Director, Curatorial Affairs (AF)
- Salary
- $115K–$120K
- Hiring from
- United States
- Work type
- Hybrid
- Posted
627,991 remote jobs, straight from company career pages
100% free · New jobs every minute
Show job descriptionHide job description
Salary Range: $115,000.00 To $120,000.00 Annually
About the Architects Foundation
The Architects Foundation(AF) is the philanthropic partner of the American Institute of Architects and the steward of The Octagon, a National Historic Landmark at the heart of the AIA Global Campus for Architecture & Design. For decades the house was an accredited museum drawing some 30,000 visitors a year. For the past two decades it and its collection have been largely out of public view. Built to Last launched in 2025 and has raised more than $8 million, roughly 40 percent of its goal, in its quiet phase. The campaign funds the renewal of The Octagon, which closes in 2027 and reopens in 2028 with a permanent installation, along with scholarships, fellowships, and public programs. The Foundation is committed to regaining AAM accreditation. The interpretation and collections program the Director builds will outlast the campaign.
Function of the Position
Reporting to the Executive Director of the Architects Foundation, the Director, Curatorial Affairs is the chief curator of The Octagon, the Foundation's National Historic Landmark home, and leads the Foundation's curatorial program, including the permanent exhibition at The Octagon and rotating exhibitions at AIA Headquarters on the AIA Global Campus for Architecture & Design. The building is the primary artifact, and every curatorial responsibility in this position revolves around it.
The Director brings the project to completion through the creation and permanent installation, an exhibition that makes an experience of the house itself. The Director oversees the collection and building to museum standards, with regaining American Alliance of Museums accreditation, which lapsed in 2021, as a defining priority.
The Director performs curatorial, registrarial, and collections care work while building capacity through consultants and contractors, including a part time or contract exhibitions coordinator, with support from the Foundation's part-time tour guides and the on-site engineering team, which handles the movement and installation of collections and exhibition material.
Job Duties
Center Scholarship and Curatorial Vision
Develop and lead the Center’s intellectual program.
- Shape the curatorial and research agenda of the center with the Executive Director and the Foundation Board as the strategic plan is adopted, and translate it into exhibitions, research, and public scholarship and discussion.
- Build out the vision for the center and its galleries within the settled theme, working with the Executive Director and the Foundation's Director, Advancement.
- Serve as the Foundation's scholarly voice on the Landmark, its collection, and the design of Washington, DC, and publish original research.
- Build partnerships with universities, archives, peer museums, and preservation bodies that bring leading voices to the center.
- Advise Foundation colleagues responsible for fellowships, lectures, programs, and digital content so that design education runs through everything the center offers.
Collections Stewardship
Care for the collection, and the building as its primary artifact, to museum standards.
- Oversee conservation, registration, cataloguing, rights and reproductions, and environmental and condition monitoring for objects, archival material, and building fabric.
- Maintain the scope of collections, accession and deaccession policy, and a collections plan aligned to the permanent installation.
- Establish collections management systems, documentation, and records to a standard that will withstand accreditation review.
- Lead the content for digitizing the collection and preservation records for public access, working with a digitization contractor and AIA Technology.
- Coordinate care of the building with the Foundation's preservation architects and capital project team and with AIA facilities staff. The Director holds curatorial authority over the building fabric.
- Work in close partnership with the long-standing AIA Archivist, drawing on the AIA archives as a primary peer resource for the collection and its history.
- Lead the effort to regain AAM accreditation, including Core Documents Verification and the self-study, and report on collections condition and accreditation progress to the Executive Director and the Foundation Board.
Permanent Installation and Capital Project
Create the permanent installation that makes an experience of The Octagon.
- Carry the interpretive theme through the spring 2027 think tank, refining it with the Executive Director and the Foundation Board as the scholars' findings warrant.
- Develop the themes and content of each gallery within the interpretive theme.
- Serve as curatorial lead and internal client for exhibition designers, interpretive planners, conservators, and preservation consultants engaged in the installation.
- Translate the interpretive direction into the visitor experience, including object selection, curatorial content, label and media copy, and installation requirements.
- Partner with the Foundation's Director, Education and Public Programs, who leads the learning strategy, so that interpretation, scholarship, and collections evidence work as one.
- Advise the Executive Director, the owner's representative, and the chair of the Foundation Board's Facilities Committee on construction phasing, environmental controls, object safety, and collections protection through the second phase of the capital project.
- Review how the installation and galleries are described in campaign materials, naming opportunities, and gift agreements.
Exhibitions
Curate the Foundation's rotating exhibitions at AIA Headquarters.
- Curate the Foundation's rotating exhibitions at AIA Headquarters, including the annual exhibition, a loaned show in contemporary architecture and design, in coordination with the AIA Managing Director, Global Campus. The Director is responsible for curatorial content, loans, and installation standards. The AIA Managing Director, Global Campus is responsible for the AIA Headquarters venue, schedule, and building operations.
- Direct incoming and outgoing loans for the permanent exhibition at The Octagon and the rotating exhibitions at AIA Headquarters, including loan agreements, condition reporting, couriering, insurance, and indemnity.
- Set curatorial standards, schedules, and budgets for the permanent exhibition at The Octagon and the Foundation's rotating exhibitions at AIA Headquarters.
Institutional Leadership and Collaboration
Work across the Foundation, AIA, and the wider field.
- Partner with Foundation colleagues, including the Director, Education and Public Programs, the Director, Advancement, and the Communities by Design senior directors.
- Supply curatorial content and collections stories to Foundation development and marketing colleagues.
- Manage the Foundation's curatorial, collections care, and exhibitions budget.
- Represent the Foundation in the architecture, museum, and preservation fields.
Qualifications
Required
- Progressive experience of 8 or more years in curatorial practice or collections management, including senior responsibility.
- A background in design and design history, and in architectural history and practice, with standing as a scholar and command of historical and contemporary material.
- Experience in historic preservation or with historic sites open to the public.
- Experience in collections care, including conservation management and registrarial practice.
- Experience organizing exhibitions, including loans.
- Working knowledge of AAM standards, museum ethics, and accreditation requirements.
- Proficient written and verbal communication skills for scholarly and general audiences alike.
Preferred
- Experience creating a permanent installation or visitor experience at a historic site, ideally within a capital project.
- Experience building a research or interpretive center, institute, or program from its founding.
- Familiarity with architectural archives and with the history and design of Washington, DC.
Education
- Bachelor's degree required. Advanced degree in architectural history, design history, historic preservation, museum studies, or a related field preferred.
Travel
- Minimal travel. Occasional travel for research, loans, and professional engagements as needed.
Supervisory Responsibilities
- No direct reports; collaborates closely with a part-time or contract exhibitions coordinator.
- Provides direction and oversight to curatorial consultants, contract conservators and registrars, exhibition designers, interns, and volunteers.
Work Location
Washington DC, hybrid, DC Metro area only. Standard schedule of four days in office or on campus and one remote day per week, with occasional evenings and Saturdays for programs, installations, and events.
Benefits Offered
A comprehensive benefits package aligned with AIA offerings. Benefits include medical and dental insurance, a 401(k)-retirement plan, flexible work arrangements, paid time off, parental leave, flexible spending accounts, employer-paid life insurance (up to twice annual salary) and disability coverage, as well as tuition and professional membership reimbursement.
Through AIA, employees also have access to additional programs and resources, including an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for themselves and family members, SmartBenefits transportation assistance (up to $55 monthly toward public transportation), pre-tax Metro parking, a computer purchase program, fitness club discounts, prepaid legal services, and identity theft protection.
Equal Opportunity Employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.
