Position Summary

The Director of Learning Initiatives is responsible for the overall strategic development, long-term planning, program growth and implementation, and evaluation of the museums K-12 school and teacher programs, which prioritize access, innovation, diversity, inclusion, and a commitment to making educational impact. Working with the Chief Learning and Engagement Officer, this person brings vision, leadership acumen, and a deep understanding of how to scale arts and education programs to have local relevance and national impact. The role will position Crystal Bridges as a leader in arts integration practice and impact.

Principal Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

The Director will be responsible for the growth and innovation of major education initiatives including:

The Windgate Education Excellence Through the Arts endowment was established to enable Crystal Bridges to propose creative solutions using art, art museums, and artists to address educational challenges facing the nations schools. The Director will guide the project through its various phases: exploratory, pilot, implementation, and scale.

The Walker School Visit Program is committed to providing access to the museum for local and regional students and to removing barriers that hinder schools from integrating the arts into their school curriculum. The museum aims to bring 50,000 students to the museum in 2023 and provides free bus transportation, school lunch, and substitute teacher reimbursement. With the museums physical expansion anticipated to be completed in 2026, this program is expected to double its audience size.

Digital Learning: The Director will be responsible for the leadership and execution of a strategic plan for the comprehensive integration of technology throughout the museums K-12 portfolio.

Responsibilities related to the Windgate Initiative

• Build on the initial program design to ensure the initiative meets its ambitious goals, which include:

• Vision for and development of the resource and learning website

• Process for selecting initial and future cohorts of communities

• How evaluation and learning will be built into the program design in ways that provide quantifiable impact

• How advocacy at multiple levels will be built into the program from the outset

• Operationalize the proposed program for this initiative, including:

• Determining the project budget for the short- and long-term

• Determining the capacity needed from the museum, including staff and physical space

• Selecting, leading and supporting teams to fulfill the vision

• Develop and execute an advocacy strategic plan to include:

  • Articulation of the unique and impactful role the museum can play in an advocacy role

  • A theory of change about how the community partnership cohorts can lead to the unlocking of more resources and at what level (local, state, and/or federal) to support this kind of arts integration and project-based learning in schools.

• Ensure cohesive coordination/collaboration and effective communication with stakeholders

• Leverage the Directors and the museums extensive networks among cultural and education stakeholders, particularly in the Heartland, to engage communities where access to arts integration is currently limited.

Responsibilities related to the Walker School Visit Program and the Museums overall portfolio of School and Teacher Programs:

• Implement the strategic plan for K-12 student and teacher programs, with a focus on innovation, impact, scale, relevance, and accessibility.

• Oversee and support the development, management, and delivery of all offerings for school audiences, including school tours, resource materials, educator professional development, and school partnerships.

• Lead the development and implementation of digital strategies and programs that integrate technology to support innovative learning environments.

• Maintain the creative and strategic growth and sustainability of endowed education programs which represent significant commitment and areas of importance for the museums mission.

• Cultivate and manage endowments, grants, and financial sponsorships as directed, including the distribution of all endowment funds and sponsorships that support the departments programs.

• Work closely with the Chief Learning and Engagement Officer to develop, implement, and scale online learning.

• In collaboration with museums Research and Evaluation team, develop and deliver front end, formative, and summative evaluations of programs on a continual basis.

• Manage the complex daily operations of the school programs department.

• Manage all resources including budgets and allocations, supplies, and spaces.

Minimum Qualifications

Education, Training, Traits:

• Bachelors degree in areas such as the Arts, Education, or Humanities. Masters degree preferred.

• Demonstrated management and administrative abilities

Work Experience:

• 5 or more years of progressively responsible and relevant experience working in museums, schools, cultural organizations, or other relevant settings.

• Experience with curriculum development, program development, evaluation, and audience research.

Licenses and Certifications:

• Valid drivers license required.

Skills and Abilities:

The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:

An Innovative Practitioner and Advocate for Arts Education

As systems change thinker, this individual will be adept at connecting the work of educators, teaching artists, and community collaborations to systems change work on a larger scale. The ideal candidate will have experience as an educator or artist working with K-12 students as well as a deep understanding of successful advocacy approaches at the state or local levels. With a demonstrated record of introducing and building new programs or initiatives, this leader will be committed to spurring systemic change by working both with diverse constituents at a community level and with decision makers within government.

A Builder & Entrepreneur

This leader will be an independently driven and entrepreneurial thinker with a successful track record of translating mission and vision into strategy, systems, and impact. They will have a bias for action, ability to manage competing priorities and timelines, and an understanding of the museums multi-faceted constituents. Within a complex environment, this leader will have their finger on the pulse of the arts integration field and will possess a solid understanding of what it means to scale significant initiatives and bring ideas to life. This leader will be comfortable building consensus and working in ambiguity, with experience creating qualitative and quantitative measurements to demonstrate progress.

Leading Through Influence

This leader will be a persuasive and authentic communicator, skilled at creating a powerful sense of shared purpose and engagement as they guide the future of the arts integration field in K-12 education. A skilled facilitator and convener, they will demonstrate a high level of emotional intelligence with a track record of quickly establishing credibility and trust with new and existing constituents. They will have the character and confidence to work comfortably and interact effectively with a broad range of partners, including teachers, school leaders, teaching artists, arts educators, cultural institution leadersboth conventional and non-conventionalas well as policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels. This leader will ensure that all constituents are informed, engaged, and included.

Savvy and People-Oriented Team Leadership

Crystal Bridges is a dynamic work environment with a growth-oriented outlook. Employee engagement is key to a high-performance team. This leader is responsible for creating an inspiring team environment, setting clear team goals, and providing direction, guidance, and support. This role is anticipated to lead a department with 15 team members with four direct reports, and to be able to manage multiple consultant contracts at one time. Along with the Director of Public Programs, Director of Community Engagement, Director of Education Administration and Operations, and the Director of the Library, this individual will serve as a member of the Learning and Engagement Divisions leadership team.

A Passion for the Mission

Above all, this leader will embody and be energized by the museums education initiatives, creating unique opportunities to promote its vision and purpose. A keen advocate for promoting access to the arts within school settings, this leader will be fueled by a commitment to deepening the relevance and value that the arts bring to all people. Well-versed in diversity, equity, access, and inclusion strategies in the field, they will have a strong track record of engaging a wide range of constituents in achieving results. This leader will demonstrate unquestionable integrity, ethics, and values; they will be authentic and can be trusted without reservation. This leader will be aligned with the Crystal Bridges mission and culture, working with the Chief Learning and Engagement Officer and relevant team members to create a dynamic process and bold, impactful action.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individual with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

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  Physical demands: Regularly, while performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to travel independently regionally and in communities served. In the work environment described below, position requires working at a desk and utilizing a computer and a telephone, good eye/hand coordination, bending and stretching, standing and sitting in the ability to move around galleries, the classrooms, and throughout the museum, including travel on the outdoor trails. Visual acuity to review written materials is required for this job.

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  Work environment: Work will be performed in an office environment, museum galleries, art studios, outdoors on the trails, and in communities served. Some evening and weekend hours are required. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time. The noise level in the Museum work environment is usually low to moderate.

• Some work during evenings and weekends is required.

• Occasional regional and national travel is required.

• Covid-19 Precaution(s):

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    Must provide verification of full vaccination

  • Virtual meetings (as needed)

  • Remote interview process (when applicable)

  • Sanitizing, disinfecting, or cleaning procedures in place

About Crystal Bridges

The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding American art. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and chair of the museums board of directors, Alice Walton. Since opening to the public on 11-11-11, the museum has welcomed more than 5 million visitors and garnered 15,000 membership households. Some 280,000 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost.

Crystal Bridges takes its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building, designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A series of pavilions nestled around two spring-fed ponds house the galleries and amenities such as a restaurant, museum store designed by architect Marlon Blackwell, and a library featuring more than 50,000 volumes of art reference material. In addition to the museums architecture, a Usonian house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was preserved, acquired, and moved to the museum grounds in 2015, and a rare Buckminster Fullers Flys Eye Dome was installed in 2017, both providing access to American architectural masterworks in a natural setting.

Sculpture and walking trails link the museum's 120-acre park to downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. A new entrance, elevator tower, and pedestrian bridge was added to the north side of the building in 2017, increasing access to the museums north lawn and newly enhanced North Forest Trail. More than 600,000 visitors a year utilize the museums five miles of walking trails.

Crystal Bridges permanent collection spans five centuries of American artworks from early American to the present, and is always free to view. Crystal Bridges is committed to telling broad and inclusive stories by acquiring and showcasing the highest quality works by artists underrepresented in art history and conventional museum frameworks. Works such as Asher B. Durands Kindred Spirits, Gilbert Stuarts George Washington, and Georgia OKeeffes Jimson Weed are displayed alongside contemporary artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Maya Lin, Fritz Scholder, Jaune Quick-To-See-Smith, Felix Gonzales-Torres, and Amy Sherald represent some of the finest achievements in American art. The collection continues to grow, while the museum also offers temporary exhibitions that complement the collection and can also reveal arts connections to equality and justice.

Crystal Bridges provides year-round programming for all ages. In 2019, more than 800 public programs and events were offered, including lectures, performances, classes, and continuing education for K-12 teachers. Crystal Bridges stays connected online with the full collection available via eMuseum, an award-winning app, a podcast called Museum Way, all available for free, and many of the museums lectures such as the Distinguished Speaker Series are on Crystal Bridges YouTube channel. An online-learning initiative provides opportunities for students and teachers with arts-based courses, as well as SmartHistory with arts history videos and essays. Crystal Bridges also offers two research fellowship programs. The Tyson Scholars in American Art program encourages and supports full-time scholarship that seeks to expand boundaries and traditional categories of investigation into American art and visual culture. The Reese Teacher Fellowship provides for research into the development of interdisciplinary connections between American art and core curriculum subjects of language arts, history, social studies, and the sciences. In addition, Crystal Bridges administers the awarding of the Don Tyson Prize, an unprecedented award recognizing significant achievements in the field of American art. Additional information about Crystal Bridges is available online at CrystalBridges.org.

About the Momentary

The Momentary is a contemporary art space that opened to the public on February 22, 2020, in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. A satellite to Crystal Bridges, the Momentary presents visual, performing, and culinary arts. The mission of the Momentary is to champion contemporary arts role in everyday life and explore the unfolding story of contemporary American arts in an international context by actively commissioning and exhibiting outstanding works that explore new ideas and inspire action. The Momentary was founded by the Walton family, based on the vision of Tom, Olivia, and Steuart Walton. The Walton Family Foundation is supporting this project as a way to enhance the quality of life in Northwest Arkansas. The Momentary welcomes all with free general admission. Additional offerings include an artist-in-residence program, culinary experiences including an Onyx Coffee Lab, indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, an outdoor festival space, and a gift store. For more information, visit theMomentary.org. The Momentary is located at 507 SE E Street, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.