Positions Available

Position of Executive Director
Frederic Remington Art Museum
311 Washington Street, Ogdensburg, NY USA

The Frederic Remington Art Museum seeks a dynamic, innovative, and self-motivated leader for the position of Executive Director, replacing the current director who is retiring after 7 years. The successful candidate will have proven leadership and management abilities, strong communication skills, fund raising and grant writing experience, strategic planning, budget management, and marketing skills.

DESCRIPTION – The Frederic Remington Art Museum

The Frederic Remington Art Museum (www.fredericremington.org) is located in Ogdensburg (www.ogdensburg.org) on the majestic St. Lawrence River in Northern New York. Frederic Remington (b. 1861, Canton, NY – d. 1909, Ridgefield, CT) was one of the most famous artists of his time, bringing images of the Old West to the public on the pages of magazines and later in bronze. The Museum’s collection also shares Remington’s look at Northern New York with oils depicting his beloved northern wilderness and St. Lawrence River. Exhibits include changing displays that explore lesser-known aspects of the artist’s work. Visitors also benefit from an insider’s look at the life of the artist through exhibits of Remington’s library, art tools, sketches, photos, furniture, and studio artifacts.

Since its inception in 1923, the museum has presented Frederic Remington’s art and studio treasures in the context of the historic Parish Mansion. Built in 1809 and renovated around 1900, the mansion itself satisfies the cravings of history buffs. Its furnishings evoke the comfortable lifestyle of Frederic Remington and his cohorts. Remington’s widow, Eva, lived in this house from 1915 to 1918. In her will, she left her collection of Remington’s art, archives, and much of their household furniture to form the Museum’s collection. The Museum continues to acquire Remington art and archival materials. Expansion has provided additional gallery space that presents a fitting and secure context for Remington’s paintings, drawings and bronzes.

The Museum’s education center provides opportunities for families to explore aspects of Remington’s world and artistic process. Directed primarily to kids between four and fourteen, this hands-on center encourages fun with creative play, sketching and modeling with artist’s materials.

Museum details can be found in the on-line document: Frederic Remington Art Museum Fact Sheet.pdf and on the museum’s website: www.fredericremington.org.

A description of the area can be found on the City of Ogdensburg’s website: www.ogdensburg.org.

DESCRIPTION – Position of Executive Director

The duties involve responsibility for planning and directing the operation of the Remington Art Museum under the general direction of and in conformance with broad policies established by the Board of Trustees. By means of long-range planning, the Board provides general direction to the Executive Director who is held accountable by the Board for every aspect of the Museum program. The Director is expected to shape his ongoing supervision of the Museum within the policies established by the Board. Specifically, the Director’s responsibilities include long-range planning; application for grants; copyright arrangements; publicity and promotional work; budget preparation and administration; representing the Museum at local, regional, and national meetings; and the care, display, and interpretation of the Museum collection. The Director is assisted by a small staff whose work the director plans, directs and supervises.

FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: 

• Thorough knowledge of the fundraising and fiscal management principles and practices governing the administration of an art museum
• Knowledge of and ability to utilize public relations techniques
• Administrative skills
• Ability to meet the public and address groups effectively
• Ability to plan and coordinate the work of others
• Ability to participate effectively in the cultural and intellectual life of the community
• Ability to express oneself clearly and effectively both orally and in writing 

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES: 

• Develops and submits to the Board of Trustees a program for developing and employing to the greatest possible extent the resources of the Museum
• In conjunction with the Board, determines the objectives and program emphasis for the Museum
• Investigates sources of funding and prepares grant applications to strengthen the financial resources of the Museum
• Is responsible for establishing and overseeing copyright procedures relating to the art collection
• Builds cordial and sympathetic relationships with the public and concerned groups and organizations
• Encourages research on the collection and its significance by the staff and outside scholars
• Has charge of efforts to publicize museum resources through a variety of means including newsletters, press releases and radio and television announcements
• Is responsible for the preparation of the budget and for overseeing the maintenance of all necessary ongoing financial records and systems
• Plans for the most effective operation of and directs the management of the Museum Shop
• Is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the Museum building and security systems
• Prepares agendas for meetings of the Board of Trustees and makes all appropriate arrangements related thereto
• Establishes and supervises lecture programs
• Represents the Museum at various local, regional, and national meetings
• Arranges art auctions for the benefit of the Museum

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a bachelor’s degree in Art History, Museum Science, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Marketing or Education and two years of paid full-time professional level experience in a museum, art gallery or in a cultural or educational organization, which shall have involved either budgeting, fund raising or educational program planning responsibilities. Possession of a master’s degree in Art History, Museum Science, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Marketing or Education, may be substituted for the required two years experience.

To view the full Ogdensburg Civil Service Job Description for Executive Director, refer to the following on-line document:Civil Service – Executive Director Remington Art Museum.pdf

COMPENSATION

The salary range is approximately $46,000 - $50,000 depending on qualifications and experience. Retirement and health benefits are provided through the City of Ogdensburg – refer to the website www.ogdensburg.org. Vacation time, sick leave and paid holidays are also included in the compensation package.

HOW TO APPLY

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Please note that this is a NYS Civil Service position. Completion of the application is required. However, no examination is required.

Interested applicants should do the following:

1. Download, print, complete and sign the following on-line NYS City of Ogdensburg Civil Service Application: Ogdensburg Civil Service Employment Application.pdf

Note: Since you are not applying for an examination, you should NOT complete the following sections: Exam No.; section 4; section 8, and section 10.

2. Include the following with the application:

a. An updated résumé with your current e-mail address.
b. A list of three professional references.

3. The above items must be mailed to:

Search Committee
Frederic Remington Art Museum
311 Washington Street
Ogdensburg, NY 13669

4. In order to substantiate college degree requirements, you must also request appropriate college transcript(s) be mailed to the museum at the address above.Please note the minimum qualifications and the comment regarding official transcripts on the application form.

It is the goal of the Search Committee of the Frederic Remington Art Museum to accept applications until April 1, 2013, make a hiring recommendation to the full Board no later than May 1, 2013, with the approved candidate able to assume the Executive Director position no later than June 1, 2013.

You will be notified via e-mail when your application has been received. Inquires can be e-mailed to search@fredericremington.org.

Internships

Intern Nicole M. Avila working with
Pat Pearson, volunteer, and Laura Foster,
curator of the Frederic Remington Art Museum

Download the intern Program Career Benefits Document here

OVERVIEW OF INTERNSHIPS AT THE FREDERIC REMINGTON ART MUSEUM

The Frederic Remington Art Museum is one of northern New York’s most important cultural resources. We have an extensive collection of the work and personal papers and artifacts of the important American artist Frederic Remington. We also own the Parish House, an historically important 1810 mansion, as well as a collection of antique furniture and glass. The mission of our museum is to collect, exhibit, preserve and interpret the art and archives of Frederic Remington. The museum fosters an appreciation for and understanding of the artist by educating its audience in the visual arts and by providing a context for Remington's life in Northern New York.

Our internship program enables the museum to train and mentor young museum professionals or students considering a career in the museum field (and possibly other fields), expose them to the inner workings and unique challenges of a small museum, and help them develop an understanding of standard museum careers through first-hand experiences that the college classroom cannot offer. The museum, which is fortunate to have good relationships with the four local colleges, offers student interns solid, professional experiences in the museum field, including:

• Individualized training
• A well-equipped workspace
• Customized work and research projects
• Collection tours
• Discussions with each department head and the museum director
• An overview and history of the Frederic Remington Art Museum
• Exposure to issues in the field
• Sessions with installation design, museum education, art handling, and customer service
• Participation in special events
• Program and event planning
• Exposure to the challenges of small not-for-profit museums
• Tours of special exhibitions and installations

Currently, interns work here in exchange for academic credits. However, we hope to soon offer paid internships for students and recent graduates. These individuals, it is hoped, will have settled on a career in the museum field, have proven themselves academically, are serious about gaining extensive experience in particular aspects of a museum’s operations, and can spend ten weeks at the museum at a commitment level of 35 hours a week. We are presently seeking funding to underwrite this type of internship program, which we plan to name after the person, agency or corporation sponsoring the program.