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$40K

$68.3K

$98K

How much do curator of collections jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 15, 2026, the average yearly pay for curator of collections in the United States is $68,256.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $52,500.00 and $96,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Curator Of Collections vs Archivist?

AspectCurator Of CollectionsArchivist
Required CredentialsMaster's degree in Museum Studies, Art History, or related fieldBachelor's or Master's in Archival Science, History, or related
Work EnvironmentMuseums, galleries, cultural institutionsArchives, libraries, historical repositories
Employer & Industry UsageCommonly employed in museums and cultural institutionsFound in archives, government agencies, and research institutions
Search & Comparison IntentOften compared for roles involving collection management and curationCompared for roles focused on preserving and organizing records

While both roles involve managing collections, the Curator Of Collections primarily focuses on acquiring, caring for, and displaying art or artifacts in museums or galleries. The Archivist specializes in preserving and organizing historical records and documents, often in archives or repositories. Both require strong organizational skills and relevant credentials, but their work environments and focus areas differ significantly.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a curator of collections?

To thrive as a Curator of Collections, you need expertise in art history or museum studies, strong research abilities, and typically a master's degree in a relevant field. Familiarity with collection management systems, digital cataloging tools, and conservation techniques is essential. Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and effective communication enhance collaboration with staff and engagement with the public. These skills ensure the responsible stewardship, preservation, and accessibility of valuable collections for education and enjoyment.

How does a curator of collections typically collaborate with other museum staff and departments?

A Curator of Collections works closely with a range of museum professionals, including registrars, conservators, educators, and exhibition designers. Collaboration is essential for planning exhibitions, developing educational programs, and ensuring proper care and documentation of objects. Curators often participate in cross-departmental meetings and may lead or contribute to project teams focused on collection management, acquisitions, and community engagement. This collaborative approach helps ensure that the museum’s collections are accessible, well-preserved, and meaningfully interpreted for diverse audiences.

What does a curator of collections do?

A curator of collections is responsible for acquiring, managing, and preserving a collection of artifacts, artworks, or specimens. They organize exhibitions, conduct research, and ensure proper documentation using cataloging systems. The role often requires knowledge of conservation techniques and relevant industry standards.

How much does a curator of collections get paid?

A curator of collections typically earns a median annual salary of around $50,000 to $70,000, depending on experience, location, and the institution. Salaries can vary based on the size of the organization and the complexity of the collections managed.

Do curators of collections make a lot of money?

Curators of collections typically earn a median annual salary ranging from $40,000 to $70,000, depending on experience, location, and the institution. Salaries can be higher for senior or specialized curators, especially in large museums or cultural organizations, and often require a relevant degree and knowledge of collections management tools.
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Curator Of Collections jobs near you
Infographic showing various Curator Of Collections job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 82% Full Time, 13% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $68,256 per year, or $32.8 per hour.

Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs

Oakland Museum of California

Oakland, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 17 days ago

Job description

Overview
POSITION SUMMARY
The Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs is responsible for the overarching vision and strategy that bring together exhibitions, collection gallery installations, and collection initiatives that support OMCA's brand as a museum, garden, and gathering place and that advance its social impact of building trust, understanding, and connection between people and communities. Working closely with the Director & CEO and other department managers, the position leads the development of a comprehensive content calendar for the Museum's temporary exhibitions and collection installations that showcase the breadth of OMCA's interdisciplinary collections, center equity and community voice, engage multiple constituencies, and tell the unique and compelling stories of Oakland and California. The position also partners closely with the Senior Director of Learning, Experience and Programming in leading the Content and Experience "circle" that comprises departments that collaborate to create a dynamic and integrated set of exhibitions and programs that align with the Museum's mission and achieve OMCA's audience, social impact, and financial sustainability goals. As a member of the Senior Directors Council, the position shares in overall leadership for the Museum, including responsibility for strategic planning and policy-making. This position oversees approximately 35 employees in the Collections, Curatorial, Design, and Production departments, and directly coaches and supervises 6 positions.
Responsibilities
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The following reflects OMCA's definition of essential functions for this position, but does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. OMCA may assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.
INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
  • Support the Museum's mission, values, vision, and core commitment to the visitor experience, community engagement, and institutional relevancy for the future
  • Contribute to and support the OMCA strategic plan, annual priorities, and institutional initiatives
  • Contribute to a positive organizational culture based on mutual respect, a spirit of collegiality, cooperation, and an openness to many perspectives
  • Participate in a culture of ongoing learning, collaboration, innovation, creativity, and community engagement
  • All positions will have core functional responsibilities, cross-functional team activation and learning and development as a core function of each role.

POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Executive Responsibilities
  • Provide leadership to the overall institution as a member of the Senior Directors Council, contributing to policy-making and ensuring the Museum's vitality and success through active communication, problem-solving, and decision-making
  • Provide leadership for institutional planning, annual priorities, and institutional initiatives
  • Contribute to the prudent and ongoing monitoring of OMCA annual budget and financial demands to ensure a sustainable future
  • Demonstrate exceptional leadership skills in motivating staff, delegating tasks, encouraging independent problem-solving by individuals and teams, and providing an understanding of the institutional vision
  • Keep apprised of trends and developments in the museum and non-profit field and ensure that OMCA maintains leadership as a model for a 21st century museum in service to the public
  • Work with specific Board committees as staff liaison as assigned
  • Serve as Acting Director in the absence of the Executive Director, as requested
  • Serve as a spokesperson for the organization in the community, the field and media; participate in and present at professional conferences and conventions, attend community and civic gatherings on behalf of the organization; and play an active role in sharing OMCA's work with the field and keeping abreast of developments in the field

Leadership and Strategy
  • The Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs oversees the work of the Senior Curator of Art, Senior Curator of History, Curator of Natural Sciences, Design Director, Director of Collections, and Associate Director of Production to:
  • Translate OMCA's strategic plan, social impact, and business model into multi-year institutional exhibition and core gallery priorities and budgets, monitoring performance and adjusting course to meet targets
  • Lead priority-setting and budget planning and management for Curatorial, Collections, Design, and Production departments
  • Provide strategic leadership and coaching of key cross-institutional initiatives and teams
  • Play an active role in donor cultivation and stewardship; attend cultivation and solicitation meetings with individual donors; participate in the development and solicitation of grants and sponsorships to support the Museum's collection, exhibition, conservation, and program priorities
  • Partner with the Marketing & Communications department to develop communications related to exhibitions, collections, and other content strategies
  • Collaborate on the development of meaningful and relevant visitor-centered content development to support the programmatic schedule of exhibitions and core gallery presentations
  • Build a culture of support through fostering professional development and growth, engaging with key project milestones such as exhibition openings and major programs, and championing the work of the team collectively and individually.

Curatorial and Exhibitions Oversight and Execution
  • Define a clear strategic direction for OMCA's exhibition and core gallery initiatives based on community listening and an analysis of the internal and external programmatic landscape as well as distinctive strengths of OMCA's collections, staff, and history
  • Lead annual and multi-year planning of innovative exhibition and gallery programs that meet OMCA's mission, business, and social impact goals; ensure a clarity of vision and appropriate frameworks, principles, tools and resources are in place for productive cross-discipline and cross-departmental collaboration in creating the visitor experience within exhibitions and galleries
  • Support the direction of priority setting and planning for the collections, curatorial, design, and production teams to ensure exhibition and gallery projects are delivered effectively, efficiently, on time and on budget, and with timely engagement of and collaboration with internal stakeholders
  • Facilitate cross-department conversations and problem-solving for staff capacity, time, and resource management

Collections Care and Management
  • Oversee OMCA's collecting and collections strategy, including accessions and deaccessions, with the curatorial and collections teams
  • Oversee and consult in the care, installation, and presentation of the collections
  • Advocate for internal initiatives that uplift collections stewardship and modernize, streamline, and integrate collection content to provide enhanced access to collection items and information for both internal and external stakeholders
  • Support the institutional position on ethical collections and exhibition practice, including NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA compliance, intellectual property and copyright concerns, and integrating community input into collections care and descriptions

Design and Production
  • Oversee priority setting and planning for the design studio to ensure consistent and powerful visual expression of OMCAs brand and institutional goals through both visitor environments and institution-wide and department-specific projects
  • Oversee priority setting and planning for the production team to ensure exhibition, gallery, and department-specific or institutional projects align with strategic planning initiatives

Qualifications
EXPERIENCE
  • Ability to display the competencies of strategic thinking, development of self and others and ability to deploy and align organizational strategies and objectives
  • 10+ years of experience with progressive growth towards senior leadership in a museum setting
  • 7+ years of supervisory experience
  • M.A. in relevant field required
  • Demonstrated experience in directing successful exhibition and collection initiatives in museums
  • Familiarity with multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields including the arts, history, and/or natural sciences with a focus on community engagement and civic and audience development
  • Demonstrated knowledge of trends and progressive practices in the museum field
  • Demonstrated knowledge of up-to-date principles of collections care and museum conservation
  • Familiarity with the history and current landscape of museum relations with Indigenous communities
  • Demonstrated achievements as an adaptive change agent, collaborator, coach, and team and coalition-builder
  • Superior communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal
  • Strong interpersonal skills, with a capacity for managing and leading people with diverse backgrounds, views and work styles
  • Understanding of fundraising techniques, grant application procedures, and funding sources
  • Demonstrated cultural competence and a history of building equitable and inclusive programming
  • Works well in a deeply collaborative, highly fluid culture.
  • Experience with utilizing Google platform preferred.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The environment may include:
  • Museum environment involves both indoor and outdoor working conditions
  • Ability to travel between OMCA locations, and other travel as required by position responsibilities

EEO STATEMENT
The Oakland Museum of California is dedicated to diversity, inclusion, accessibility and equity. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ability/disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We highly encourage our diverse community to apply for available employment, internship, fellowship and volunteer positions at the Museum, as we aim to ensure our staff reflects the diversity of our visitors and surrounding community. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, OMCA will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities.
COMPENSATION: $225,200
FOR FURTHER CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND FOR OMCA AND THIS ROLE, PLEASE SEE THIS POSITION PROSPECTUS

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