Operations Co-ordinator

This is a part-time position working 14 hours per week.

The Operations Co-ordinator is a new position and the Living Museum’s only paid position.

Commencing February 2024, the position is part of a 3-year strategy to support the Museum’s committee of management, who run the Museum, and the implementation of the Museum’s 2023 – 2026 Strategic Plan (which can be downloaded from the link below).

For further information contact Kerrie Poliness at [email protected]

Applications should include: a cover letter, a statement of no more than 2 pages addressing the Key Selection Criteria, and a current CV.

Applications should be received by December 10, 2023.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Museum Hours and Location

Due to termite infestation damage, the Museum Visitor Centre is currently being repaired by Council and the Living Museum is temporarily situated at Maribyrnong Library at Highpoint Shopping Centre. It is currently anticipated that the Museum will return to its newly refurbished home at the Visitor Centre in Pipemaker’s Park mid 2024.

The Operations Co-ordinator will be required to be onsite at the Library during the Museum’s opening hours which are currently (2023): Thursday and Friday, 12 pm to 5 pm, and on Saturdays, from 10 am to 2 pm. Occasional evenings may also be required.

Operational requirements are a priority and flexibility may be available for a few hours a week. An alternative opening weekday, other than Thursdays, may be considered by the Committee.

 

Committment to Diversity

The Living Museum of the West is committed to reflecting the social and cultural diversity of our local context within our internal operations and artistic program.

The Museum is an equal opportunity employer. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, LGBTQIA+ and culturally and linguistically diverse applicants are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

 

About the Museum

Since 1984, Melbourne’s Living Museum of the West Incorporated has actively engaged the communities of the west in projects that research, document, preserve and interpret the rich social, industrial and environmental history of Melbourne’s west. This is enriched through regular public exhibitions, performances, festivals, publications, videos and public artworks that contribute further to the archive.

The Museum is particularly focused on a recognition of its environment, its site bringing both responsibility and opportunity to address ecological issues in response to global warming. It is thus acknowledged as a model ‘Eco-museum’. See: About Us

In this, it is supported by an ongoing relationship with the Indigenous people of this area. In its early years (1984-1990), the Museum captured the life and untold stories of the west, Melbourne’s industrial heartland, in a physical archive of photographs, negatives, videos, audio recordings, maps, artefacts, documents and publications. This is a nationally significant collection documenting many technological innovations and cultural and social shifts that have shaped Australia is also the catalyst for contemporary creative projects being realised at the Museum today. The Living Museum facilitates access to the archive providing a unique and rich resource for the local community and others.

An active volunteer team (Committee of Management) run the Museum and maintain the two programs — the core activities of the Resource Centre and creative Initiatives such as Artists in Residence, Tertiary Student Program, Digitisation Program, Curated Projects and Public Programs.

The Museum is open to the public 14 hours per week for research enquiries and access to the Resource Centre (library and archive). It also opens for exhibitions and public events at various times throughout the year.

 

Responsibilties, Duties and Skills

The Operations Co-ordinator will be joining a highly experienced team of volunteer workers: visual artists, archivists, performers and historians.

The successful applicant will have an important role in realising the ambitious 3-year program that will enable the Living Museum to grow and realise its potential.

Working closely with the Committee, the Operations Co-ordinator will support the delivery of the Museum’s 3-year Strategic Plan (2023 -2026). Responsibilities, duties and skills include:

• Co-ordination of the Museum’s operations including general administration, planning, financial management, processing of applications, documentation and acquittals.
• Work collaboratively and productively with stakeholders, partners, funding bodies, artists, cultural institutions, volunteers, including people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Support the implementation of programs and projects including exhibitions and artist talks, forums and events.
• Manage the day-to-day operations including front of house enquiries at the Museum Visitor Centre (and while at the Maribyrnong Library) and display spaces.
• Increase the Living Museum’s core operational income by applying for funding, and sponsorship and establishing fundraising strategies and activities. (Note: the Museum is registered as a charitable organisation with ACNC)
• Promote and support greater community engagement, through new community-led projects and applications for funding
• Promote the mission of the Museum through community engagement to increase the income and capacity.
• Identify where possible, new funding and sponsorship opportunities.
• Monitor funding and performance agreements.
• Increase community awareness of and visits to the Living Museum and its events through community outreach and community involvement strategies.
• Increase the membership base.
• Support and maintain the website and social media, assist in the production and distribution of digital newsletters and advertise the Museum’s events and activities via Maribyrnong Council’s ‘Art-bytes’  (Council web news) in line with The Museum Marketing Plan.
• Lead the renewal, implementation and reporting of strategic plans, the artistic programs and the marketing plans.
• Write reports and acquittals and collate statistics.
• Maybe required to prepare papers and deliver information sessions and briefings on behalf of the organisation.
• Attend monthly committee meeting and sub committees as required and provide quarterly updates/reports.
• Ensure organisational compliance with constitutional and legal obligations (AGMs, O H & S, Auditors etc) and museum accreditation.
• Liaise with Maribyrnong City Council officers in relation to the operations, including the buildings and surrounds, artistic and heritage programs, festivals and marketing.

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated experience in an arts or cultural organisation in general administration, planning, project management, financial management and solid organizational and multi-tasking skills.
•  Strong written and verbal communication skills including a proven track record in fundraising, grant writing and acquittal in the cultural sector.
• Experience and commitment to working with community organisations or artist-run initiatives and with archives, innovative museology or contemporary art.
•  Strong IT skills including Apple Macintosh interface, Microsoft Office, preferably familiar in working with Adobe CC or CS (Photoshop, Illustrator, In-design), web tools (WordPress) and social media.
•  Experience in developing, implementing and reporting on strategic plans and marketing plans.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and productively with stakeholders, funding bodies, artists, cultural institutions, highly experienced volunteers and people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Museum Location  (additional information)

 In Pipemakers Park

The usual home of the Living Museum is Pipemakers Park, Van Ness Avenue, Maribyrnong on the western bank of the Maribyrnong River. The park Visitor Centre is home to the Museum offices, display area and unique archive and library, it is where research, artistic residencies, meetings, talks, events and exhibitions primarily occur.  The Museum’s facilities include the Visitor Centre; Historic Bluestone Buildings; Canteen Artspace; Top Factory and the surrounding parklands (including the river). The Living Museum hosts concerts and ceremonies, and stages theatre, visual art, performance and installations events. These parklands and surrounds also include The History of the Land Gardens and Wurundjeri Garden, the Wetlands, The Pioneer Women’s Shelter and other public artworks including the Stone Circle and the Pipestacks Sculpture. The Museum’s project output is also realised online, particularly through its website: www.livingmuseum.org.au

Due to termite infestation damage, the Museum Visitor Centre is currently being repaired by Council and the Living Museum is temporarily situated at Maribyrnong Library at Highpoint Shopping Centre. It is currently anticipated that the Museum will return to its newly refurbished home at the Visitor Centre in Pipemaker’s Park mid 2024. In the interim period, some Museum programs and projects will continue to be situated in Pipemakers Park.

At Maribyrnong Library

The Museum’s current temporary home is at Maribyrnong Library which is situated at the busy Highpoint Shopping Centre. A separate building, the Library is adjacent to a large multi-storey carpark on Rosamond Road. Maribyrnong Library’s opening hours are 10 am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday, and 10 am to 2 pm on Saturdays.

The Museum occupies 5 internal rooms, including a kitchen, that are separate from the library itself and accessible via the main, public, foyer entry. These rooms currently provide the public interface to our activities and access to the Museum’s Collection. Our facilities at the Library also include a small garden with three portable sheds which are currently used as storage by the Museum. The Museum has access to these rooms from 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Saturday, and provides public opening hours on Thursday and Friday, 12 to 5 pm, and on Saturday 10 am to 2 pm.

The Museum also has limited free access to additional meeting and community rooms at the library. Including a permanent booking on Fridays of ‘Community Room 1’, which is a large open space with tables chairs, an overhead data projector and with access to another large outdoor garden area.  The Museum also has permanent access to ‘Meeting Room 2’ during its days of operation at the library, i.e. Thursday through to Saturday.