Executive Director

Executive Director
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA)

Bainbridge Island, Washington | Full Time | Executive
Salary: $180,000 to $240,000, based on experience

The Board seeks an executive to lead a high-functioning team that manages this Museum's exhibitions, collections, programs, and infrastructure.

 

With a focus on community, endowment fundraising, and engaging Bainbridge Island residents and visitors, the Executive Director will advance the Museum's identity as a global center for the art and artists of the Puget Sound Region.

 

About BIMA

 

BIMA's Founder Cynthia Sears envisioned a museum on Bainbridge Island as a place to showcase the Puget Sound Region's outstanding arts and culture, and as she discussed the idea with other residents, that idea took hold. In 2009 a Board was formed of community and business leaders, funds were raised, architect Matthew Coates was engaged to design a LEED Gold Certified museum, an inaugural collection was assembled, and in June 2013 the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art opened to the public.

 

Bainbridge Island is in Kitsap County and has a population of just under 25,000. The Island receives a huge influx of visitors annually: 249,232 trips annually, with visitors staying an average of 3.5 days and spending upward of $1,075 per trip. As well as being a community-centered art museum that advances the art of Puget Sound, tourism makes BIMA an important regional economic driver.

 

With a dual audience of residents and visitors with different needs, BIMA has several pillars as an institution:

 

• The Art Collection currently has more than 400 objects representing 350 artists and has been built mostly through gifts of works of contemporary artists in the Puget Sound Region. The collection's works are often three-dimensional, with strengths in the region's sculpture, ceramics, glass, wood, fiber, and jewelry art as well as paintings, drawings, other works on paper, and photography.

• The Cynthia Sears Artists' Books Collection includes over 4,000 limited editions and is one of the world's great collections of such works. Many of these books are themselves considered to be works of art in book form.

• Retail Operations include the BIMA Bistro, which serves breakfast and lunch items daily from 10am to 4pm, and the Museum Store, which sells art and jewelry in support of Puget Sound artists, BIMA-branded apparel and other merchandise, and various gift items. Since BIMA is a first stop for visitors exiting the ferry, the Museum provides visitors with good food and high-quality mementos of their visit to Bainbridge Island. Retail is managed directly by the Museum.

• Exhibitions constantly rotate works from the collection, and the Museum has an ever-changing schedule of special exhibitions from local artists, collectors, and other cultural institutions. The Museum generally presents three special exhibitions at any one time and 15 annually.

• Programs include a broad range of events, performances, workshops, camps, field trips, artist lectures and encounters, classes, and gatherings for adults. There are a number of alliances with other nonprofits, schools, and aging centers.

 

BIMA attendance is about 100,000 annually. 90% of this attendance is by visitors to the island who mostly will visit once in a year, while residents visit the Museum frequently and view it as a community hub.

 

The annual budget is currently about $2.4M, funded by earned income driven by retail, rentals, and contributions (all ticketing is free). There is a 22-member Board, 38 employees (19 full-time and 19 part-time), and 1,500 active members.

 

The Executive Director, Board, and staff will continue to position BIMA as THE leading regional museum highlighting the art and artists of the Puget Sound Region.

 

Basic Function

 

Reporting to the Board, the Executive Director is accountable for managing all staff, finances, and aspects of the Museum's day-to-day operations, including exhibitions, collections, education and public programming, earned and contributed revenue generation, and evolving and implementing a strategic plan that the Board embraces.

 

The Executive Director works closely with the staff to ensure that the Museum:

 

• Continues to build a reputation as a distinctive, exciting, thought-provoking place for residents and visitors to Bainbridge Island who embrace arts experiences, and maintains its position as the leader in highlighting the arts of the Puget Sound Region.

• Retains current members and constituencies and builds membership and attendance among new generations of visitors and residents with diverse interests.

• Is financially and operationally strengthened through systematic major gift fundraising that supports the Museum's priorities, development of earned revenue streams (including facility rentals, ticketed programs, etc.), and efficient use of Museum resources.

• Effectively manages and activates its exhibitions and educational and public programming, encouraging innovative interactions that connect to real-world values and the art and artists of Puget Sound.

• Continues to support the Board's evolution by recruiting new Board members and actively engaging Board participation to strengthen the Museum financially and operationally.

• Drives contributed revenue and an endowment campaign that is already underway. Endowment fundraising success is central to BIMA's future. The Executive Director will function as the organization's leading fundraiser and is expected to cultivate donors and solicit major gifts.

 

The Executive Director will be BIMA's leading advocate and ambassador and will be a socially involved and active partner to the Board and broader constituents, particularly those on Bainbridge Island, in Kitsap County, and across Puget Sound.

 

Major Responsibilities

 

The Executive Director's success will center on four areas:

 

Management, Operations and Organizational Leadership

 

• Provide day-to-day management of BIMA's collections, exhibitions, and financial, technological, human, and knowledge resources; ensure compliance with various laws and alignment to best practices; review and update policies as needed.

• Work with the Board to evolve the shared vision for the organization's future, develop appropriate goals and strategies to advance its mission, monitor progress toward strategic priorities, and evolve the Strategic Plan.

• Build, mentor, manage, and organize a high-capability staff, promoting a culture that rewards initiative, teamwork, accountability, and collaboration; create a culture that encourages equity in compensation and seeks staff representation from individuals with broad and diverse backgrounds and experience; promote foundational competency in the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.

• Serve as a primary spokesperson and "public face" for BIMA. This includes effectively representing BIMA, advocating for the mission and work of the Museum, and building relationships with stakeholders critical to the success of the organization.

 

Collections, Exhibitions and Programs

 

• Strengthen connections to other arts and culture organizations in support of BIMA's mission; supervise and support the Chief Curator in shaping an art collection that positions BIMA as a central museum representing the art and artists of Puget Sound; support the Artists' Books Curator by expanding the collection of artists' books.

• Plan and execute interesting, diverse, and relevant exhibitions and programs, ensuring that they are well-promoted, supported, and attended.

• Oversee staff in providing educational and cultural programs that extend and enhance the Museum experience, engage the community, and increase BIMA's regional impact and reach.

• Ensure BIMA's marketing and communications achieve income, attendance, and DEI goals while enhancing BIMA's visibility, value, and reputation in the community.

 

Fundraising & Financial Leadership

 

• In collaboration with senior staff and Board committees, develop and oversee the annual budget. Instill a culture of fiscal discipline, accurate financial reporting, and strong controls.

• Protect the assets and intellectual property of the Museum, including the facilities, collections, equipment, data, and installations, and ensure the Museum's resources are being wisely used.

• Work with the Board and development team to raise funds from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government sources in support of the Museum's operations and programs and to grow the endowment. Cultivate and nurture major donors and external stakeholders; identify and cultivate new donors.

• Work with the development team to create annual and long-term fundraising goals that support operating and program expenditures.

 

Governance & Board Relations

 

• Forge a strong working relationship with the Board, support Board committees as they develop and implement their goals and objectives, and develop a relationship with Board members that leverages their talents and ability to advance BIMA.

• Serve as primary staff contact to the Museum Founder and her family.

• Assist in recruiting and cultivating new members whose talents, interests, and commitment will further the Museum's mission; celebrate Board accomplishments.

 

Qualifications and Characteristics

 

The successful candidate will possess a range of the following professional and personal qualifications, characteristics, and experiences:

 

• A record of successful executive leadership of arts, culture, and community institutions known for innovative programming, curatorial excellence, and strong community embrace; a track record of exposing audiences to art and artists through joyful exhibition and programming experiences.

• Proven ability to develop and execute financial strategies; a detailed understanding of operations and financial management (including revenue and expense models), particularly in a museum or similar environment.

• Demonstrated success in inspiring a vision, developing a strategy, and successfully executing fundraising efforts to advance an institution's growth and ambitions, with a track record of securing major gifts and grants from individual and institutional donors.

• Administrative and operational sophistication; a record of effective management of physical, human, and financial resources; deep understanding of and interest in financial and budget oversight and planning, as well as earned and contributed revenue generation.

• A management style that integrates open and responsive communication, reflects the highest professional and ethical standards, and focuses on team accountability for delivering defined outcomes; a collaborative approach to decision making combined with a sense of energy, enthusiasm, and an entrepreneurial capacity to move things forward; a direct but diplomatic style that is optimistic, consistent, poised, measured, and composed.

• Intellectual and emotional integrity; a sense of empathy, curiosity, creativity, patience, and persistence; openness to the opinions of others coupled with independent thought; honesty, tact, generosity, perspective, and good humor.

 

Compensation

 

The salary range for this position is $180,000 to $240,000, based on experience.

 

For More Information

 

This search is being conducted by m/Oppenheim Executive Search. Please contact:

 

Oscar Quiros: (415) 762-2643 or oscarq@moppenheim.com
Juliana Sprague: (973) 581-3912 or julianas@moppenheim.com
Mark Oppenheim: (415) 762-2640 or marko@moppenheim.com