Description

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer, the Associate Director, Curatorial provides day-to-day leadership of MOPOP’s Curatorial Department and plays a key role in developing and delivering the museum’s exhibition program. The position leads major exhibitions and institutional initiatives while overseeing curatorial staff, departmental workflows, interpretive quality, scholarship, and cross-functional collaboration.

Serving as both a senior working curator and departmental leader, the Associate Director balances direct exhibition ownership with people leadership, mentorship, long-range planning, and stewardship of consistent curatorial and interpretive standards across MOPOP’s exhibition portfolio. Working within the strategic direction established by the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer, this role ensures the Curatorial team has the clarity, resources, collaboration, and leadership necessary to successfully deliver the museum’s exhibition and storytelling priorities.

This role works general business hours Monday through Friday, and does require some weekend and evening work to support MOPOP events. This role is hybrid eligible (up to 2 days remote). All MOPOP employees must reside full-time in the state of Washington. 

Essential Job Duties (other duties as assigned)

Exhibition Development: 

• Lead and support MOPOP exhibitions (on-site and traveling) from concept through post-opening operations 
• Collaborate with Curatorial, Exhibition Design + Planning, Collections, Exhibition Fabrication, Video, Marketing, Advancement, Facilities, and other teams throughout exhibition development processes 
• Lead or contribute to interpretive framing and storytelling, aesthetic direction, graphic approach, exhibition layout, interactive strategy, and media integration
• Develop exhibition content across various mediums including themes, concept materials, presentations, didactic text, digital interpretation, media narratives, and visitor-facing experiences within exhibition spaces and digital platforms 
• Manage or contribute to exhibition-related budgeting, vendor coordination, contract review, and traveling exhibition planning
• Support long-range exhibition planning and institutional curatorial initiatives in collaboration with the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer 
• Collaborate with Curatorial, Collections, Exhibition Design + Planning, and Exhibition Fabrication teams on the exhibition calendar, including long-term exhibition rotations, gallery refreshes, annual initiatives, and artifact swap planning 
• Support exhibition installation, deinstallation, gallery continuity, and post-opening stewardship efforts as needed 
• Conduct oral history interviews and support institutional storytelling initiatives related to exhibitions and collections 

Department Leadership:

• Provide day-to-day leadership and management of the Curatorial Department, translating institutional and exhibition priorities into clear departmental goals, workplans, and expectations. 
• Directly supervise Curators and additional Curatorial staff, including coaching, performance management, goal setting, mentorship, workload management, and professional development. 
• Oversee allocation of curatorial assignments and exhibition leadership opportunities, balancing organizational priorities, staff capacity, development opportunities, and equitable distribution of work. 
• Establish and maintain effective departmental workflows, communication practices, documentation, and knowledge sharing. 
• Ensure consistent standards for curatorial scholarship, interpretive quality, accessibility, storytelling, and visitor experience across the exhibition portfolio. 
• Foster an inclusive, accountable, collaborative, and intellectually rigorous departmental culture. 
• Partner with the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer on departmental planning, staffing, resource needs, and long-range curatorial priorities. 
• Represent Curatorial in cross-functional planning and strengthen partnerships with Curatorial, Exhibition Design + Planning, Collections, Exhibition Fabrication, , Video, Marketing, Advancement, Facilities, and other teams.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with artists, scholars, lenders, donors, community partners, and peer institutions in support of exhibitions and institutional priorities

MOPOP Community: 

• Support our internal culture which inspires and empowers our staff to live our mission to its highest standards.
• Contribute to a consistent customer service standard across all departments.
• Work to ensure customer service is ingrained at the core of the team and is reflected outward to our guests and other staff.

Requirements

Preferred/Desired Qualifications:

• Minimum 8 (eight) years of curatorial or exhibition development experience in a museum or related cultural institution 
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale exhibitions and managing complex exhibition initiatives 
• Minimum of three (3) years of managerial experience
• Strong knowledge of exhibition development, interpretive planning, collections stewardship, media integration and museum standards 
• Excellent organizational, communication, writing, presentation, leadership, and collaboration skills 
• Experience with traveling exhibitions, donor engagement, budgeting, grants, contracts, and institutional partnerships preferred 
• Familiarity with collections management systems, exhibition software, and digital interpretation platforms preferred
• Commitment to anti-racism work and DEIA-centered curatorial practice 
• Broad knowledge of popular culture, including music, film, fashion, gaming, fandom, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and social movements 

Don't meet every single requirement? 

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At MOPOP, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you are excited about a role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the candidate we are looking for!