Description

Position Title: Director of Conservation

Job: Full-Time, Exempt, Salaried, Non-union

Supervisor: Chief of Curatorial Affairs

The Milwaukee Art Museum is a vibrant, welcoming destination where art, architecture, and community come together. As a cultural cornerstone of Milwaukee and a symbol of civic pride, the Museum connects people of all ages and backgrounds through inspiring exhibitions, engaging programs, and unforgettable experiences. 

Position Overview:  

Conservation is central to the Museum’s mission to preserve, study, and share its collections for present and future generations. The Director of Conservation provides strategic leadership for conservation and collections care, advancing a comprehensive vision aligned with institutional priorities and ensuring the preservation, technical study, and long-term stewardship of the collection in accordance with the highest professional and ethical standards.

Reporting to the Chief of Curatorial Affairs, the Director of Conservation serves as a member of the Extended Leadership Team (ELT). This position provides overall leadership and management of the Conservation Department, including responsibility for departmental operations, planning, and strategic direction. The Director supervises a staff of three full-time conservators and technicians, as well as contract staff; manages the departmental budget; and oversees planning for technical equipment and facilities needs.

The Director of Conservation is responsible for all aspects of conservation practice, including preventive care, examination, technical analysis, documentation, treatment, and research of works in the collection. The position also oversees environmental monitoring and assessment of gallery, storage, and exhibition conditions to support the long-term preservation of the collection. Expertise in paintings or objects conservation is preferred, and the Director is expected to undertake treatment projects as departmental priorities and workload permit.

The Director works in close collaboration with colleagues across the Museum, including exhibitions, curatorial, collection management, registrarial, and facilities teams, to ensure the appropriate care, handling, storage, installation, and transport of works from the permanent collection and incoming loans. The Director contributes to institutional planning and policy development related to collection care and provides expert guidance on facilities operations as they relate to collections preservation. This position also identifies and advances opportunities for external funding and departmental growth.

The Director of Conservation contributes to institutional and field-wide leadership through scholarship, professional service, public engagement, and collaboration within the broader museum and conservation community. This position serves as the Museum’s senior authority on conservation matters and represents the institution within the broader conservation, museum, and civic sectors.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

1. Departmental Leadership and Administration

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Conservation Department.
• Supervise, mentor, and evaluate conservation staff, technicians, fellows, interns, and contract personnel.
• Develop departmental priorities, work plans, and long-range goals aligned with institutional strategic objectives.
• Manage departmental budgets, resources, and planning for professional development, equipment, laboratory infrastructure, and facilities needs.
• Establish departmental policies, procedures, and professional standards.
• Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and safety-conscious working environment.

2. Institutional Collaboration and Planning

• Work collaboratively with curatorial, exhibitions, collections management, registrarial, facilities, and operations staff to support institutional priorities.
• Advise on collection-related planning for exhibitions, gallery rotations, acquisitions, deaccessions, storage initiatives, and capital projects.
• Contribute to Museum-wide policy development related to collection care, installation standards, and preservation practices.
• Participate in institutional planning and cross-departmental initiatives as a member of the Extended Leadership Team.
• Provide guidance on facilities operations and capital improvements affecting collections preservation and conservation activities.

3. Conservation Treatment and Documentation

• Oversee the examination, stabilization, and treatment of works in the Museum’s collection in accordance with current professional and ethical standards and undertake conservation treatment projects, with a focus on paintings or objects conservation.
• Establish treatment priorities and workflows based on institutional goals, exhibition schedules, loan activity, and collections care needs.
• Review and approve treatment proposals, methodologies, and documentation prepared by conservation staff and contractors.
• Advise curatorial, collections, and exhibition teams on conservation implications related to display, travel, acquisition, and installation.
• Ensure that all conservation treatments are appropriately documented and maintained within institutional records systems.

4. Preventive Conservation and Collections Care

• Develop and implement strategies for preventive conservation and long-term collections care across the Museum.
• Oversee environmental monitoring and assessment of galleries, storage areas, exhibition spaces, and transit conditions.
• Advise on standards for handling, packing, transport, installation, storage, and display of artworks.
• Responsible for emergency preparedness and response planning related to the protection and recovery of collection materials.
• Evaluate risks to the collection and recommend mitigation strategies to support long-term preservation goals.

5. Technical Analysis, Research, and Scholarship

• Conduct and support technical research related to the materials, techniques, and historical contexts of works in the collection.
• Oversee the acquisition, maintenance, and strategic use of technical equipment supporting conservation examination and research.
• Maintain expertise in current developments, methodologies, and technologies in the conservation field through continuous learning and engagement with the broader conservation community.
• Collaborate with curatorial staff and external scholars on collection-based research initiatives, exhibitions, and publications.
• Contribute to scholarly publications, presentations, and other professional initiatives related to conservation and collections care

6. Outreach, Advocacy, and Education

• Serve as an advocate for conservation and collections care within the Museum and the broader community.
• Contribute to public programs, lectures, publications, and interpretive initiatives that advance the understanding of conservation practice.
• Build capacity to train and mentor future conservation professionals
• Create opportunities for knowledge-sharing and collaboration between and among conservation specialists, with a special focus on strengthening the Museum’s relationship with the conservation team at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, Ontario 

7. Fundraising, Advancement, and Strategic Growth

• Contribute to planning for the growth and long-term development of conservation facilities, staffing, and programs.
• Represent conservation priorities in institutional strategic planning efforts.
• Identify and advance opportunities for philanthropic support, grants, and strategic partnerships related to conservation and collections care.
• Collaborate with Development staff on donor cultivation, stewardship, and fundraising initiatives, including assisting in the preparation of grant applications, reports, and other materials supporting external funding initiatives.
• Perform other duties as needed and assigned by management to support institutional operations.

Requirements

Education & Technical Requirements

• Master’s degree in Art Conservation; painting specialization preferred.
• 8–10 years’ experience, at levels of increasing responsibility, in positions related to the management of a multidisciplinary art conservation program.
• Demonstrated commitment to excellence in the field, including research, analysis, treatment, and documentation.
• Knowledge of conservation ethics, principles, and practice in accordance with standards and guidelines of the American Institute for Conservation
• Knowledge of safety protocols when working with potentially hazardous materials.
• Proficiency in utilizing scientific and technical methods for object analysis and examination; familiarity with technical instruments as well as conservation software and database management tools

Preferred Skills

• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to supervise and collaborate effectively with museum staff, students, donors, volunteers, and diverse public constituencies.
• Strong planning, organizational, budget management, and project management skills

Physical Demands

• Move about the museum, grounds, ancillary buildings, and storage facilities
  Operate computer and other office productivity machinery
• Ability to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time
• Occasionally ascend/descend a ladder
• Clearly communicate to exchange information with staff and stakeholders
• Detect, discern, and assess colors and condition of works of art
• Good manual dexterity
• Move up to 50 lbs. without assistance

Work Environment

• Frequently work with/exposure to solvents/hazardous materials
• Regularly work around works of art both indoors and outdoors
• Operate in both professional office and conservation lab environments

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Disclaimer:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all qualifications, responsibilities, duties and skills required.

Milwaukee Art Museum is an EOE/M/W/Vets/Disability Employer.

DEAI Statement:

The Milwaukee Art Museum is an equal opportunity employer. The Museum recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and other protected status as required by applicable law.

We are committed to recruiting, developing, compensating, and retaining professional staff that reflect our community. We aspire to be a diverse workplace where talented people want to come, stay, and do their best work.

We stand committed to the work ahead, informed by our community, which we will support with our best thinking, our deepest empathy, and the courage to embody the convictions shared in our Strategic Direction.