We’re currently seeking a Cultural Resources Manager to be part of our journey at Five Oaks Museum.

The Cultural Resources Manager oversees policies, practices, and systems that support the museum’s cultural resources, optimizing their care, physical and digital organization, and accessibility for the benefit of the community.

Apply now and be part of our story!

(Image of Five Oaks Museum collection objects from Replenish the Root: Six Centuries of Gathering Under the Oaks)

Five Oaks Museum is an independent nonprofit located on the Portland Community College–Rock Creek Campus on Tualatin Kalapuya land in Washington County, Oregon. As a local organization engaged in globally relevant dialogues, we support the thriving cultural ecologies around us through guest-curated exhibitions, learning programs, events, research, and the museum’s cultural resources, archives, and library. After 65 years of centering Euro-American settler narratives, the institution was fundamentally reshaped in 2019. It now operates as a platform for multivocal, culturally embedded stories and as a sandbox for innovative organizational structures, all shaped around the core values of Body, Land, Truth, Justice, and Community.

Summary

The Cultural Resources Manager oversees policies, practices, and systems that support the museum’s cultural resources, optimizing their care, physical and digital organization, and accessibility for the benefit of the community.

Position in Organization

Reports to: Codirectors

Responsible for: Cultural Resources volunteers, work study students, interns and partners

Locations: Hybrid remote and on-site work (On-site needed Thursdays, overall about 50% remote and 50% on-site, negotiable)

Key Duties

• Manage all aspects of cultural resources and care informed by accepted museum professional standards and practices, including within our object collection, archive, and library.
• Develop and maintain cultural resources management plans and policies.
• Support Collections Assessment for Preservation grant process and implementation (2023-24)
• Oversee efforts to achieve accurate numbering, cataloging, photographing, and labeling specimens already in the collection.
• Manage incoming donation requests and acquisitions, ensuring current best practices are applied to resources being added to the collection.
• Propose strategic acquisitions and deaccessions for presentation to the Codirectors and Cultural Resources Committee to diversify and refine our current cultural resources.
• Work closely with staff handling research requests to support seamless public access to cultural resources.
• Support Guest Curators when exhibiting cultural resources from FOM collections or external partners (i.e. obtaining loans or reproduction permissions).
• Will actively support the completion of a current Collections Assessment Program collaboratively with the CRC and Director of Community Connections. May serve as point person on special cultural resources projects of this kind in the future.
• Recruit, develop, and supervise interns and volunteers.
• Foster cross-departmental collaboration and community engagement with collections.

All-Staff Responsibilities

• Advance the museum’s mission, vision, and values in the delivery of your work and interpersonal conduct.
• Support membership and public support through excellent, informed customer service.
• Assist with additional tasks as needed to foster overall health of the organization.

• 3+ years of progressively expanding expertise in collections management.
• This is a technical position; experience working with collections management software and standards will be necessary. PastPerfect and/or familiarity with DublinCore, DACS and/or other cataloging standards preferred.
• Advanced education in relevant fields (museum, library, etc) will be considered but is not required if work experience demonstrates readiness for the job.
• Demonstrated knowledge of active collections, and culturally responsive collections management approaches.
• Must be resourceful, creative, and have the ability and desire to work collaboratively with museum staff and community members.
• Experience working in a culturally responsive way with people of diverse cultural backgrounds, ages, and lived experiences.

This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position based on 32 hours of weekly work, with employer-sponsored health benefits for the full family, a minimum of 3 weeks all-staff paid holiday, generous individual paid time off, with a salary of $50,000.

This position is located at Five Oaks Museum on the Portland Community College Rock Creek Campus, 17677 NW Springville Rd, Portland, OR 97229. ADA parking and TriMet bus service are available to the museum. This role may involve limited travel throughout the region which can be shaped around access needs. Our workplace operates in English, using Google Suite for shared documents, virtual meetings, and email. The museum building is accessible to ADA standards including entry ramp, power doors, and accessible restroom stalls; there are no stairs within the building. Physical workstations are designed for each individual’s needs and size-inclusive seating is present in meeting spaces. Disability justice is deeply within our values and enacting that beyond compliance is currently an area of focused growth for us.

Modest relocation assistance may be available. Visa sponsorship is not available at this time.

We are committed to doing all that we can to support additional access needs throughout the interview process and within the position. To request accommodations, alternative formats of this application, or to contact us regarding issues with the application process, please call (503) 645-5353 or email hiring@fiveoaksmuseum.org.

Initial application (Phase I):

Applications must include a minimum of (1) a letter of interest tailored to this position along with (2) a resume and/or CV to be considered. Email your application materials and any other supporting documentation showcasing your fit for this position to: hiring@fiveoaksmuseum.org no later than 11pm on Sunday, October 15th, 2023.

Follow-up (Phase II):

Supplemental questions will be sent to applicants who meet the position requirements on Friday, October 20th. Responses will be due back Tuesday, October 24th at 5pm.

Note that we will attempt to contact all applicants. In the event that applicant volume is too high, only those applicants being moved on to Phase II will be contacted.

Once all the supplemental question responses and application materials have been carefully reviewed we will determine a few finalists for interviews. All Phase II applicants will be contacted and informed by Friday, October 27th if they were not selected, or to arrange interview times.

Target start date for the position is Monday, November 13th, 2023.