• Job Description

  Req#: 131281

  Job Details

  Level: Senior

  Job Location: The Perot Museum of Nature and Science - Dallas, TX

  Salary Range: Undisclosed

  Description

  To apply for this position, please reach out directly to our search consultants, Russell Reynolds Associates at - PerotMuseumCLO@russellreynolds.com

  The Perot Museum is committed to wholly redefining its approach to museum education and is seeking a Chief Learning Officer to lead the effort. The Perot Museum’s new CLO will bring both the strategic intent and the entrepreneurial thinking needed to define the Museum’s future role - and its responsibility - for providing access to STEM education to the widest possible audience.

  The Perot Museum seeks to have a long-term state-wide impact on STEM education in Texas and to re-imagine the ways that schools and school districts engage with the Museum. Beyond the development of a new way of working with the formal education sector, the CLO will lead the Museum’s outreach into
  its community, anticipating the changing needs of its rapidly evolving demographics, and will re-imagine the way the Museum defines and considers educational engagement both on and off site. The CLO, working as part of an exceptionally strong and visionary senior team, will drive these strategic initiatives and act as their executive thought-leader. The position is C-Suite level, reporting directly to the CEO, with peers in the roles of CFO, COO, CDO, CPO, CMO and Chief of Staff, and will have responsibility for facilitating the Learning Committee of the Board.

  Responsibilities will be flexible but include:

  • Lead the overall strategic vision and execution for all Museum Education Programs, including:

    • School and teacher partnerships and programs: with a goal of positioning the Perot Museum as the premiere STEM-education provider for the state of Texas and as a national leader in the field of informal science education.

    • Community engagement: including the Museum’s Tech Truck and Community Partners programs.

    • Public programs: including all facilitated demonstrations, auditorium shows, and activity labs delivered by staff as well as volunteers.

    • Out-of-school-time programs: including camps, birthday parties, early-childhood programs, and other to-be-developed program opportunities.

    • Digital Education and Engagement: including reach to teachers, students, families and special interest education groups.

    • Education Collections: with the goal of redefining how the collection can serve education and exhibit programs and interface with the scientific collections/holdings of the Museum.

  • Assess the Perot Museum’s existing Education Program portfolio and, where necessary, streamline, re-focus, and develop that portfolio according to strategic priorities; create business models to support and grow programming through earned and contributed revenue in coordination with the CDO and CFO.

  • Define an organizational structure that will allow for the delivery of the above and recruit new staff , or mentor existing staff, to deliver on these promises.

  • Oversee the creation, revision, and implementation of high-quality standards for staff and volunteer training, program development, and customer service.

  • Supervise direct reports to inspire, develop, and guide a large and diverse team of full-time and part-time educators, volunteers, and gallery experience staff.

  • Prioritize opportunities to integrate STEM into all education program experiences; include issues and voices relevant to the Perot Museum’s evolving regional community; foster the ongoing work to move the Museum from a mono-lingual to a bilingual (English/Spanish) organization and to one that welcomes multi-ethnic audiences.

  • Lead staff in the work of planning, initiating, and delivering programs for a broad and diverse cross section of the Dallas community.

  • Build and reinforce a positive, productive, healthy, and fun work culture at all levels, prioritizing teamwork, innovation, delivery, and collaboration.

  • Work closely with colleagues to create cohesive, high-quality, and relevant exhibit experiences.

  • Lead the Board Committee on Learning and identify ways to best utilize the skills and relationships these Board members bring to the Museum.

  • Assist in fundraising, Board engagement, financial monitoring, and other C-Suite duties as needed.

  • Partner with appropriate teams across the Museum to ensure robust collection and usage of data as it pertains to all learning and education programs.

  Qualifications

  
  

  The Perot Museum of Nature and Science seeks a leader of unusual intellectual breadth with practical experience working in and a contemporary understanding of learning, access and inclusion, and educational impact. This individual will be able to speak to the broader landscape of key trends and innovations in education, as well as the ability to refine, implement, and champion the Perot Museum’s mission for learning and impact.

  This individual will be broadminded about the impact museums can have in communities and in schools, and will see museums as a critical catalyst for STEM learning. They will have an approach that allows for and cultivates experimentation with an open-mind and highly creative attitude, and will actively seek out and include diverse opinions and perspectives. The successful candidate will be passionate about engaging with and serving marginalized and underserved communities. They will have exposure to and believe in the importance of both formal and informal education, and have knowledge of digital strategy as it pertains to education and outreach. This individual will have a dedicated passion for STEM and informal science education, will ideally bring working knowledge of informal science education theory and practice.

  The successful candidate will have the ability to balance the strategic aspects of the role with the administrative and managerial responsibilities required of the position. They will have the judgement to evaluate priorities and focus the team’s implementation efforts, the ability to use influence and motivate others around shared goals, and the patience to maintain a long-term perspective while executing effectively on short-term objectives. The successful candidate will have demonstrated the emotional intelligence and diplomatic savvy to navigate a large organization which serves more than one million people per year. They will have the ability to proactively bring together and collaborate with other teams across the organization, with K-12 schools throughout the region, and other organizational partners to maximize the Perot Museum’s educational impact. They will have a track record of successful leadership of a large and complex business unit, and ideally will have substantial experience working at a C-suite level within an organization dedicated to an educational mission.

  
  In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

  Setting Strategy & Vision

  • An entrepreneurial and creative spirit; identifies and seizes relevant opportunities, and develops innovative ideas that will stretch the organization to drive increased educational impact.

  • Strategic decision-making and forward-looking curiosity.

  • The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions and to align others with the department’s strategy, priorities, and implementation plans.

  • Knowledge and appreciation of working within a nonprofit enterprise; experience working with a sophisticated Board of Trustees.

  Delivering Impact Through Priority Programs

  • Sound operational and business acumen with the ability to create and adapt successful structures, models, and systems.

  • The ability to effectively prioritize, and to create realistic goals and implementation plans that are achievable and successful; tenacious and accountable in driving results.

  • Flexibility; ability to creatively adapt to and lead in an environment of rapid change; comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty.

  • Brings a strong focus on and track record of experience capturing and using data effectively to evaluate impact and adapt programs and communicate with internal and external audiences.

  • The ability to act in a transparent and consistent manner while always taking into account what is best for the organization.

  Management of Teams and Resources

  • Ability to lead and motivate people to develop an invested, high-performing and cohesive team; celebrates diversity within the team and manages performance effectively.

  • The ability to persevere in the face of challenges, and exhibit a steadfast resolve and relentless commitment to higher standards, which commands respect from followers.

  • A leader who is self-reflective and aware of their own limitations; leads by example and drives the team’s performance with an attitude of continuous improvement by being open to feedback and self -improvement.

  • Demonstrated creative ability to develop, lead and deliver earned revenue programs within an educational framework.

  • Experience working to garner grants and contributed revenues and successfully delivering on the promises of those.

  Relationships and Influence

  • Naturally connects and builds strong relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively.

  • Excellence in building positive and productive relationships at all levels.

  • Dedication to both internal and external community and collaboration.

  • Encourages others to share the spotlight and visibly celebrates and supports the success of the team.

  • Deep knowledge of working with diverse communities in a city with a large and diverse population base.

• About the company

  The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a natural history and science museum located in Dallas, Texas.

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