The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a private institution whose fundamental purpose is to improve people’s quality of life through art, charity, science, and education. The Foundation operates from its headquarters in Lisbon and delegations in Paris and London.

The Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian (CAM) is an art and culture centre that brings together the largest collection of modern and contemporary Portuguese art to date. With a renovated building and a new extension of the garden, CAM will re-open to the public in 2024 with a mission to enhance the transformative power of art to promote social and individual change.

We are looking for a Collection Manager to join the CAM team. In this role, you will oversee the CAM’s collection of Modern and Contemporary Art with a team 6 people reporting to you. This includes all aspects of collection care: loans, storage and all exhibition-related movements, documentation and cataloguing and research. In collaboration with the communication team, you will also be responsible to maintain the database of collection contents and manage copyright permissions.

Contractual conditions: 2 year fixed-term contract (full-time).

Main duties and responsibilities

Acquisitions

Reviews the acquisitions policy in collaboration with CAM’s Senior Management team; manages acquisitions meetings and liaises with the member of the acquisitions committee.

Handles, receives, prepares, stores and catalogs new acquisitions.

Collection Care & Management

Reviews and improves a comprehensive collection care policy following and implementing accepted international museum professional standards and practices. This includes maintaining a preventive conservation policy, monitoring of objects and facilities, updating an object-based database and related paper files and archives.

Supervises access to artwork for study, exhibition, and research. Supervises the conservation and preservation of artwork including managing and coordinating conservation treatments. Determines appropriateness of preparation methods in order to assure preservation of artwork and museum standards.

Manages and negotiates copyright permissions for collections related publications, archives, publicity, marketing, catalogues, websites, e-communication, and related uses.

Manages database development for all collections materials. Coordinates system security, digitization of images to be included in the database, periodic software upgrades and database system migrations, metadata development and development of database search capabilities.

Collaborates with CAM’s curators and other professionals as well as interacts with national and international scholarly and museum community, responding to loan, research, and publication requests relating to the collections.

Loans

Reviews and improves CAM’s loan policy; handles loan requests and reviews them with their collaborators, as well as Directors and curators of CAM.

Coordinates loans and traveling exhibition organization, documentation, and logistics, shipping, receiving, packing, and condition reports, and object security for collections exhibitions and for incoming and outgoing collections’ objects.

Research & Communication

Partakes in the definition of a collection research policy framework in collaboration with CAM’s Senior Management team.

Ensures that the collection management policies take into consideration issues of sustainability, and researches to improve collection care and handling practice accordingly.

Represents CAM in professional groups and related events such as conferences and workshops.

Collaborates with CAM’s management on creating new display strategies and new means to approach the collection – on CAM’s premises or elsewhere.

Budget

Contributes to the establishing of a collections budget and is responsible for overseeing it. This includes the monitoring of the acquisitions budget.

Job requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Art History, Cultural Management, or similar.
• At least 5 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified (Completed degrees from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis).
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Ability to supervise and train employees, to include organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work assignments.
• Ability to foster a cooperative work environment.
• Skill in organizing resources and establishing priorities.
• Ability to use independent judgment and to manage and impart information to a range of stakeholders.
• Ability to plan and implement short- and long-range goals.
• Thorough knowledge of museum policies, practices, and procedures.
• Basic knowledge of conservation and preservation techniques and/or procedures for museum collections.
• Good knowledge of 20th/21st Century art.
• Knowledge of budgeting, cost estimating, and fiscal management principles and procedures; ability to develop financial plans and manage resources.
• Database management skills; ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports.
• Knowledge of research methodology, principles, and procedures.

Applications