Overview:    About the Organization: 

The Westchester Children’s Museum (“WCM”), located in Rye, New York, is a vibrant, interactive learning space providing children, families, and school groups the opportunity to nurture curiosity, enhance knowledge, and ignite imagination through hands-on exploration.

The Westchester Children’s Museum was founded over 20 years ago by a group of educators and dedicated volunteers that recognized the need for this type of learning environment in the Westchester area. Leading up to COVID, the Museum expanded from 6,000 to 22,000 square feet of newly renovated space in its historic National Landmark Building. In this post-COVID, WCM has blossomed and now welcomes over 85,000 visitors each year, up from 25k in ‘19, and on track to surpass 100k in ‘24. WCM is seeking a Director of Education & Exhibits (“DoEE”) to help build upon this momentum and move the Museum towards its full potential as a key learning destination for children of all ages and abilities in the region.

Position Overview:

The Westchester Children’s Museum’s Director of Education & Exhibits is a newly created position, and will be a member of the Museum’s senior leadership team, reporting to the Executive Director, working closely with the Director of Development & Marketing and Director of Administration & Operations, as well as the Board of Trustees to provide the leadership, strategic direction, and overall management of the organization’s educational offerings. The DoEE will be responsible for all of the Museum’s internal and external programmatic efforts implementing/showcasing our pedagogical approach, which will require managing civic/community relations, expanding the Museum’s presence in local schools/districts. The DoEE will oversee, develop, and implement a growth strategy for School/Public Programs and Current/Future Hands-On Exhibitions that will improve the overall visitor experience, grow the membership base/general admission, support both earned and contributed revenue goals to contribute to the Museum’s operating budget, as well as to support future phases of the Museum’s renovation and expansion plans. The DoEE will also be responsible for the identification, cultivation, and stewardship of fundraising prospects for new Exhibitions & Programs, in collaboration with the Executive Director and Director of Development & Marketing. Alongside the Executive Director, the DoEE will be the face and voice of WCM’s deep commitment to Playful Learning for Staff, the Board, foundations, corporations, government entities, and while attending special/community events.

The Westchester Children’s Museum is at an exciting pivotal point in its 20 year history as it has created a strong foundation that lends itself to harness its potential for significant growth and impact in the community. The Executive Director and Board of Trustees recognizes the importance and value that the leadership of the DoEE will add to this vision. 

Qualifications:    Requirements

Traits and Characteristics:

The successful candidate will be goal-oriented and highly self-motivated, balancing autonomy and collaboration. This person will be both highly accountable with strong attention to detail and exceptional follow through. Reporting to the Executive Director, the DoEE will be a passionate visionary, focused on outcomes and confidently addressing the desire and ambition to support WCM’s growth and Educational Mission. Serving as a skilled and articulate ambassador, the DoEE will entrench themselves in the community, building connection to WCM’s mission, and skillfully navigating changing community dynamics across the region. 

Other key competencies include:

- Diplomacy and Influencing Others – the dexterity to utilize tact to address sensitive issues while also affecting the way in which others form opinions and make decisions

- Problem Solving and Resiliency – the skill to identify and analyze challenges and define solutions coupled with the ability to quickly recover from adverse circumstances

- Goal Orientation and Teamwork - the acuity to identify and pursue goals while collaborating with others to achieve them

- Futuristic Thinking – the ability to envision ideas, concepts, and plans and bring them to life

Qualifications:

- Master’s Degree in Education, Early Childhood/Elementary/Special Education preferred. Courses or degree in museum studies/management, arts administration, business administration, or related field required.

- Minimum of 15 years of demonstrated skill in program or other administration, preferably with young children and adults in a museum setting.

- Experience with professional development for educators is required.

- Proficient computer skills, including Google Workspace, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) are necessary.

- Strong communication and leadership skills to inspire the community to support the Museum’s mission

Intrinsic passion for understanding and communicating the importance of Play as a vital learning tool for children and their families 

Job Responsibilities:    Primary Roles and Responsibilities:

- Ensure high quality, unique, and extremely engaging early educational learning experiences at WCM.

- Contract content/development staff to conduct periodic evaluations of programs.

- Oversee the development and implementation of an 18-month, mission-focused schedule of fee-based classes, camps, special events, field trips/workshops, professional development, and presentations.

- Develop and coordinate a yearly program plan with measurable goals and participate in planning for programming initiatives and enterprises at WCM.

- Coordinate with the Director of Development & Marketing to develop and implement a marketing plan for WCM programs and programming enterprises.

- Develop, prepare, and manage the budget for school programs, public programs and events, as well as the Family Access Memberships.

- Work with the Director of Development & Marketing and Grant Writing Service firm to assist in writing grants, preparing grant budgets, monitoring programming aspects of grant budgets, and assist with grants reporting.

- Ensure the development and delivery of WCM training for all front-line staff and volunteers are conducted on a regular basis and with current exhibits and program information.

- Participate with leaders to develop and communicate educational strategy that furthers the vision and mission of WCM.

- Coordinate activities of program volunteers and interns in the Education and Experience Department.

- Represent WCM’s mission and maintain an awareness of current early education trends through presentations, participation in professional panels, STEAM Early Learning Collaborations, and as Chair of WCM’s Education & Exhibits Advisory Committee.

- Oversee contacts with area agencies, including the Families Task Force, 0-6 Committee, local and state early learning collaborations and other institutions to establish and nurture relationships that foster WCM’s programming mission.

- Other duties as assigned