Manager of Public Programs

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States and a thriving cultural center for the Bay Area. We cannot imagine life without art; it inspires and connects us every day. Now more than ever, these connections matter and are aligned with our values.

Inclusive: We strive to be a museum of many voices in dialogue.  

Passionate: We believe working with art is more than a job or trusteeship - it's a way of life.  

Brave: We are committed to approaching our work with courage and a sense of adventure.  

Empathic: We aim to act like a person, not an institution. 

SFMOMA is a place for the infinitely curious to explore, support, and experience the art of our time. We believe that modern and contemporary art can influence the way we think, view the world, and embrace the many voices and perspectives around us. We aspire to foster an environment that elicits joy, nurtures a sense of belonging and purpose—where difference is seen as a strength, and every one is appreciated for their whole self.

Schedule: Full Time, 35 hours/week, approximately 3 days working onsite

Under the supervision of the Director of Public Engagement, the Manager of Public Programs supports the development, implementation, promotion, and evaluation of public programs for the museum’s exhibitions, collection, and public engagement initiatives. This role is responsible for connecting art and audiences by creating vibrant and meaningful experiences for diverse audiences of all ages inside and outside the museum from building-wide activations to hands-on-making workshops, and discursive programs. The Manager of Public Programs builds and sustains relationships with artists, makers, thought leaders, and community partners with a focus on the San Francisco Bay Area with the aim to enhance the museum’s role as a civic space. This position supervises the Senior Associate, Public Programs.

Success for the Manager will be to support the Public Engagement team’s efforts to:

· Create meaningful shared experiences on the art of our time through public programming and community-based projects.

· Encourage exploration, experimentation, and creative problem-solving through a broad range of programs including: talks; tours; festivals; academic, civic, and community engagement projects; creative residencies; performances; storytelling; and artist commissions.

· Build and nurture relationships to engage a wider community in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

· Provide access, diversity of experience, and remove institutional barriers to art and ideas

· Create opportunities for people to connect to each other and the wider world.

In the first year of work in this position, key milestones will be:

· After 30 days: Establish understanding of key programs and processes in Public Engagement. Contribute to projects as assigned. Begin developing departmental, cross-departmental, and external relationships necessary for collaborative work. 

· After 90 days: Demonstrate understanding of museum processes, contribute to an increased number, scale, and variety of projects with increased project-management responsibility while continuing to develop collaborative approach to projects.    

After 1 year: Demonstrate understanding of public engagement program strategy and event production. Project-management skills, ability to work independently and problem-solve proactively on multiple simultaneous projects; contribute to refining departmental and cross-departmental workflows; and deepen key professional collaborations. 

• Conceive, develop, and implement a variety of programs and engagement-driven initiatives for audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a focus on large-scale community centered art events including community days, festivals, and First Thursday programming. 
• Under the direction of the Director of Public Engagement and in collaboration with the Manager of Learning and Public Programs, develop the aims, content, and scheduling of projects and programming. 
• Work closely with colleagues in Philanthropy on corporate sponsorships, grant writing, and reporting.  
• Document and evaluate programs and initiatives.  
• Manage existing and new production workflows for events including coordinating project meetings, budgets, tasks, and timelines with all relevant stakeholders. 
• Develop and manage budgets for public programs. 
• Build trusting relationships across the museum, including with Education, Curatorial, Marketing and Communications, Design Studio, Exhibitions, Visitor Experience, A/V, Finance and Administration departments, and other key internal partners. 
• Act as the liaison between the museum and local community organizations and partners. 
• Undertake research for programs, i.e. gathering background information about artists and potential community partners. 
• Demonstrate a deep commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, both internally and with the communities of diverse cultures, backgrounds, and gender identities served. 
• Participate in creative thinking workshops and strategic planning meetings within the Public Engagement department. 
• Supervise the Senior Associate, Public Programs and provides mentorship, training, development, and performance evaluations for their direct report.   
• Perform other duties as required 

• Undergraduate degree in art history, art education, cultural studies, or a broad liberal arts education, or equivalent experience, with demonstrable interest in modern and contemporary art.  
• A minimum of three (3) years’ experience in an art museum or non-profit organization, including experience working collaboratively with colleagues, in roles of progressive responsibility. Event programming coordination highly preferred. Exhibition coordination a plus. 
• Event production and program management experience highly preferred.  
• Demonstrated experience managing the development of community-based programs. 
• Excellent attention to detail and creative problem-solving skills.  
• Knowledge of modern and contemporary art and museum programming. 
• Knowledge of Bay Area cultural and community organizations, a plus. 
• Demeanor suited to a fast-moving and dynamic environment. 
• Demonstrated project management and organizational skills with the ability to organize work, set priorities, meet critical deadlines, track attendance and budgets, follow-up on assignments, and work effectively on several projects concurrently with a minimum of direction.  
• Comfortable and skilled in public speaking and group facilitation. 
• Experience cultivating collaborative partnerships and/or developing emergent or experimental programs strongly desired. 
• High degree of interpersonal skills: personable and diplomatic in working collaboratively with diverse constituencies and program participants; able to effectively supervise, motivate, and train staff. 
• Demonstrated resilience, diplomacy, influence, relationship building, and problem-solving skills in a variety of situations to build and sustain respectful and collaborative relationships/networks, internal and external to the office. 
• Exhibits an awareness and sensitivity to cultural and other differences when working with partner organizations, staff, program participants, artists, other stakeholders, and the public.  
• Highly effective written and oral communication skills to address a wide variety of audiences.  
• Excellent IT skills, including Word, Excel, database, email, project management and social media applications.   
• Ability to work independently or with minimal supervision. 

• Ability to work occasional weekend and frequent evening hours (in particular Thursday)

Job posting open date: 2/2/24

All jobs posted will remain open for at least five business days. 

We encourage both internal and external candidates to apply within the initial open posting period as the application close date may or may not be extended beyond that initial period. Applications will not be accepted after a posting has been closed. 

Location: San Francisco, 151 3rd Street. 

COVID-19 Environmental Factors: In keeping with city, county, and state regulations regarding large gatherings, and to contain the spread of coronavirus, the museum is following the city of San Francisco guidelines. As a part of our commitment to health and safety, COVID-19 vaccination is required for all current and newly hired employees and contractors. 

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 

SFMOMA is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. No person shall be discriminated against based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, age, genetic information, ancestry/national origin, marital status, disability, medical condition, HIV status, sexual orientation, veteran/military status, and any other category protected by federal of state law.

You may request reasonable accommodation if you are unable to or are limited in your ability to access job postings or provide additional information asked in the job posting.

You can request reasonable accommodation by contacting the People team at talent@sfmoma.org.