Director and CEO Job at Western Museums Association (WMA) in Atherton

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Overview

The Honolulu Museum of Art seeks a visionary, community-driven arts leader with the insight and integrity to shape its future as its next Director & CEO. Building on the momentum of its upcoming Centennial, HoMA seeks a leader to steward its legacy and set a dynamic course for its next century of impact. The Director will collaborate closely with staff and trustees to connect the Islands' singular fine arts institution with the public and the world yet always rooted in Hawai‘i's distinct sense of place and animated by the values that make HoMA a beloved home of art and education for all.

Background and Current Operations

The Honolulu Museum of Art, initially known as the Honolulu Academy of Arts, opened to the public in 1927 with a progressive, forward-looking vision: to give the gift of art and art education to Hawai‘i's diverse, multicultural community. Nearly one hundred years later, HoMA is the largest art museum in Hawai‘i and a vibrant center of culture for a diverse region. HoMA offers an array of special exhibitions, events, and programs to augment its exceptional collections of over 55,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. On an island of approximately one million residents, HoMA draws an audience of nearly 100,000 annual visitors to its 40,000 square feet of exhibition space.

As the primary visual arts institution in the state, HoMA has an extraordinary opportunity to increasingly expand its exhibition, education, and community programming in ways that engage locals and visitors alike and serve as a hub for the Asia‑Pacific region. Overseeing 160 staff, a total budget of nearly $18M, and an endowment of approximately $90M, the Director is responsible for HoMA's fundraising, programmatic excellence, fiscal health, community engagement, day‑to‑day operations, employees and volunteers, public profile, long‑range planning, collection care and development.

Leadership Opportunities and Challenges for the Director & CEO

• Collaboratively develop a bold, strategic vision for HoMA's next century.
• Partner with the Board, staff, and diverse constituents to develop and execute plans for HoMA's Centennial celebrations.
• Effectively develop, align, and execute an artistic vision, strategic plan, and capital campaign.
• Foster trust and build authentic relationships with Hawai‘i's diverse communities.
• Leverage Hawai‘i's position as a hub within the Asia‑Pacific region.
• Oversee an exhibition strategy that optimizes the museum's collections; develop compelling local, digital, and traveling programs that unlock opportunities to increase impact; attract and engage new audiences.
• Lead development of a robust, forward‑thinking digital strategy.
• Develop strategies to cultivate and sustain a healthy arts ecosystem with and for the local community.
• Convey professionalism, excellence, inclusivity, and enthusiasm as HoMA's ambassador and civic leader in the active public life of Hawai‘i.
• Strengthen the museum's financial position and ensure operational excellence.
• Serve as chief fundraiser, adept at stewarding existing support while attracting and retaining new generations of philanthropic investment.
• Identify sustainable sources of earned revenue to enhance institutional resources.
• 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.
• Steward HoMA's iconic buildings and site, addressing deferred maintenance and necessary infrastructure upgrades; catalyze long‑term campus planning to ensure accessibility, inclusivity, and sustainability.
• Lead collection management and deaccessioning efforts in service of the museum's artistic and strategic ambitions.
• Attend to the universal museum challenge of essential collection storage and care.
• Cultivate and steward key relationships to expand HoMA's impact locally, regionally, and beyond.
• Ignite and sustain Board support for ambitious outcomes grounded in informed risk taking and a passion for mission and place that advance HoMA and Hawai‘i.
• Further develop and build the Board, drawing upon deep individual and collective expertise in service, the artistic mission, and fiduciary and governance responsibilities.
• Practice generational attentiveness, keeping loyal members engaged while cultivating meaningful connections and opportunities with rising generations.
• Strengthen advancement infrastructure and stewardship practices; fortify existing relationships while activating new networks locally, nationally, and internationally.
• Strengthen relationships with the museum's public and private sector partners, paying close attention to local needs and opportunities for reciprocity and mutual benefit.
• Partner with, support, and inspire the dedicated museum staff.
• Motivate and mobilize staff at all levels, fostering a transparent, collaborative, and team‑oriented environment.
• Continue to align staff to more fully reflect the diversity of Hawai‘i; sustain a strong sense of community in which colleagues feel empowered to do their best and work towards a shared purpose.
• Model an accessible, empathetic approach to leadership; assess and address staff concerns and encourage professional growth, excellence, exchange with institutional peers, and best practices.
• Inspire a shared belief in what art can do, what staff and the museum can be, and how HoMA can serve its communities.

Qualifications and Characteristics

• A passion for HoMA's mission, values, 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 leader of a museum, cultural organization, arts institution, nonprofit, or civic institution exercising international reach and impact.
• Appetite for and successful track record in revenue development, including individual, institutional, and endowment fundraising; significant capital campaign experience required.
• Demonstrated experience in increasing visibility and impact of a civic institution.
• Commitment to museum best practices, their implementation, and impact.
• Success driving digital strategy and audience engagement for an arts organization.
• Experience leading, serving, and working with a governing Board.
• Demonstrated success in building meaningful partnerships with diverse constituencies, as well as advancing equity, inclusivity, and belonging.
• A curious, collaborative, and transparent leadership style that fosters trust and accountability, with demonstrated change management experience.
• 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.
• Extensive executive experience leading strategic planning and operations.

Compensation and Location

This is a permanent, full‑time position based in Honolulu with a targeted starting salary range of $350,000‑$400,000, commensurate with experience.

Oʻahu is the third largest Hawaiian island and home to the majority of the state's diverse population. The island is famous for its tropical terrain, wide range of outdoor activities, and fusion of East and West cultures rooted in the values and traditions of the Native Hawaiian people. Honolulu, the capital city of Hawai‘i, is consistently ranked among the safest and most livable cities in the United States and offers a unique blend of cosmopolitan energy and island lifestyle.

Living and working in Hawai‘i rewards newcomers who engage deeply with its multi‑layered, richly diverse population and proud cultural heritage.

Applications, Inquiries, and Nominations

Inquiries, nominations, referrals, and CVs with cover letters should be sent via the Isaacson, Miller website: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/honolulu-museum-art/director-and-chief-executive-officer.

Sarah James, Courtney Wilk‑Mandel, Aku Ammah‑Tagoe, Cara Meyers.

HoMA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. HoMA recruits, hires, trains, promotes, compensates, and administers all personnel actions and benefit programs without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, including pregnancy and gender identity and expression, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, reproductive health decisions, marital status, arrest and court record (except as legally applicable), citizenship, credit history, military and veteran service, victim of domestic violence or sexual abuse victim status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

HoMA welcomes people from all backgrounds and walks of life, and this is reflected in our diverse community of employees. We encourage applications from candidates across a wide variety of backgrounds, including, but not limited to, people of all races and ethnicities, people with disabilities, women, veterans, and all members of the LGBTQ community.

Seniority Level

• Executive

Employment Type

• Full‑time

Job Function

• Other

Industries

• Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos