Career Opportunities

Job Summary

The Key West Art & Historical Society’s mission is to preserve the culture of the Florida Keys through exhibiting and displaying regional art, architecture and history for the purpose of educating the community and visiting public.  Reporting to the Curator, the Registrar plays a key role in overseeing the KWAHS’s 30,000+ object collection and its art-related operations in its four distinct and inspired museums.  The position oversees the policies and procedures for the permanent collection, including the archive and the library holdings, as well as loans to and out of the Society. The position is charged with the care, preservation and risk management of the Museum’s collections and with ensuring that the collections are available for current and future visitors.

Core Duties & Responsibilities:

• Assist the Curator with the care, management, and documentation of the museum’s collections, as well as the planning and implementation of all museum exhibitions and incoming and outgoing loans
• Handles over 30,000 collection objects including storage and documentation
• Develops and implements policies and procedures that are in keeping with best professional practice for the registration, documentation, photography, packing, handling, storage, condition reports, display and security of objects on loan to and in the KWAHS’s collection
• Monitors temperature, relative humidity, light levels and integrated pest management, and performs object-related housekeeping in collections storage areas
• Oversees safe handling and condition reporting at installation and de-installation of exhibitions
• Coordinates digital collections activities including cataloging of objects, updating catalog records, location tracking, digital imaging of collection objects, and uploading of clean metadata and images for access by internal and external community
• Creates and maintains legal documents related to exhibitions and collections including loan agreements, loan requests, insurance policies and certificates, deeds of gift, and related gift forms
• Performs object provenance research and facilitates rights and reproduction requests
• Conducts ongoing CMS database development and management, including recording locations, cataloging objects, updating record information, unifying lexicon, accessioning, deaccessioning, and inventory
• Assists in purchasing supplies for packing, storage, archival materials, or conservation/preventative care related matters and requests quotes
• Performs other related duties as assigned are as directed. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning duties that are logically related to the position

Minimum Education Requirement & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in related discipline and two (2) years of experience in related field

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge of museum best practices standards for the care, handling and shipping of museum objects
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and solves problems strategically and creatively
• Functions independently and to be flexible for interruptions and changing priorities
• Excellent proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneDrive), Adobe Creative Suite, Zoom, and CMS
• Knowledge of American Association of Museum’s Code of Ethics as well as the Collecting Guidelines for museums and current museum standards and best practices in registration and collection management
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple projects with strict deadlines in a team setting

Work Environment:

• Office, historic properties, gallery/exhibition spaces, archives and outdoors

Position Type & Schedule:

• Full-time, salaried
• 40 hours per week; evening and weekend hours as needed

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

The Society provides equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. We do not unlawfully discriminate based on race, color, creed, ancestry, medical condition, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual preference or any other basis prohibited by federal or state law or local ordinance applicable to our work locations. We also make reasonable accommodations for disabled employees if we are aware of the need for accommodation and if the requested accommodation does not cause undue hardship as interpreted from the ADA/ADAAA. This policy applies to all areas of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfer, and social and recreational programs.