Associate Director, Exhibitions and Displays, M+ Museum

M+ is a museum dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Located in Hong Kong’s WestK, we are one of the leading museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world. The museum reflects our unique time and place, building on Hong Kong’s historic balance of the local and the international to define a distinctive and innovative voice for Asia’s twenty-first century. 

M+’s dynamic and influential programme of temporary exhibitions and collection rotations sits at the heart of the Museum’s ambition. Alongside this, the Museum is developing an extensive international touring programme to share its collections and curatorial content worldwide. We are now seeking an efficient and highly experienced Exhibitions leader to work closely with the Director, Collection & Exhibition, playing a pivotal role in ensuring that the curatorial vision is delivered within agreed budgetary objectives.

This role will have day-to-day responsibility for the management of three core teams within the Collection & Exhibition Department: Exhibitions, Installations & Displays, and Design. As a key member of the Collection & Exhibition Services team, the postholder will bring substantial practical experience in leading large, multidisciplinary teams to deliver major permanent and/or temporary exhibition projects. Acting as the primary liaison with curatorial and collection-based departments, the role will also be a key contributor to the Museum’s Senior Leadership Team.

You will be responsible for:

• leading and managing the planning of the overall M+ temporary exhibition programme to ensure that all exhibitions are delivered efficiently to the highest possible curatorial standard, on time and to budget;

• overseeing collection galleries rotations and ensuring adequate planning and provision of resources are in place;

• mentoring an exhibitions team, including overseeing recruitment and training of staff, and leading the development of exhibition policies and procedures;

• line managing the Senior Managers of the Exhibitions, Installations & Displays and Design teams to ensure efficient delivery of exhibition programme across the Museum;

• planning and allocating resources for exhibitions and effectively distributing work to ensure tight coordination and transparent communication amongst the Curatorial Department, Registration & Collections Management and Conservation teams;

• providing financial oversight of the exhibitions programme, ensuring project budgets are monitored with accurate reporting and forecasting;

• working with the senior management team across M+ to communicate and plan the delivery of the exhibitions and displays programme in a timely manner;

• recognising critical risks and taking action to mitigate them;

• ensuring all exhibitions are evaluated and evaluation is acted upon; continuously collecting and analysing audience and attendance data to inform the Museum’s efforts;

• actively seeking opportunities for international collaborations as part of the touring exhibitions strategy of the institution, acting as a champion for the M+ programme regionally and internationally;

• collaborating with the Development Department to secure sponsorship for the Museum exhibitions programme;

• participating in strategic planning, budgeting and decision making for the Exhibitions & Displays activities; and

• performing any duties from time to time as reasonably as assigned by M+.

You should:

• possess a recognised university degree in art history, museum studies or equivalent;

• have at least 10 to 15 years of experience managing all aspects of temporary exhibitions including international tours within a large cultural organisation and extensive experience with international projects and partners;

• have a proven record of working to international museum standards for transport, packing, handling and environmental requirements and negotiating contracts;

• showcase excellent project management skills and ability to plan work to meet agreed standards and monitor deadlines and budgets;

• have strong financial acumen and experience with detailed budget creation, oversight, and reporting

• demonstrate ability to work in a changing environment and to institute new standards, working methods and practices that result in improved efficiency and effectiveness whilst maintaining moral and an enjoyable work environment for the team;

• be highly organised with a strong sense of integrity, personal responsibility and ability to prioritise effectively;

• be capable of addressing complex issues and resolving conflicts even when facing high pressure situations;

• demonstrate strong leadership skills and experience of recruiting, managing, motivating and leading interdisciplinary teams, both directly as a line manager and indirectly on project teams;

• be well connected with a broad network of international peers and other museums professionals;

• have a strong commitment to quality and excellence; and

• be a highly effective communicator with influencing skills (written and oral) in English and preferably in Chinese.

For interested parties, please submit your application with detailed CV on or before following date. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible. The review of applications will continue until post is filled.

Data collected will only be used for job application processing. Your data may be accessed by our appointed recruitment consultants who have agreed to keep confidence of all personal data in not less than the standards applicable to us. Applicants not being invited for interview within 4 weeks from the submission date may assume their applications unsuccessful.

All related information will be kept up to 24 months and all personal data will be destroyed afterwards.

For more information, please visit https://www.westk.hk or contact:

Kazaf Lau /+852 22000236