Associate Director, Curatorial

• Location 120 6TH AVE N STE 100,Seattle, WA, ,United States

Job Title:

Associate Director, Curatorial

Reports to:

Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer

Department:
Curatorial

Work Schedule:

40 hours per week, 5 days per week, hybrid work eligible. This role requires some weekends and evenings to support MOPOP events.

Reporting to the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer, the Associate Director, Curatorial provides day-to-day leadership of MOPOP’s Curatorial Department and plays a key role in developing and delivering the museum’s exhibition program. The position leads major exhibitions and institutional initiatives while overseeing curatorial staff, departmental workflows, interpretive quality, scholarship, and cross-functional collaboration.

Serving as both a senior working curator and departmental leader, the Associate Director balances direct exhibition ownership with people leadership, mentorship, long-range planning, and stewardship of consistent curatorial and interpretive standards across MOPOP’s exhibition portfolio. Working within the strategic direction established by the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer, this role ensures the Curatorial team has the clarity, resources, collaboration, and leadership necessary to successfully deliver the museum’s exhibition and storytelling priorities.

• Lead and support MOPOP exhibitions (on-site and traveling) from concept through post-opening operations
• Collaborate with Curatorial, Exhibition Design + Planning, Collections, Exhibition Fabrication, , Video, Marketing, Advancement, Facilities, and other teams throughout exhibition development processes
• Lead or contribute to interpretive framing and storytelling, aesthetic direction, graphic approach, exhibition layout, interactive strategy, and media integration
• Develop exhibition content across various mediums including themes, concept materials, presentations, didactic text, digital interpretation, media narratives, and visitor-facing experiences within exhibition spaces and digital platforms
• Manage or contribute to exhibition-related budgeting, vendor coordination, contract review, and traveling exhibition planning
• Support long-range exhibition planning and institutional curatorial initiatives in collaboration with the Chief Collections + Exhibitions Officer
• Collaborate with Curatorial, Collections, Exhibition Design + Planning, and Exhibition Fabrication teams on the exhibition calendar, including long-term exhibition rotations, gallery refreshes, annual initiatives, and artifact swap planning
• Support exhibition installation, deinstallation, gallery continuity, and post-opening stewardship efforts as needed
• Conduct oral history interviews and support institutional storytelling initiatives related to exhibitions and collections
• Provide day-to-day leadership and management of the Curatorial Department, translating institutional and exhibition priorities into clear departmental goals, workplans, and expectations.
• Directly supervise Curators and additional Curatorial staff, including coaching, performance management, goal setting, mentorship, workload management, and professional development.
• Oversee allocation of curatorial assignments and exhibition leadership opportunities, balancing organizational priorities, staff capacity, development opportunities, and equitable distribution of work.
• Establish and maintain effective departmental workflows, communication practices, documentation, and knowledge sharing.
• Ensure consistent standards for curatorial scholarship, interpretive quality, accessibility, storytelling, and visitor experience across the exhibition portfolio.
• Foster an inclusive, accountable, collaborative, and…