Mellon Registration and Cultural Engagement Specialist

Join our team and enjoy a benefits package that truly supports your well-being and lifestyle:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Including medical, dental, vision plans, and even pet insurance.
• Financial Security: Life and disability benefits plus a 403(b) savings plan to help you plan for the future.
• Work-Life Balance: Generous paid time off, paid sick leave, and paid holidays to ensure you have time to recharge and spend with loved ones.
• Exclusive Perks: Enjoy great employee discounts and complimentary general admission to participating cultural institutions.

We're dedicated to enhancing your life both at work and beyond!

The Registration and Cultural Engagement Specialist reports to the Head Registrar and assists Anthropology Registration staff with processing new acquisitions, rights and reproductions requests, and internal exhibition loans. They will assist and provide logistical support for Collections Management, Conservation, Registration, and Curatorial staff who host visiting Indigenous American communities as part of the Mellon Connecting Communities to Collections grant program.

This position will assist with various aspects of the Mellon program, including facilitating visits from Field Museum staff and Mellon Fellows to local communities, supporting the Mellon Fellows, and promoting the loan program. The individual in this role will also support North American Registration, Collections, and Conservation efforts to establish culturally mindful care practices that prioritize traditional care methods and use.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Assist the Registration team with the processing of incoming new acquisitions, (basic cataloging, photography, labeling, and housing) deaccessions, internal exhibition loans, rights and reproduction requests, department-level use of the museum’s collections management system, EMu. They may train and assist fellows, volunteers, and interns in Registration.

• Mentor and support Fellows, interns, and volunteers in their professional development within Anthropology Registration, helping them reach their full potential. Assist in facilitating the transition of Fellows to other institutions, helping them gain valuable experience in museum work.

• Assist staff with Mellon-related workshops and knowledge exchanges in sharing registration and collections care strategies between communities, the museum, and the museum field on the whole. May help staff with the creation of training materials and procedure documents, and may provide training in collections care, handling, and storage for new staff, Fellows, interns, and volunteers and, as appropriate, constituencies external to the museum.

• Assist staff with Mellon-related workshops and knowledge exchanges to share registration and collections care strategies among communities, the museum, and the wider museum field.

• Collaborate with staff to create training materials and procedural documentation focused on collections care, handling, and storage for new staff, Fellows, interns, and volunteers and, as appropriate, constituencies external to the museum.

• Assist in facilitating collections visits with Indigenous community members, supporting the identification and prioritization of items for treatment or project development.

• Assist staff with Mellon-related workshops and knowledge exchanges in sharing registration and collections care strategies between communities, the museum, and the museum field on the whole. May help staff with the creation of training materials and procedure documents, and may provide training in collections care, handling, and storage for new staff, Fellows, interns, and volunteers and, as appropriate, constituencies external to the museum.

• Assist Collections Management staff with Mellon-related collection visits to Indigenous community members to identify items to prioritize for various projects and treatments.

• Support the registration and collections-related activities as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Anthropology, Museum Studies, Native American Studies, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience in collections management or a similar area.

• Demonstrated success with partnership-building

• Knowledge of traditional methods of creation and care of items that comprise the North - American collections

• Knowledge of registration methods and practices

• Strong culturally mindful interpersonal skills to be able to work and communicate well with a variety of collaborators and staff

• Must be organized, self-motivated, and detail-oriented

• Experience with object photography and use of Adobe Creative Suite a plus

• Experience with relational collections management databases, like Axiel EMu, a plus

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The Field Museum is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination, embracing diversity, and fostering mutual respect. We value the unique perspectives each team member brings, which empowers our ability to innovate and overcome challenges.

At the Field Museum, we are dedicated to making our career website and recruitment process accessible to everyone. If you encounter any difficulty when using or accessing our online application, or if you need a reasonable accommodation for completing your application, participating in interviews, or any other part of the selection process, please reach out to us at recruitment@fieldmuseum.org.