The Eugene McDermott Director

Description

THE SEARCH

The Dallas Museum of Art seeks an experienced, entrepreneurial, and collaborative executive to serve as Eugene McDermott Director (Director).

Established in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art has wedded civic enthusiasm and ambition to artistic excellence, scholarly rigor, and institutional growth to build an internationally known collection, community, and destination. At the core of the Museum and its programs is its global collection, encompassing more than 25,000 works of cultural breadth across 5,000 years of history. Anchoring America’s largest arts district and facing the city’s popular new Klyde Warren Park, the Museum acts as a catalyst for activity and creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with its diverse spectrum of programming from exhibitions, education programs, and lectures to concerts, literary events, and dramatic and dance presentations. Please visit https://dma.org/about to learn more.

The Museum has retained the national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller, to assist in the recruitment of its next Director. Please direct all applications, nominations, and inquiries to Isaacson, Miller as indicated at the end of this document.

THE MUSEUM

Progressing through impressive expansions since its founding by 50 invested citizens in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) began commanding sustained international attention following its 1984 rebranding as the DMA, aligned with a renewed focus on important contemporary acquisitions and exhibitions and innovative education programming within a rapidly growing metropolis.  The DMA is an encyclopedic collection of European, American, Pre-Columbian, and African art, with  notable strengths in the 18th through 20th centuries. The Museum’s growth can be directly attributed to notably substantial donations, including Margaret McDermott, one of Dallas’ most dedicated philanthropists and the most generous single benefactor in DMA’s history who contributed more than 3,100 works to the Museum. After her passing in 2018, her final gift of 32 19th and early 20th century impressionist and modern artworks added significant prominence to the DMA’s collection. In 2005, renowned philanthropists and collectors Marguerite and Robert Hoffman, Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, and Deedie and Rusty Rose made a transformational gift with their pledge to donate a joint and growing contribution of 900 artworks valued at more than $300 million at the time. This gift, already visible, will vastly expand the Museum’s holdings and affirm the DMA as a preeminent destination of contemporary art for generations to come.

Today, the DMA and Dallas enjoy international prominence as a home for bold and generous initiatives dedicated to artistic excellence and impact. The DMA is guided by its core mission statement:

• Place art and diverse communities at the center around which all activities radiate.
• Pursue excellence in collecting and programming, present works of art across cultures and time, and be a driving force in contemporary art.
• Strengthen DMA’s position as a prominent, innovative institution, expanding the meaning and possibilities of learning and creativity.

For more than 120 years, the DMA has served as the city’s flagship museum and anchor in the Arts District. Throughout its history, the DMA has evolved and transformed to serve the people of Dallas and an expanding global audience. At each inflection point, the Museum has mirrored and empowered the city’s ambitions.

CURRENT CONTEXT

Dallas is again at a moment of significant change. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is flourishing, diversifying, and growing; it is forecast to become America’s third-largest urban center by the 2030s. To meet this transformation, the DMA has been planning for its next chapter and recently launched Looking Forward: A New DMA. Through inclusive community input, thoughtful strategic planning, a comprehensive facilities assessment, and a global design competition that drew stellar architectural teams, the DMA has crafted a road map to reimagine its physical space for the first time in nearly four decades. Through a boldly redesigned campus, the DMA will help shape the way the diverse Dallas communities engage with and experience art for generations to come.

ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR: LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Reporting to and engaging with the Board, the Director will live and love art to inspire, innovate, educate, and execute a bold institutional vision and position for the DMA. A tested chief executive, the Director will oversee an operating budget of $27M with nine direct reports, a 335 member staff, and 150 volunteers.

As the DMA looks to the future, the Director is expected to address the following interrelated opportunities and challenges as key priorities.

Lead and Project a Compelling Vision for the Museum that Realizes the DMA’s Bold Ambitions

• Partner with the Board, staff, and Dallas’ communities to develop and execute plans for the Museum’s next century.
• Effectively develop, align, and execute an artistic vision, strategic plan, and capital campaign so the sum is made stronger by its component parts.
• Communicate an infectious passion for art and the DMA that inspires others.
• Oversee an exhibition strategy that optimizes an enviable permanent collection; develop compelling local, digital, and traveling programs that unlock opportunities to increase impact and attract and engage new audiences.
• Convey professionalism, excellence, inclusivity, and enthusiasm as DMA’s ambassador and civic leader in the active public life of Dallas.
• Capitalize on the entrepreneurial reputation and energy that are hallmarks of Dallas culture and industry.
• Engage Dallas fully as a critical partner and cheerleader of a new DMA that accurately represents Dallas’ accelerated transformation.
• Attend to the universal museum challenge of essential collection storage and care.

Strengthen and Diversify the Museum’s Financial Position

• Serve as a champion and chief fundraiser, adept at stewarding existing generous support while attracting and retaining new generations of philanthropic investment.
• Identify sustainable sources of earned revenue to enhance institutional resources for programming, operations, and strategic capital projects.
• Increase endowment to ensure financial sustainability commensurate with growth.
• Apply financial acumen and experience with complex organizational budgets to actively manage daily operations and ensure a vital and healthy museum.

Collaborate with the Board & Staff to Steward Key Relationships

• Ignite and consistently engage the Board’s support for ambitious outcomes grounded in informed risk taking and entrepreneurial energy to advance art, Dallas, and the DMA.
• Actively engage with and further develop the Board, drawing upon deep individual and collective expertise in service and fulfillment to the artistic mission and fiduciary and governance responsibilities of the Museum.
• Practice generational attentiveness, keeping loyal members engaged while cultivating meaningful connection and opportunities with rising generations.
• Strengthen relationships with the City of Dallas; accelerate site improvements and mutual gain.

Support and Develop Dedicated Staff

• Convey a shared belief in the power of art and the DMA’s future potential across and for staff.
• Serve as an approachable, professional, transparent, and inspiring leader for all regardless of role.
• Improve staff morale; delegate, focus on team development, accountability, and contribution.
• Apply organizational and managerial acumen to ensure internal operations are efficient and results oriented.
• Uphold and maintain a flourishing inclusive and accessible culture and destination.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

While no one person may embody all, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional qualifications and personal qualities.

• A passion for the DMA’s programmatic mission and collection. The ability to build rapport with and command the respect and support of collectors, curators, colleagues and the public;
• Proven success as a senior executive of a museum or cultural organization exercising international reach and impact;
• Appetite for and successful track record in revenue development, including individual, institutional, and endowment fundraising; capital campaign experience preferred;
• Demonstrated experience in increasing visibility and impact of a civic institution;
• Commitment to museum best practices, their implementation, and impact;
• Experience leading, serving, and working with an engaged governing Board;
• Demonstrated success in building meaningful partnerships with diverse constituencies, as well as advancing equity, inclusivity, and belonging;
• A collaborative and transparent leadership style that fosters trust and accountability;
• Exceptional communication skills, encouraging and facilitating dialogue around challenging issues with grace, humility, and integrity;
• Experience building and managing budgets while driving sound financial and policy decisions within an organization of ideally comparable complexity and similar funding streams; and
• Extensive executive experience leading strategic planning and operations.

COMPENSATION AND LOCATION

This is a permanent, full-time position based in Dallas with a targeted starting salary range of $550,000 - $600,000 commensurate with experience.

Dallas, Texas is the fourth largest and fifth-most diverse metropolitan area in the United States, with 6.8 million residents and excellent education, business, sports, food, and cultural offerings, including the nation’s largest urban arts district. The 118 acre Dallas Arts District comprises world-class museums and a luminous cluster of performing arts spaces, including the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Crow Collection of Asian Art. These advantages are compounded by the collective wealth of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, encompassing over 200 incorporated cities and towns and limitless possibilities for partnership, collaboration, and community engagement.

APPLICATIONS, INQUIRIES, AND NOMINATIONS

Screening of complete applications will continue until the completion of the search process. Inquiries, nominations, referrals, and CVs with cover letters should be sent via the Isaacson, Miller website.

Sarah James, Courtney Wilk-Mandel, Claire Hennessy, Hannah Moore, Siobhan Hanley: Isaacson, Miller

The Dallas Museum of Art is committed to building a culturally diverse staff and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The DMA provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Salary : $550,000 - $600,000