Museum directors oversee the management of the art collections, artefacts, and exposition facilities. They secure and sell works of art on the one hand, and strive to preserve and maintain the art collection of a museum on the other hand. Moreover, they also manage finances, employees, and marketing efforts of the museum.
ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:
the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.
These occupations require some skills and knowledge of museum director. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of museum director with a significant experience and/or extensive training.
This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of museum director.
Art collections: The variety of paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and other works that form collections in a museum and prospective new collections which are of interest for a museum or art gallery. Art-historical values: The historical and artistic values implied in examples of one’s branch of art. Art history: The history of art and artists, the artistic trends throughout centuries and their contemporary evolutions. Museum databases: The tools and processes involved in working with museum databases.
These skills are necessary for the role of museum director.
Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget. Plan art educational activities: Plan and implement artistic facilities, performance, venues and museum-related educational activities and events. Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff. Implement risk management for works of art: A registrar determines risk factors to an art collection and mitigates them. Risk factors for artworks include vandalism, theft, pests, emergencies, and natural disasters. It is the responsibility of a registrar to develop and implement strategies to minimise these risks. Monitor museum environment: Monitor and document environmental conditions in a museum, in storage as well as exhibition facilities. Make sure an adapted and stable climate is guaranteed. Advise on loans of art work for exhibitions: Working together with curators and museum collection managers, a registrar evaluates the condition of art objects for exhibition or loan purposes. The registrar also decides whether or not an artwork is able to withstand the stresses of travel or exposition. Maintain catalogue collection: Describe, inventorise and catalogue items in the collection. Sell art: Secure and sell pieces of art in different markets. Negotiate prices, liaise with art dealers, and prevent from acquiring counterfeit art pieces. Liaise with shareholders: Communicate and serve as communication point with shareholders in order to provide an overview on their investments, returns, and long-term plans of the company to increase profitability. Advise on art handling: Advise and instruct other museum professionals and technicians on how to manipulate, move, store and present artifacts, according to their physical characteristics. Liaise with educational institutions: Communication and cooperation for the supply of study materials (e.g. books) to educational institutions. Liaise with colleagues: Liaise with fellow colleagues to ensure common understanding on work related affairs and agree on the necessary compromises the parties might need to face. Negotiate compromises between parties as to ensure that work in general run efficiently towards the achievement of the objectives. Document museum collection: Registrars are concerned with documentation and record keeping of museum collections. Documentation includes information about an object’s condition, provenance, materials, and all of its movements within the museum or out on loan. Supervise art gallery staff: supervise the activities and performance of art gallery employees Handle art: Work directly with objects in museums and art galleries, in coordination with other museum professionals, to ensure that artworks are safely handled, packed, stored and cared for. Liaise with managers: Liaise with managers of other departments ensuring effective service and communication, i.e. sales, planning, purchasing, trading, distribution and technical. Maintain museum records: Keep museum records current and in conformity with museum standards.
This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of museum director. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
History: The discipline that studies, analyses, and presents the events of the past related to humans. Public relations: The practice of managing all aspects of the image and perception of a company or individual among stakeholders and the society at large. Marketing management: The academic discipline and function in an organisation which focuses on the market research, market development, and the creation of marketing campaigns to raise awareness on the company’s services and products. Classical antiquity: The period in history marked by ancient Greek and ancient Roman cultures, before the Middle Ages. Paleontology: The field of science that studies fossils’ ecologies, their evolution and interaction with other organisms, and the environment during period beginning approximately 11,700 years ago up to the present. Investigation research methods: The methods and strategies used to conduct police, government intelligence or military investigation research, as well as the research regulations specific to the operation. Marketing principles: The principles of managing the relationship between consumers and products or services for the purpose of increasing sales and improving advertising techniques.
These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of museum director. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
Conduct scholarly research: Plan scholarly research by formulating the research question and conducting empirical or literature research in order to investigate the truth of the research question. Analyse packaging requirements: Analyses packaging requirement against the design of the production plan. Perform the analysis considering engineering, economic, ergonomic, and other perspectives. Develop classification systems: Organise archive or business records; develop classification systems to facilitate access to all information. Perform fundraising activities: Perform activities which will raise funds for an organisation or campaign, such as speaking with the public, gathering funds during fundraising or other general events, and using online fundraising tools. Coordinate marketing plan actions: Manage the overview of the marketing actions such as the marketing planning, internal financial resource granting, advertising materials, implementation, control, and communication efforts. Store goods: Arrange and store goods in areas outside of customers display. Manage rented goods returns: Organise the return of rented goods to the distributor. Advertise an art collection: Write catalogues, research documents, articles, reports, policies, standards and project grant proposals. Collaborate in the development of marketing strategies: Work together with a group of professionals to develop marketing strategies performing market analysis and financial viability while staying aligned with the company’s goals. Manage fundraising activities: Initiate fundraising activities managing the place, teams involved, causes and budgets. Evaluate cultural venue visitor needs: Assess the needs and expectations of museum and any art facility visitors in order to regularly develop new programmes and activities. Manage artworks’ installation in the gallery: Organise tools and equipment; ensure correct and safe installation of the art piece. Ensure special requirements for goods in storage: Handle goods that require special storage measures, e.g. fragile items or items that need to be stored at certain temperatures.
