Community Engagement Officer – Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) – Seattle, WA

Position Announcement

Museum Vision and Mission:

MOHAI is treasured locally and respected nationally as a vibrant resource where history inspires us to be our best, individually and collectively. By collecting and preserving artifacts and stories of our diverse history, MOHAI highlights our regional tradition of innovation and imagination. Through compelling exhibits, scholarship, education, public programs, and community engagement, MOHAI bridges the past, present, and future. MOHAI is a place and a community of people with histories of successes and failures that: bind us together; amuse, disturb, and inspire us; inform and guide us; and deepen our connection with our heritage.

Position Title: Community Engagement Officer

Reports to: Executive Director

Location: MOHAI, at Lake Union Park’s historic Armory building

Rate of pay: $60,000 – $65,000 annually, DOE

Classification: Exempt, Salaried, Full-time

Schedule: Weekdays with some evenings and weekends

Benefits: Medical and dental insurance; eligible for participation in 403 (b) savings plan

Position Description: The Community Engagement Officer works with the Executive Director and other senior leaders to translate the organizational vision for integrating community participation into MOHAI’s work across the institution. As the principal representative for community engagement, this position has primary oversight of defining the museum’s strategies for cultivating and stewarding community relationships and developing MOHAI audiences and partnerships and works collaboratively across the museum to advance those strategies.

This position is focused on improving community access to MOHAI’s resources and programs—a need identified in MOHAI’s Racial Equity plan. The Community Engagement Officer shapes the strategies and mechanisms through which we engage and grow our audience and partners by amplifying the voices of community members within all MOHAI departments. The Community Engagement Officer serves as a core member of the IDEA Committee and is a member of the MOHAI leadership team.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and execute community engagement processes, working with all museum departments to support a cohesive community engagement plan that advances MOHAI’s strategic plan and racial equity goals.
Ensure that all interactions are culturally responsive, respectful, and based on a foundation of MOHAI’s commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.
Establish protocols and oversee the implementation of the museum-wide community-inclusive approach, in close collaboration with the Interpretive Services and Collections Resources teams, and MOHAI senior leadership.
Establish and oversee the Community Advisory Committee process, which supports the growth of MOHAI’s collections, and the development, marketing, and support of MOHAI exhibits and programs.
Participate in MOHAI’s audience evaluation efforts in order to assess the efficacy of existing audience engagement strategies, and to inform new directions in audience development and engagement.
Establish community engagement goals and collaborate with MOHAI leadership to implement related strategies and performance indicators throughout the museum.
Collaborate with museum staff in Collections Resources, Interpretive Services, Advancement, Education and other departments to identify, establish, and build connections and partnerships with communities who are new to and/or underrepresented in MOHAI collections, exhibits, and programs, to foster community-building through long-term and mutually beneficial relationships.
Act as staff liaison for the MOHAI Board Community Outreach Subcommittee.
May be required on occasion to represent the museum in professional, academic and community forums, advancing the museum’s reputation and profile, in support of community relations and audience development goals.
Develop and manage the community engagement operating (non-capital) budget.
Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Minimum three years’ experience at a museum or non-profit organization, including
Knowledge of audience engagement best-practices
Familiarity with community development strategies and experience working with community partners
Knowledge and experience with racial equity strategies
Hands-on experience with successful cross-team collaborations.

Experience managing a wide variety of people, both colleagues and external relationships through facilitation as well as conflict resolution.
Demonstrated ability to influence and facilitate institutional change.
Ability to responsively deploy institutional resources to meet evolving goals.
Experience in effectively managing budgets and success in completing long-term complex projects.
Strong grasp of institutional processes and their relationship to project-oriented details.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including public speaking.
Familiarity with the regional heritage and cultural organizational landscape.
Ability to assist and instruct museum staff and volunteers with patient, respectful, and supportive approach.
Bachelor’s degree, Master of Arts in history, museum studies, or related field, preferred.
Bilingual and multilingual skills valued.
Enthusiasm for MOHAI’s exhibits, programs, and mission.

Museum Overview:

For nearly 80 years, MOHAI has been dedicated to enriching lives by preserving, sharing, and teaching the diverse history of Seattle, the Puget Sound region and the nation. With a collection of nearly 4 million artifacts, photographs, oral histories and archival items, and an expansive schedule of exhibits and programs, MOHAI is the region’s premier history center. MOHAI operates a dramatic and award-winning museum in Lake Union Park in Seattle’s vibrant South Lake Union neighborhood, and a Resource Center in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. MOHAI also hosts the Bezos Center for Innovation, focusing on the history and future of innovation in the Puget Sound region.

MOHAI is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is an official affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. For more information, please visit www.mohai.org.

To Apply (no phone calls, please):

Please e-mail letter of interest, resume, and three references to (please remove spaces): Human . Resources @ mohai . org

MOHAI is a 501(C)3 Organization and an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility and building a diverse staff. We encourage candidates of color to apply

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $60,000.00 – $65,000.00 per year

Application Question(s):

Do you have:

o Knowledge of audience engagement best-practices
o Familiarity with community development strategies and experience working with community partners
o Knowledge and experience with racial equity strategies
o Hands-on experience with successful cross-team collaborations.