes components, so as to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the board, funders, and other constituents
–Set key performance indicators, dashboards, and report on progress periodically

Development, Partnerships and Communications
–Formulate and oversee comprehensive development, marketing, and branding strategies that will ensure consistency throughout the organisation and enhance revenue from donors, foundations, government agencies and corporations to support programmes and operations
–In collaboration with the Board, lead fund and fundraising activities; determine short-term and long-term development needs in the context of the Museum’s strategic goals; proactively cultivate individual and institutional supporters
–Build partnerships locally and in new regions with Palestinian diaspora, establishing relationships with potential donors and political and community leaders
–Oversee the development of the communication plan including web presence, social media and external relations with the goal of creating a strong brand; act as the Museum’s principle public spokesperson
–Provide inspirational community leadership to enhance the visibility of the Museum as a platform for cultural, social and civic engagement amongst the widest possible audience

Strengthening Infrastructure and Operations
–Establish and maintain high standards of professionalism and ensure that all programmes and public affairs are conducted in accordance with applicable legal requirements and the international ethical standards of a not-for-profit public institution
–Develop and implement the institutional framework for the full operations of the Museums including, organisation structure, policies and procedures, performance measurement and reporting 
–Direct the management of full-time and part-time staff, volunteers and consultants, in the day-to-day operations, and set the direction to ensure compliance with local laws, grant requirements, and accepted accounting principles
–Provide support and development opportunities to Museum staff including mentoring and coaching, ensuring a positive and creative work environment
–Facilitate cross-departmental collaboration and strengthen internal communications with staff throughout the organisation; create and promote a positive work environment that supports consistency throughout the organisation’s strategy and operational methods
–Oversee the Museum’s fiscal integrity, financial planning and budgeting and ensure that financial controls and procedures are in place to safeguard transparency and accurate reporting, including the functions of audit, internal and external, and risk management
–Present for Board approval the three-year rolling and operating budgets, quarterly reviews and regular progress reports against approved annual budgets
–Oversee the safe and secure operations and maintenance of the Museum’s physical plant 

Programme Development
–In collaboration with the Museum’s artistic director, develop a strategy for the exhibitions, collections and publications to achieve the vision and mission of the Museum
–Host traveling exhibitions and partner with peer museums to programmes new exhibitions
–Present to the Board for approval the five-year programmatic plan and oversee its implementation
–Oversee the Museum’s public programmes and community outreach to ensure integration of the exhibition and education objectives; encourage technological advances and innovative initiatives to address the political context
–Embrace technology to aid the Museum in capturing international audiences and Palestinians in the diaspora 

Qualifications and Experience
–Embrace Taawon’s vision and mission to further the progress of Palestinians, preserving their heritage and identity and supporting their living culture and building civil society
–Have an enthusiasm for arts and culture and the ability to convey their value to all from scholars to the indifferent
–Be a seasoned manager with a track record of directing operations
–Hold a BA, MA, MSC or ideally an advanced degree
–Have at least 10 to 15 years of overall professional experience
–Prior museum, cultural or nonprofit experience ideal
–Strong written, presentation and communication skills and experience as a spokesperson and relationship builder
–Significant fundraising, marketing/branding and fiscal management experience a must
–Strong commitment to and experience with the professional development of staff; successful track record of recruiting and retaining a diverse team
–Fluency in Arabic and English

Interested candidates may submit their applications here, by Saturday, March 10, 2018. Incomplete applications will be disregarded, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.