A Brief Overview
Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Agnes) houses and cares for a collection of over 17,000 works in the public trust. Collections are integral to Agnes’s dual mandate as a leading, internationally recognized public art gallery and as an active pedagogical resource at Queen’s University. By commissioning, researching, stewarding, acquiring and engaging with works of art, and by exhibiting and interpreting visual culture through an intersectional lens, Agnes creates opportunities for participation and exchange across communities, cultures, histories and geographies. The stature of Agnes collections and professional expertise is such that works from the collection are regularly solicited for projects with artists, for exhibitions across Canada and abroad, and for reproduction in scholarly and artistic publications. Agnes cares for contemporary art, historical Indigenous, Canadian, European and African art, textile and material culture, and historicized Indigenous ancestors and cultural belongings. Agnes is situated on the territories of the Anishinabek, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat. Kingston is also home to many members of the Métis Nation.

The Collections and Care Manager has primary responsibility to ensure the physical and ethical care, record keeping, and accessibility of the collection at Agnes in support of best museum practices and cultural protocols, in the exercise of collecting, research, exhibiting, programming, commissioning, stewarding and digitization mandates. Adhering to evolving museum standards and current trends in community-engaged collecting practices, this position plays a sector-defining and influential role that reimagines collection care within both a public and an academic setting. The Collections and Care Manager has and maintains awareness of key developments and advancements in decolonial museum work and fosters long-term relationships with artists, scholars, specialists, knowledge keepers, Elders, community members and peers in the field of collections and works in collaboration with Agnes Indigenous Advisory Circle (IAC). The Collections and Care Manager also engages with students and faculty across the community of Queen’s University and with the wider public, offering periodic talks, seminars and tours, engaging in shared collection-research initiatives, and supervising internships. This position coordinates exhibition plans for both in-house and touring shows. This position arranges shipments of artwork including determining the level of security and packaging, appropriate documentation, and reporting on the condition of artwork upon arrival. This position maintains records and databases related to the collections. This position also directs, allocates and supervises the work of other staff.The schedule for this position requires the incumbent to work variable hours on a regular basis, including evenings and weekends. This position is subject to the Averaging provisions of the USW Local 2010 Collective Agreement.The schedule for this position requires the incumbent to work frequent early mornings, evenings and weekends, according to program or area needs.

What you will do

• • Coordinates exhibition plans for both in-house and touring shows, including didactics, construction, artwork preparation, publication photography, schedules, copyright obligations, shipping and installations.

• • Coordinates the physical shipping and paperwork requirements for art pieces, including, crating and padding, hiring security staff, tracking shipments, import and export documentation, obtaining insurance and reporting on the condition of loaned artworks upon arrival.

• • Undertakes basic condition reporting, arranging for conservation and repair, tracking and recording all internal and external movements of objects in the permanent collection and ensuring items are safety stored.

• • Provides administrative support including preparing loan, exhibition and reproduction agreements and contracts, composing and submitting grant applications, filing reproduction orders, preparing agendas and meeting minutes, maintaining insurance records and booking access to study rooms.

• • Maintains the collections database, including print and digital records and archiving.

• • Directs, allocates, and supervises the work of other staff.

• Other duties as required in support of the department and/or unit

Required Experience

• • More than 3 years and up to and including 5 years of experience.
    • Experience in contract management including one or a combination of drafting, negotiating, executing, and/or amending contracts is considered an asset.

• • • Experience in planning and/or managing projects considered an asset.

• • • Experience in program analysis and reporting considered an asset.

• • • Experience in writing, interviewing, reviewing, editing and/or proofreading internal and/or external communications and documents considered an asset (e.g., social media, policy manuals, newsletters, handbooks, legal documents, forms/templates, blogs, training/reference materials, technical documents, webinars, etc.).

• • • Experience structuring and managing facility operations and maintenance considered an asset.

• • • Experience with desktop and server operating systems considered an asset.

• • • Experience working at a post-secondary education institution considered an asset.

• • • Experience working in a comparable client-focused environment considered an asset

• • • Knowledge of relevant laws, regulations, policies, standards and/or guidelines considered an asset
    • Previous Art Gallery experience considered an asset.

Job Knowledge and Requirements

• • Practical and applied knowledge of specialized methods and processes that are typically acquired through a combination of technical or academic qualification and/or work experience

• • Provide consultation and advice on non-straightforward and/or complex issues

• • Interaction with others requires interpersonal skills and the ability to understand and influence

• • Adapt messages to meet the needs of the intended audience

• • Build relationships, trust and credibility

• • Manage own work, train and review the work of the team to see commitments through to completion

• • Sets work priorities and direction, supporting the team in achieving goals and objectives

• • Participate in project team meetings and develop team project plans

• • Lead procedural or technological change within a unit

• • Identify new problems and seek information and input to fully understand the cause of problems

• • Identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of work processes

• • Draw logical conclusions and provides opinions and recommendations

• • Research equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion resources and best practices relevant to the job and unit operations in order to inform evidence-based planning.

• • Commitment to principles of equity, diversity, accessibility, inclusion, Indigenization and human rights for equity deserving groups.

• • Assess the suitability of job candidates and recommend the most appropriate person for hire
• Monitor and assess output and the quality of work from team members and recommend need for formal training or development plans to management and identify possible performance and/or disciplinary issues