Children's Museum and Oak Grove Nature Center in Manchester, CT, seeks an energetic, creative, and goal-oriented leader to serve as Executive Director.

About Lutz Children's Museum

Mission Statement: To provide a multi-faceted museum for children to explore culture, history, and the natural sciences through internal and external exhibits, programs, and experiences.

History: The late Hazel Lutz was a beloved art teacher and world traveler. During her travels, she collected various artifacts and trinkets that she believed would be of interest to children. Hoping to use these items as educational tools, she established a "museum" in the storage closet of her schoolroom. Her collection grew through others' donations and began to include items that could be related to most academic disciplines. From her storage closet, Hazel moved the collection to progressively more extensive and more public spaces. The Lutz Children's Museum was founded by the PTA in 1953 and named in her honor. To this day, the Museum offers children educational and cultural opportunities that they may not have otherwise and gives teachers an additional source of enrichment and resource materials.

Position Information

Job Description: The Executive Director's primary responsibilities oversee the Lutz Children’s Museum’s (LCM) operation and management of the animals and collections. In conjunction with the Board and its Executive Committee, the Executive Director undertakes long- and short-range planning, policy development, budget preparation, monitoring, and development of LCM programs and services. The Executive Director manages staff and volunteers who serve as docents and establish committees supporting its core work. The Executive Director represents the LCM in the community, participates in events that increase awareness of Lutz's history and the LCM, expands community outreach, and performs duties that foster the donation of relevant artifacts and funds to the LCM.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities of the Executive Director:

Staff and volunteers: Identifies, assigns, and supervises paid and volunteer staff. Assures that all receive appropriate training and adequate staffing is maintained to meet the LCM needs and objectives. Creates a harmonious atmosphere and environment conducive for recruiting and retaining staff and volunteers.

Financial records, reports, and proposals: Performs ongoing daily financial management and long-term planning and reporting. Works with the Board of Directors to develop a yearly budget for the LCM. Oversees accountant; works with an accountant and treasurer to maintain all financial records and conduct an annual review, including an independent audit.

Planning: Responsible for strategic planning, as well as creating long-term, short-term, and annual goals and objectives for the organization

Exhibits: Works with the exhibits team members to develop and implement exhibits for the Lutz Children's Museum and off-site venues.

Collection and Animals: Works with the team to ensure items donated to the museum are properly examined often, accessioned, conserved, preserved, and cataloged.

Community Outreach: Develops programs, community activities, and appropriate meetings that further the LCM's mission and benefit the community.

Website, Social Platform, Promotion, and Publicity: Promotes museum events and activities. Keeps the website and all other platforms current

Membership: Works to increase membership numbers and member benefits and maintains LCM member records.

Development: Sets goals for all significant fundraising efforts, tracks totals, and reports to appropriate committees. Works with special event committees (e.g., Gala, Holiday Museum Tour) to create sponsorship levels and solicit and process donations.

Grants: Identifies grant opportunities and works to develop government, non-profit, and foundation grants to support the LCM operations. Responsible for appropriate monitoring of grants and required reporting. Accountable for securing signatures, financial documents, and letters promptly.

Records: Keeps electronic records in an orderly and accessible system and monitors regular file back-up. Must maintain hard-copy files in an organized manner.

Facilities, Supplies, and Equipment: Coordinates maintenance of the museum building, grounds, and equipment and provides for safe and reliable operation of the Lutz Museum. Need to maintain adequate supplies for LCM and Museum function within budget parameters annually.

Museum Operations and Visitor Services: Regularly meets with staff members to oversee all museum functions and services. Provides oversight and support as needed to the Assistant, who schedules group tours and coordinates volunteer staffing for regular open hours and special tours and events. May conduct some tours and educational programs. Will maintain records related to the utilization of the Museum.

Museum Shop: Provides final oversight on shop purchases, the timing of shop activities, and the setting of prices for the shop.

Professional Development: Participates in educational activities and museum associations to keep abreast of the latest development in the small museum and historical society management

Skills and Expertise Required:

• Supervisory skills, especially as relevant to volunteer staff, financial, and administrative management of an organization
• Ability to serve as an articulate spokesperson for the museum
• Experience in development and fundraising, including foundation and government grants as well as corporate and private donations; demonstrated ability to develop partnerships and identify creative solutions
• Financial record-keeping
• Knowledge of professional museum policies, issues, and strategies
• Familiarity with PC environment and knowledge of the following applications: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, QuickBooks, and Dropbox; knowledge of G Suite
• Adept at Social Media - primarily Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
• Interpersonal and team interaction skills; ability to work with a diverse community
• Ability to meet the physical demands of working and transporting materials in a historic building

Qualifications:

The Executive Director will have a relevant bachelor's degree and a minimum of 3-5 years' work in a related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience, demonstrating the ability to support a non-profit organization and manage service for the museum.

Location: The Executive Director will operate at the Lutz Children's Museum in Manchester, Connecticut.

Salary: This is a full-time, salaried position, salary range $70,000-$90,000, which requires some weekend and evening hours. The work schedule is flexible, and the Executive may perform some duties from home.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $65,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday
• On call
• Weekends as needed

Ability to Commute:

• Manchester, CT 06040 (Required)

Work Location: In person