Head of Academic Affairs
Yale Center for British Art
Organization Description:
Yale is made up of Yale College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and twelve professional schools. Included in the professional schools are the School of Architecture, School of Art, Divinity School, School of Drama, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of the Environment, Law School, School of Management, School of Medicine, School of Music, School of Nursing, the School of Public Health, and the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Yale students graduate with a thirst for learning, a greater appreciation for creativity, and a respect for education that they bring to positions of leadership and civic life.
The university’s exceptional faculty includes more than 4,800 scholars working at the frontiers of knowledge across disciplines. Each year, Yale faculty members receive numerous national and international honors recognizing their scholarship and research. The current faculty includes Nobel laureates, MacArthur Genius grantees, Lasker Award winners, Fields Medal mathematicians, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, and members of the world’s most prestigious academic societies. Demonstrating the university’s distinctive commitment to teaching, distinguished faculty members take an active part in teaching undergraduates and graduate and professional students, often imparting knowledge that is just being discovered.
The Opportunity, Yale Center for British Art
The Yale Center for British Art (YCBA) houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, encompassing works from the fifteenth century to the present in a range of media. The museum offers a vibrant, year-round program of events and exhibitions in person and online. Presented to the university by collector and philanthropist Paul Mellon (Yale College, Class of 1929), the museum opened to the public in 1977. Visit the YCBA
Position Description:
The Yale Center for British Art seeks exemplary candidates for the inaugural role of Head of Academic Affairs. Reporting directly to the Deputy Director of Research, the Head of Academic Affairs will drive and create strategy and serve as a visionary leader for the Yale Center for British Art team. The organization is poised for their next chapter of growth, innovation, research, partnership, and impact.
The Role, Head of Academic Affairs
The Yale Center for British Art (YCBA), the largest museum outside the United Kingdom devoted to British art, seeks a Head of Academic Affairs to lead its comprehensive research program. The Head of Academic Affairs is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic and holistic research strategy for the YCBA. This includes supporting the development of research across museum departments as well as responsibility for the museum’s residential scholars and visiting artists program; scholarly symposia, conferences, and study days; engagement with Yale faculty, students, and staff; Yale in London; and national and international partnerships to advance the study of British art.
The postholder amplifies and facilitates existing research initiatives at the YCBA while also developing new programs. This includes providing guidance and helping shape initiatives institution-wide, in alignment with the overall direction, goals, and framework for research at the YCBA. The Head of Academic Affairs is deeply committed to research on the museum’s collections, leading collaborative research endeavors across YCBA departments, as well as research on the history of British art more broadly. The postholder fosters a vibrant and innovative research culture at the museum and through inter-institutional projects nationally and internationally.
In collaboration with the YCBA’s Education and Study Room departments, and curatorial staff members, the Head of Academic Affairs enhances the use of the YCBA’s collection and exhibitions in teaching. The postholder develops energetic and creative programs utilizing the collections and in collaboration with faculty members. This position offers an opportunity for the YCBA to engage deeply with object-based teaching at the university, and to develop new relationships with departments and units on campus as well as at area colleges.
The postholder reports to the Deputy Director for Research and serves as head of the Academic Affairs department. The Head of Academic Affairs supervises two staff members, indirectly supervises a postdoctoral research associate, and is responsible for all department operations as well as department budgets. In addition, the postholder takes a leadership role in professional organizations and endeavors, including as the YCBA’s representative to the Association of Research Institutes in Art History, and as an editor of British Art Studies, which is co-published with the Paul Mellon Centre.
Reports to:
Deputy Director for Research
Job Requirements & Responsibilities:
Essential duties:
– Develops and advances a strategic museum-wide research program dedicated to the YCBA’s collections, exhibitions, and the history of British art.
– Implements a framework and processes for supporting research within departments at the museum and research originating from the Academic Affairs department.
– Develops scholarly programs for the public and academic audiences, such as symposia, conferences, and study days to illuminate the YCBA’s collections and initiatives and to advance the field of British Art.
– Leads the Academic Affairs department, managing its two staff members, department operations, and the department budget.
– Provides oversight for programs managed by the Associate Director of Research, including scholarly programs, graduate student initiatives, postgraduate and postdoctoral cohorts, residential scholars program, and Yale in London.
– Fosters a vibrant and diverse research community at the museum, encouraging critical and innovative thinking and discourse.
– Works collaboratively with senior staff in the Research division, including the Chief Archivist, Chief Librarian, Head of Education, and Head of Study Room, to further the YCBA’s research strategy.
– Develops and enhances partnerships with other museums and research institutes to advance the field.
Participates fully in the intellectual life of Yale University.
Skills and abilities:
– Exceptional communication, leadership, and organizational skills.
– Demonstrated success developing, coaching, and managing staff.
– Proven success in a highly collaborative working environment.
– Demonstrated ability to prioritize, respond to changes, manage multiple concurrent projects, and bring work to competition.
– Proven ability to work across disciplines and historical time periods, beyond the postholder’s area of scholarly expertise.
Candidate Qualifications:
Experience:
PhD in art history or a related field in the humanities.
At least 10 years of related professional experience. A minimum of three years serving in a leadership position in a museum, library, university, or research institute.
Portfolio of significant and impactful research activities.
Preferred:
Preference may be given to those who have worked in a museum or research institute.
Knowledge of British art.
Position Type:
Full-Time
Union Status:
Non-Union
FLSA Status:
Exempt
Salary :
$79,500 – 179,800
Organization or Project Website:
https://britishart.yale.edu/
Application Info:
Nominations and Procedure for Candidacy
Nominations and applications will be accepted until the position is filled and interested parties are encouraged to submit applications by January 22, 2024. Applications should include a statement of interest and a resume of professional and educational attainments. All nominations, applications, and inquiries should be submitted electronically in confidence to: Nomination Form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6IF69MXtZ-kcOHWGj90Q8kq9UkHWHh6WHjdLopFuMuoWslw/viewform?usp=sharing) or to:
Rosa Morris, Rosa.Morris@KornFerry.com
Amber Galusha-Patel Amber.GalushaPatel@KornFerry.com
EEO Statement
University policy is committed to affirmative action under law in employment of women, minority group members, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans. Additionally, in accordance with Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.
Inquiries concerning Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment (https://your.yale.edu/policies-procedures/policies/9000-yale-university-policy-against-discrimination-and-harassment) may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).