Job description

Overview:
For the Milwaukee Art Museum’s next Chief Experience Officer, it is an opportune time to join a vibrant, healthy organization which has weathered the global pandemic successfully. The Chief Experience Officer will have an opportunity to play a pivotal role overseeing and inspiring the rebranding of the Museum and in rethinking the Museum marketing function; shaping the tone and the style of the stories we tell. The Chief Experience Officer must be philosophically, conceptually, and tactically aligned with the vision for the Museum as a place for all individuals to better understand themselves, each other, and our world through new and innovative approaches to creating a fulfilling overall visitor experience. The ideal candidate will have a breadth of experience across a range of the branding discipline rather than a narrow focus within one professional arena.

The Chief Experience Officer (CXO) reports to the Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director and is a key member of the Senior Management Team at the Milwaukee Art Museum and will play a pivotal role in shaping and inspiring teams across all functions of the Museum. The successful CXO will build a high-performance marketing team including expertise in digital innovation and the framing of the overall optics of our brand.

We want someone who will take an inclusive approach understanding and embracing the multicultural perspectives of every visitor who walks through the Museum’s doors (in-person or through digital programs) and who will deliver meaningful experiences across every touchpoint along the visitor journey. We are also seeking someone who has and can realize a leading-edge vision for audience engagement by driving new data-based approaches and insights via comprehensive marketing plans that will enhance and amplify exploration of the MAM collections, exhibitions, education, and public engagement programs, retention, brand loyalty and drive increased museum visitation overall providing a “gateway” to art exploration.

The CXO will have direct responsibility for Brand Marketing, Digital Experience, Visitor Experience, and Communications. In addition, the CXO will direct the work of the head of Operations providing direction and oversight to the Retail Operations, Facilities, Security, Information Technology and Food & Beverage.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM www.mam.org

A comprehensive art institution and cultural cornerstone for the Greater Milwaukee region, the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) has become an icon for the city and a resource for the entire state. Prominently situated on the shore of Lake Michigan, the Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. The Museum’s campus comprises three interconnected buildings: the original Eero Saarinen War Memorial Center (1957), the Kahler Building
(1975) by David Kahler, and the celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, which showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions. In 2016, after a yearlong renovation, the Museum reopened its Collection Galleries, debuting nearly 2,500 world-class works of art within dramatically transformed galleries and a new lakefront addition. This reimagined space also allows for the presentation of additional changing exhibitions.

THE COLLECTION
Committed to acquiring, preserving, and activating seminal works of art, the Milwaukee Art Museum is home to both broad and deep collections, with exceptional holdings in American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, especially the Ashcan School and the Eight; modern and contemporary art, with particular strengths in Conceptual Art and Minimalism; prints and drawings, with outstanding examples of German Expressionism; European art from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century; photography and new media; modern and contemporary design; folk and self-taught art; and twentieth-century Haitian art. New and recently acquired works introduce critical context alongside the areas of art history already embodied within the collection. To expand its role as an educational resource and a platform for creative discourse, the Museum places special focus on acquiring the work of historically underrepresented or marginalized artists, including women and artists of color.

MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM TODAY
This is an exciting, vibrant time at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The Museum has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with a renewed sense of purpose, dynamism and ambition. Supported by a strong financial foundation, a reinvigorated Senior Leadership Team, and a Board poised for action, the Museum is at a pivotal inflection point. Determined to optimize the visitor journey, the gallery experience, the technological skillset and the anticipated brand overhaul, the Museum’s leadership is committed to recruiting a visionary thought leader to drive these important endeavors. While new to the Museum, the role of the CXO is vital to helping the Museum achieve its intended impact in the Milwaukee community and beyond.

LOCATION

Milwaukee is 90 minutes north of Chicago, yet in recent years, it’s evolved into a hip sister, infusing art, nature, mixology, craft beers, and farm-to-table foods into its landscape. Neighborhoods—like the Historic Third Ward, with warehouses converted to condo lofts and cutting-edge restaurants and boutiques; and Brady Street, with Italian-immigrant roots still cropping up in bakeries, restaurants, and markets—are vibrant and welcoming. Milwaukee‘s first-ring suburbs—places like Shorewood and Wauwatosa—boast adorable bungalows and pedestrian-friendly "main streets" with indie-boutique shopping, coffee shops, ethnic dining, and art galleries. Lake Michigan‘s shoreline provides sparsely populated beaches primed for relaxation, although if its volleyball matches, live music, and cabanas with butlers that you crave, Bradford Beach on the city’s East Side delivers.

Responsibilities:
OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPECTATIONS

Chief Experience Officer (CXO) will be a high-level executive responsible for the brand and overseeing the overall experience at the Museum. The primary focus of the CXO is to ensure that visitors have positive experiences when interacting with the Museum at every touchpoint, from initial awareness and consideration through visiting the galleries or attending a special event, or to a retail purchase and beyond. Overall, the CXO is responsible for ensuring that the Museum experience is a top priority for the organization and that all aspects of the organization are aligned to deliver a positive, inclusive and memorable experience for visitors. The specific job duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Tell the story of our brand and open doors for community participation.
• Lead the Museum’s rebranding project—a major, all-encompassing initiative that repositions MAM, its visual identity and its communication tone and style
• Develop and execute impactful, relevant brand strategy and marketing plans (traditional and digital media, public relations, and communications) for short-term and long-term initiatives to reach forecasted revenue and visitation goals.
• Develop comprehensive, holistic, cross-platform strategies to ensure a best-in-class visitor experience at all touchpoints, including pre-visit planning, on-site experiences, and post-visit outreach.
• Build strategic alliances and partnerships, and foster relationships with partners through comarketing efforts to diversify revenue streams.
• Develop a vision for broad audience engagement and set an agenda for achieving excellence, growth, and impact that will empower staff and increase visitation, retention, and brand loyalty.
• Execute on a bold, fresh vision set forth by the Museum Director and grow the potential in all its public facing efforts, from marketing to audience and community initiatives.
• Communicate the Museum’s mission, values, and strategic goals through imaginative and strategic approaches that reach local and global audiences.
• Understand and embody the mission and values of The Milwaukee Art Museum and ensure every decision made reflects those values. Lead teams with integrity, building a culture of trust and collective well-being.
• Drive the Museum’s technological innovations, from launching a new CRM to in-gallery interpretative methods and website content.
• Support development of retail merchandising, e-commerce, and store experience to grow retail revenues, profitability, visitor engagement, and visitor loyalty.
• Support development of food and beverage offerings and experiences to grow revenues, profitability, visitor engagement, and visitor loyalty.
• On occasion, participate in and/or facilitate the representation of the museum at exhibition openings, events, engaging directly with the media, both foreign and domestic.

Qualifications:
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• 8-10 years demonstrated experience developing and executing brand strategies across marketing channels.
• A passion for creating and building brands with a focus on storytelling, growth, and innovation.
• Experience leveraging and building brands to fulfill a broader purpose.
• Experience with market research, product positioning, pricing, promotions sales, and distribution.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills; strong creative problem-solving and analytic capabilities.
• Experience with developing and maintaining financial projections and budgets; strong financial and organizational management skills.
• Proven ability to lead and inspire a large team, building consensus, fostering cross-departmental collaboration and communication, and bringing together stakeholders to achieve clear and measurable shared goals.
• A commitment to, and track record of, promoting, advancing and supporting an equitable, inclusive, and socially just and diverse community.
• Ability to think big, instill confidence, and mobilize support for new ideas.
• A deep understanding and excitement for the Museum’s mission, values, and strategic goals.

COMPENSATION
The starting salary for this role will be in the range of $175,000-$200,000, plus benefits

INQUIRIES, NOMINATIONS, AND APPLICATIONS
Inquiries, nominations/referrals, and confidential applications (including resumes
should be sent electronically to the following: Rose Spano Iannelli / rspano@spanopratt.com
May, 2023.

Spano Pratt Executive Search shall provide equal opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.

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