High Desert Museum Job Opportunity – Schnitzer High Desert Awards Director
Title: Schnitzer High Desert Awards Director
Division: Administration
Classification: Salaried, regular full-time exempt
Directly supported by: Executive Director
Directly supports: N/A
Salary Range: $80,000-$90,000 DOE
About us
The High Desert Museum opened in Bend, Oregon in 1982. As an interdisciplinary museum, it shares the stories of the High Desert region through cultures, art, history and the natural world to convey the wonder of the High Desert region, which spans across 11 states of the Intermountain West. The Museum features 100,000 square feet of indoor space, which includes two permanent exhibitions and three changing galleries, and outdoor exhibits beyond the main building that include the Autzen Otter Exhibit, the Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center and the 1904 High Desert Ranch. The Museum also offers a range of programs, from summer Kids Camps to wildlife photography workshops. In FY2023-24, which ended on June 30, 2024, the Museum welcomed nearly 225,000 visitors, more than double the size of Bend.
The Museum is a private, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It has become the largest cultural institution in Oregon east of the Cascades over the last four decades and today is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, was the 2019 recipient of the Western Museums Association’s Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence and was a 2021 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.
About this job and what you’ll do
The Schnitzer High Desert Awards Director, a new position manages and implements the Schnitzer High Desert Awards program. The Schnitzer High Desert Awards Director will be responsible for all facets of the awards program. Responsibilities include events logistics, budget management, promotions and marketing, communications, nomination process, advisory committee coordination and facilitation of a highly visible and inspirational annual awards ceremony. The Director will collaborate with the Museum’s Executive Director, Director of Communications, Advisory Committee, Events Team and external advisors to select the awardee based on their innovative work in the High Desert. The Director will guide the awards long term-direction and vision and manage nominations for the Schnitzer High Desert Awards, plans and host the awards Banquet, and engages all award recipients.
In addition to our strong health and welfare benefits, the museum also provides full-time employees with 10.5 paid holidays and four personal days per calendar year (prorated based on hire date). You will also accrue two weeks of paid vacation per year for the first year of employment.
About who you are
You have a bachelor’s degree in a discipline relevant to the job description. High Desert Museum mission-related discipline, such as history, biology, ecology, and anthropology, Indigenous studies are desirable and degrees in other areas will be considered. Candidates with relevant lived experience and professional experience from academia, nonprofits, museums, and for-profit work, etc. may be considered as an equivalent to a degree.
You have a minimum of three years of experience in program coordination and management, event planning, or a related area. You are above all enthusiastic about the Museum’s mission, interest in growing a new program and have proven experience in coordinating collaborative projects. You are comfortable in collaborative settings, have excellent written, verbal, and project management skills and will regularly bring ideas to the table.
Want to learn more?
For a detailed job description listing the essential functions of this position and the education, experience, and skills requirements, click here.
Importantly, we recognize and honor that the qualifications required to excel in this position can come from a range of both professional and lived experiences. In the job description we describe what we believe to be important qualifications for a candidate to have while remaining open to the diversity of experiences that can lead to these skill sets. Position descriptions are at times presented in a way that leaves qualified candidates feeling unwelcome, intimidated, uncomfortable and/or unqualified to apply. Recognizing that, we strongly encourage anyone who feels passionate about this work and believes they have what it takes to thrive in this role to apply.
Want to apply?
Please email PDFs of your resume & cover letter to: jobs@highdesertmuseum.org
The Museum provides an equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Mission
The High Desert Museum wildly excites and responsibly teaches through innovative, interdisciplinary experiences, creating connection to and dialogue about the High Desert.
highdesertmuseum.org/job-opportunities