Chief Operating Officer Salem, Massachusetts THE OPPORTUNITY The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) celebrates outstanding artistic and cultural creativity by collecting, stewarding, and interpreting objects of art and culture in ways that increase knowledge, enrich the spirit, engage the mind, and stimulate the senses. Through its exhibitions, programs, publications, media, and related activities, the museum strives to create experiences that transform people's lives by broadening their perspectives, attitudes, and knowledge of themselves and the wider world. As PEM enters the next era of its storied history following an unparalleled 25-year arc of development, the museum seeks an experienced and highly motivated leader to serve as its chief operating officer (COO). More than two centuries since its inception, PEM faces a distinct set of opportunities and challenges. In the wake of an international health crisis and systemic racial injustice that is experienced acutely by many and cannot be ignored, museum leaders have been called to action. This period will require expansive thinking and both global and local efforts as PEM examines its role as an inclusive, accessible, and thought- provoking leader in an evolving museum landscape and society. In July 2019, PEM appointed a new director and CEO for the first time in 25 years. A bold and visionary leader, Dr. Brian Kennedy has already laid the groundwork for an ambitious five-year strategic plan that will reevaluate the museum’s approach to and engagement of its audience, staff, physical and digital space, and financial resources. The COO will partner closely with Dr. Kennedy to realize the short- and long-term success of this vision. Broadly, this individual will function as the senior advisor and strategic partner to the director and share responsibility for the general operations of the museum. Located in the coastal city of Salem, Massachusetts, 15 miles north of Boston, PEM was founded in 1799 by many of America’s first global entrepreneurs and is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States. It was dedicated to collecting and presenting wondrous objects and works of contemporary art and culture from beyond the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn to the citizens of a young nation. Today the museum maintains its global and entrepreneurial roots while celebrating its important ties to the City of Salem and surrounding Essex County. Peabody Essex Museum Chief Operating Officer Page 2 of 8 PEM is among the fastest growing art museums in the United States over the past quarter of a century. The museum now ranks among the top ten percent of American art museums as measured by budget size, at $30 million; facilities, at more than 500,000 square feet; and endowment, valued at $510 million. The museum operates on a global stage and enjoys an international reputation for creativity and innovation in exhibition, interpretation, publications, financial and strategic management, public programs, and education. PEM routinely partners with other top-tier art museums world-wide, such as the National Gallery, Victoria and Albert, Rijksmuseum, Palace Museum at the Forbidden City, and many others, to create groundbreaking exhibitions. The PEM team includes approximately 202 staff, including 29 in curatorial, 23 in education and civic engagement, 28 under the CFO umbrella, 14 in philanthropy, 53 in facilities and security, 21 in marketing, 31 in collections, and three in the executive office. This position presents a rare opportunity to join a museum that is recognized as a pathbreaker and leader at a key inflection point. PEM’s COO will support and complement a visionary director early in his tenure and will assume leadership of a highly dynamic institution. Working in close partnership with executive leaders; a committed board of directors; and curatorial, program, and operations staff, the next COO will build the infrastructure to support strategic priorities that will continue the museum’s remarkable upward trajectory. The COO will bring to life a vision that allows PEM to retain its global reputation and base of loyal supporters, while addressing existing barriers to access and the need for increased diversity and racial equity across the museum’s audience, staff, and volunteer leadership. As PEM continues to expand its global footprint, the COO will also lead the operation and development of its two parallel campuses: its two physical locations, in Salem and the state-of-the-art 120,000-square-foot Collection Center in Rowley, Massachusetts, as well as its burgeoning digital campus. In addition, the COO will work closely with the American Alliance of Museums to lead PEM’s successful completion of its upcoming reaccreditation process. An eight- to 16-month process, the review centers on self-study and peer review and takes place every 15 years. The successful candidate will lead strategic and tactical planning, priority setting, and decision making across the museum and directly oversee such functional areas as employee experience/human resources; marketing and communications; and security, facilities operations, and planning; with additional oversight of collection services, digitization and documentation, and earned revenue operations. This individual must demonstrate an inclusive leadership style and a deep appreciation for the arts while simultaneously recognizing and articulating the critical role all museum staff play, including frontline service and operational professionals of all levels. The Peabody Essex Museum is especially committed to recruiting candidates from historically marginalized or underrepresented backgrounds and identities, as well as individuals who embrace the values and practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their leadership. The ideal candidate will have more than 15 years of senior management experience with a demonstrated understanding of the operational challenges facing non-profit institutions. The COO will have superb written and oral presentation, negotiation, and communication skills; and a demonstrated ability to inspire confidence and lead staff with honesty and integrity through a period of transformation and growth. The successful candidate will have shown an ongoing interest in new technologies, computerization and innovation. The Peabody Essex Museum has retained the Boston-based international executive search firm Isaacson, Miller to conduct this search, with Jack Gorman leading the search team. Confidential nominations, inquiries, and applications may be directed to the search firm as indicated at the end of this document. Peabody Essex Museum Chief Operating Officer Page 3 of 8 A DISTINCTIVE ART MUSEUM – A MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTURE The Peabody Essex Museum’s mission is to create experiences of art, culture, and creative expression that transform people’s lives by changing the way they see themselves and the world. By presenting art and culture in new ways, by linking past and present, and by embracing artistic and cultural achievements worldwide, the museum offers unique opportunities to explore a multilayered and interconnected world of creative expression. PEM’s collections include contemporary and historical art from China, Japan, Korea, India, and Bhutan; American and American decorative art; Native American art; Maritime art; Asian export art; Oceanic and African art; Fashion, Textiles, and Costumes; Photography; 17th through 19th century American architecture; and a major research library. Many of PEM’s collections are among the finest of their kind. PEM’s campus features a number of parks and gardens, 22 historic structures including four National Landmark and five National Register buildings, and the Phillips Library, one of the nation's most important museum-based collections of rare books, including 400,000 volumes and a linear mile of manuscripts and related materials. In addition to its vast collections, the Peabody Essex presents a vibrant schedule of special exhibitions organized by its own team as well as exhibitions organized by leading museums in North America, Europe, and Asia. PEM is the only art museum in the world that employs a full-time neuroscientist who helps tap new knowledge drawn from neurosciences to help design compelling art experiences. The museum has consistently earned the highest visitor satisfaction ratings among more than 80 major American museums of all kinds, including many major art museums, as determined by an outside party. PEM receives some 270,000 visitors annually and is recognized as an important regional economic engine. The museum’s approach to its mission moves beyond silo thinking and operations, instead favoring crisp execution in partnership among its various leaders and departments. Great emphasis is placed on close collaboration between the curatorial, education, philanthropy, finance, and marketing teams. Across the enterprise, the common thread in PEM’s approach is entrepreneurial innovation, from retooling the museum business model to enable steady endowment support, to drawing on lessons from neuroscience to make museum experiences more engaging. The PEM Trajectory The Peabody Essex Museum’s arc of development over the past 25 years is unprecedented among American museums. In 1992, the Peabody Museum of Salem merged with the Essex Institute to form the Peabody Essex Museum, then a small museum located outside a major urban center with virtually no standing as an art museum. Over a decade ago, the Peabody Essex began a comprehensive campaign to conceptually and physically