St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site seeks an Executive Director

The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm seeks an Executive Director to manage museum operations. This is a great position at an actively growing museum, working with wonderful people in beautiful southern Utah. I am very happy to answer any questions about the position at tracksofdinos@gmail.com.

Please share this job announcement widely. We seek someone with a combination of museum experience and management experience. Paleontology experience is strongly preferred.

Job title: Museum Executive Director

Organization: St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm (www.UtahDinosaurs.com)

Salary: $47,500 plus a $5,000 benefits package

Application deadline: Review of applications will begin on Monday July 25. Early applications strongly encouraged.

Position start date: August or early September 2016

The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm houses one of the best dinosaur track sites in the world. We are located in St. George, southwestern Utah, and have approximately 40,000 annual visitors, many of whom come to our museum as part of their travels to nearby National Parks such as Zion and the Grand Canyon.

Our museum is young and actively growing. We have a small staff and so the director is responsible for almost all aspects of museum operation. This position is a combination of many different duties and skills. The main components of the position are administration and management, and purchasing gift shop inventory. Other duties include marketing, public relations, human resources, arranging group tours, maintaining the web page and social media accounts, applying for grants, event planning, and community outreach. The director also develops and produces new exhibits one to two times per year in collaboration with our site paleontologist and a consulting paleontologist from the local Dixie State University. Daily duties vary greatly and require being a “jack-of-all-trades”. The director must be efficient at multi-tasking and problem solving, whether the problems are solved with a wrench or a business meeting.

Position is full-time and is supervised by a board of directors. Bachelor’s degree required; Masters or Ph.D. strongly preferred. The desired candidate will have museum experience and management experience. History of paleontology museum experience preferred. This is not a paleontology research position, but a director with paleontology experience will have a great advantage when designing paleontology exhibits and outreach programs.

To apply, email the following items to tracksofdinos@gmail.com: 1) A cover letter explaining your qualifications for the position, detailing your experience with the wide variety of duties listed in the job description. 2) Your resume. 3) The names and contact information for three professional references.

For questions about the position, please email our current director, Dr. Liz Freedman Fowler, at tracksofdinos@gmail.com or call 435-574-3466 x1.

Full Job Description:

JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION: Museum Executive Director, St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, St. George, Utah, United States

SUPERVISOR: Foundation Board President and other Board members as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

· The Director must have a Bacherlors or higher degree in either museum services, a relevant scientific field, or other as determined by the Board

· The Director must have the ability to:

o Work with the public, employees, and volunteers in a pleasant and outgoing manner, be tactful, and professional

o Work with professional people in related fields and be familiar with both scientific principles and appropriate business practices

o Work with budgets and financial information regarding the site

o Gain a working knowledge of all facets of the facility

o Develop long range goals and create applicable programs

DUTIES:

· Under the direction of the Foundation Board, the Director will:
o Work with the Board to achieve goals according to the Strategic Plan

o Prepare and employ a budget for the facility and be responsible for allocation of funds

o Supervise the development and implemention of marketing strategies and plans

o Supervise all employees and volunteers, create a program for feedback and appraisals, and maintain appropriate personnel records

o Manage the gift shop so that it provides a stable source of income for the site

o Apply for grants to fund new expansions and exhibits utilizing the goals of the Strategic Plan

o Continue to develop and increase participation in membership programs

o Produce or supervise production of the membership newsletter

o Develop programming such as Dino Days or other museum-specific events

o Work with the curator to develop and implement an interpretive plan and strategy for the museum, including permanent and temporary displays, signage, hands-on and children’s activities, etc.

o Work with the curator to further develop the employee and volunteer programs, training, and communications

o Oversee the facility’s physical requirements, or designate such duties as required, to maintain the site as a pleasant and safe place to visit or work

o Meet with the public, other business organizations, donors, grantees, etc., as necessary to perform the duties of the position

o Supervise scheduling of tour groups and arrange details as necessary

o Supervise development of educational and/or resource-sharing programs

o Supervise development and maintenance of the museum’s web presence, social media, and other technology as applicable

o Be familiar with good museum practices and work with curator to ensure proper care of specimens, including appropriate documentation, recordkeeping, and storage of collection items

o Attend monthly Board meetings, prepare and present appropriate updates and documentation as required by the Board

o Attend professional conferences when applicable

o Other duties as assigned

HOURS: This is a full-time position. Requires occaisional evenings and weekends for holidays and special events.

SALARY: $47,500 plus a $5,000 benefits package

HOW TO APPLY: Email the following items to tracksofdinos@gmail.com: 1) A cover letter explaining your qualifications for the position, detailing your experience with the wide variety of duties listed in the job description. 2) Your resume. 3) The names and contact information for three professional references.

For questions about the position, please email our current director, Dr. Liz Freedman Fowler, at tracksofdinos@gmail.com or call 435-574-3466 x1.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Review of applications will begin on Monday July 25. Early applications strongly encouraged.

POSITION START DATE: August or early September 2016