The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), in Salem, MA, is one of the largest and most dynamic art museums in the nation, committed to fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and respectful environment. Their team is passionate about art, culture, and creating a memorable experience for everyone who walks through the doors.
PEM’s growth in recent years has attracted a host of creative and innovative individuals. In this context, the Museum seeks a new Director of Exhibition Design, a dynamic and visionary individual to lead its Exhibition Design Studio, overseeing the planning, design, and implementation of a wide range of projects, including long-term collection galleries, temporary exhibitions of varying scales, collection rotations, and enhancements to public spaces across the Museum’s main facility and historic sites.
The Director of Exhibition Design manages an annual $1-million exhibitions budget and a team of seven to eight staff. They play a pivotal role in shaping PEM’s exhibitions by delivering original, innovative designs while ensuring the seamless integration of artistic vision, practical execution, and strategic planning.
PEM’s culture is forward-thinking and collaborative, with staff regularly working across collections and departments, celebrating intersections, discovery, and immersive, out-of-the-box visitor experiences. As the leader of PEM’s Exhibition Design Department, the Director will inspire and guide a team of associate designers, managing their contributions to all exhibition projects while also serving as Lead Designer for selected projects each year. The department operates as a collaborative, design-build function, requiring close coordination with the Exhibition Production and Installation Manager to balance in-house fabrication capabilities with outsourced services to achieve outstanding and timely results.
This position offers an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of PEM’s exhibitions, combining creative vision with operational excellence in a role that intersects art, culture, and design innovation to create transformative and engaging visitor experiences. The role demands a leader with the ability to oversee complex logistics who can effectively manage schedules, balance competing priorities, and resolve challenges. They must be able to navigate the expectations of diverse stakeholders, perspectives, and ideas with professionalism, adaptability, and strong decision-making skills, combining clear communication with a collaborative spirit, engaging constructively with colleagues across departments and fostering an environment where creativity and teamwork thrive. The successful Director of Exhibition Design will ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
Beyond individual project oversight, the Director of Exhibition Design will contribute significantly to the Museum’s long-term exhibition strategy. The director will align design and production resources with PEM’s mission “to offer thought-provoking experiences of the arts, humanities, and sciences to activate understanding of our shared humanity and to empower imagination and learning through experimentation.”
This position reports to the Director of Curatorial Affairs/Nancy B. Putnam Curator for Fashion and Textiles.
Exhibitions
The Director of Exhibition Design works closely with PEM’s sixteen curators and museum project teams to share in the production of a robust calendar of unique and highly acclaimed special exhibitions, circulating through approximately 22,000 square feet of gallery space. Ongoing collection galleries rotate regularly and are often installed in thematic, multi-disciplinary presentations, throughout approximately 30,000 square feet of dedicated galleries.
PEM is particularly celebrated for its groundbreaking exhibitions that explore both contemporary and historical themes with bold, interdisciplinary perspectives. Recent exhibitions include Salem Witch Trials: Restoring Justice, Made It: The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion, Gu Wenda: United Nations, The Great Animal Orchestra: Bernie Krause and United Visual Artists, and Climate Action: Inspiring Change, which exemplify PEM’s commitment to presenting bold, interdisciplinary narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
SELECT RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:
- Contributing original, innovative designs and presentation ideas that align with PEM’s esthetic and mission.
- Ensuring successful completion of all design projects in terms of quality and timeliness.
- Successfully managing complex operating budgets.
- Supervising, managing, and maintaining departmental staffing, including hiring, setting goals and objectives, monitoring performance, and resolving challenges. Hiring and overseeing consultants. Reinforcing an environment that encourages success for staff and project team members.
- Promoting a departmental understanding of best practices for conservation, materials and mounts, casework and fabrication, gallery fit-up and finishes, media integration, interactives, graphics materials, and electrical and lighting systems etc.
- Maintaining a standard design documentation system for shared communication and bidding.
- Collaborating on exhibition-related grants with Development, Exhibition Planning, and Curatorial teams.
- Networking and maintaining international professional relationships throughout the field and offering professional development opportunities for department staff.
ACADEMIC AND EXPERIENCIAL REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree in design-related field required—Exhibit, Industrial, Theater, or Architectural Design, or the equivalent; advanced degree preferred.
- A minimum of ten years’ experience in exhibition design for art/cultural institutions and four years of administrative or managerial experience in a design-related capacity, or equivalent experience.
- Substantial experience in comprehensive design process for museum installations, including staffing and team coordination, scheduling and budgeting, and overall design phasing and document packaging.
- Strong working knowledge of various design software applications such as Vectorworks, AutoCAD, or REVIT, 3D Studio MAX, Rhino, Sketchup, Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project), and Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator).
- Working knowledge of Experiential and Universal Design concepts and applications, and of ADA guidelines.
ESSENTIAL ABILITIES
- Organizational, critical thinking, problem solving, and team management skills.
- Resourcefulness and nimbleness. Ability to adjust easily to changing priorities and complex situations.
- Passion for collaboration and team-oriented work.
- Interpersonal communication skills that are open, decisive, and proactive.
- Ability to operate with individual initiative and creativity while delegating to and mentoring junior staff.
- Financial management skills and demonstrated success with operational budgeting, tracking and reporting on exhibition-design budgets. Skill to identify and fulfill needs and implement new administrative systems and strategies to manage multiple projects.
- Capacity to multitask, address complex issues, coordinate high-volume work, while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.
- Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with senior leadership, museum project teams, and a variety of vendors.
Research shows that women and individuals from under-represented backgrounds often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that an applicant meets 100% of the qualifications for a given role. Therefore, if much of this job description describes you, then you are highly encouraged to apply for this role.
COMPENSATION
- The hiring salary for the position is $94,258 — $120,181. Final compensation will reflect seniority and experience; experienced candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Comprehensive benefits package.
HOW TO APPLY
Nominations and inquiries welcome. To apply: email cover letter and résumé and names of three references with contact information by April 4, 2025, to: Ken Turino, Senior Search Consultant at: searchandref@museum-search.com. A design portfolio will be requested later for semifinalists or finalists. References will not be contacted without prior permission of the applicant, and all applications and nominations are kept confidential. For full details, visit www.museum-search.com/open-searches/.
The Peabody Essex Museum is committed to diversity among its employees and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply.