Current Opportunities
Deputy Director
Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty and staff of all identities and backgrounds. We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.
About the Role
This position offers the chance for a finance and operations professional to contribute to the strategic direction and implementation of initiatives at the Johnson Museum at a momentous time within the institution’s history. As we near our fiftieth anniversary, we are invigorated by opportunities to further impact the cultural and intellectual life of the Cornell campus and our local community, and to broaden our reach as a world-class academic museum. The Deputy Director works in close collaboration with the Museum Director in realizing the institution’s mission and is a key member of the Museum’s senior management team. They actively promote and implement the Directors’ initiatives, while also advising on a broad range of Museum issues.
The Deputy Director is responsible for the strategic development, direction, and implementation of business operations, financial policies and reporting, budgeting, planning, and facilities management. They oversee human resource activities, including hiring, salary distribution, and performance management, and direct the preparation of grant and contract proposals, working closely with Museum staff and principal investigators in preparing proposal budgets and ensuring compliance. The Deputy Director works with the Museum Director and the Director of Development in determining fundraising needs and goals while overseeing the fiscal management of endowments, investments, and gift reporting. They partner with the Finance Chair of the Museum Advisory Council (a group comprised of Cornell Trustees, alumni, donors, and museum professionals), and serve as the primary contact representing the Museum throughout the University in areas of facility, security, finance and planning, human resources, risk management, and all other business operation ventures.
Through their knowledge of administration, they will manage, implement, and enhance cross-departmental initiatives to advance equity and access, integrate new systems and technologies, and promote “green museum” practices. As a systems thinker and relationship builder, the Deputy Director will foster an environment where the Johnson Museum staff can thrive and together cultivate a more just and sustainable museum. In this leadership position, the Deputy Director plays a key role in ensuring an inclusive work and learning environment and is responsible for partnering with central University resources to strengthen the diversity of the Museum’s workforce.
Overview of The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
The Johnson Museum permanent collection numbers 40,000 works, spanning six millennia and encompassing art from most world cultures. Among the strengths of the collection are the holdings of Asian art; more than 23,000 prints, drawings, and photographs ranging from the fifteenth century to the present; modern and contemporary painting and sculpture; European art from ancient times to the present; African sculpture and textiles; and pre-Columbian sculpture and ceramics. Each year the Johnson Museum mounts major exhibitions and programs that present new scholarship and fresh perspectives on the works in our collection or on temporary loan. Many of these exhibitions are inspired by the Cornell curriculum and are the product of partnerships with faculty, graduate students, other museums, research centers, scholars, cultural practitioners, and source communities.
The Museum enhances and supports faculty teaching across Cornell’s schools and departments by hosting approximately 400 class sessions per academic year in the Museum’s galleries and classrooms. Educational outreach programs for the regional community are core to Cornell University’s land-grant commitment to public engagement: we serve over 7,000 schoolchildren from schools in a 90-mile radius of Ithaca and offer professional development trainings for regional teachers, many of whom teach in rural areas and for whom the Museum promotes intercultural understanding and global awareness. A new website launching Summer 2022 seeks to support teaching and learning and expand virtual visitors to the Johnson Museum.
Position Requirements
Top candidates will have a Master’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Management, or a museum-related field, and at least 5 years of managerial experience, or the equivalent combination. You will be an excellent communicator with experience in financial reporting and presentation, project management, administration and preparation of grants and proposals, as well as contract negotiation. The successful candidate must have experience in and/or a demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.
If you meet all of the requirements, great! There are just a few other qualifications that we would view as preferred:
Related experience in higher education or in a nonprofit or arts/cultural organization. Broad knowledge of DEAI best practices in museums.
Rewards and Benefits
- Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, sustainability and diversity initiatives.
- Our benefits program includes comprehensive health care options, access to wellness programs, employee discounts with local and national retail brands and generous retirement contributions. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: https://hr.cornell.edu/benefits-pay .
- Our leave provisions include three weeks of vacation and 13 holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1.
- Cornell’s impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children’s Tuition Assistance Program
- Competitive wages
How to Apply
Submit your application materials including a cover letter and resume through our online application portal:
Please note you can both the letter and resume should be attached in the resume section of your application.
This position does not support Visa sponsorship.
Important Notice to Applicants
As part of the university's comprehensive vaccination program, all Cornell employees are required to have and provide proof of an FDA-or WHO-authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine and booster or have obtained a university-approved disability/medical or religious exemption, regardless of their role and work location.
New hires are required to provide documentation showing full vaccination status (that is, completion of two shots of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one shot of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson) before their first day of work. If a new hire's vaccination is not complete or information is not received by their start date, the first day of work will be delayed. It is possible in some cases that an offer of employment may be withdrawn. New hires are also required to have and provide proof of their vaccine booster within 30 days of the start of their employment or within 30 days of eligibility for the vaccine booster.
For additional information on Cornell’s Vaccination/Booster Compliance Program click here.
EEO Statement
Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University’s heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations. Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students, and staff impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose, and contribute creative ideas to further the university's mission of teaching, discovery, and engagement.