Located in Salem, 15 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, the Peabody Essex Museum is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States and the 16th largest art museum in North America. The museum’s mission is to:
“…celebrate 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, PEM strives to create experiences that transform people’s lives by broadening their perspectives, attitudes, and knowledge of themselves and the wider world.”
Education and interpretation are of critical importance in accomplishing this mission, and PEM pays close attention to the experience of visitors of all ages, and with diverse backgrounds, knowledge, interests, preferences and needs. This is an organization that is building a strong reputation for innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership in museum-based education and interpretive programming, and which places great emphasis on close collaboration between the education and curatorial departments.
The Peabody Essex Museum’s approach to its mission moves beyond silo thinking and instead favors crisp execution in partnership among its various leaders and departments. PEM curators shape exhibitions to provide valuable new insight into the art and cultural heritage of our world. PEM educators focus on the different and varied interests of visitors and how different audiences acquire knowledge and enjoy the experience. Educators and curators, joined by highly skilled media and communication specialists, shape unique and enriching experiences for visitors through both gallery-based programming and on-line activities.
PEM exhibitions are highly collaborative ventures that are launched by a curatorial vision, and encompass substantive input from educators, interpreters, designers and other team members who contribute their best efforts to deliver superlative projects on time and budget, and with appropriate connection to the institution’s advancement activities. This approach has helped PEM to achieve one of the highest visitor satisfaction ratings among this country’s art museums.
Reporting to the Deputy Director, the Chief of Education and Interpretation (CEI) leads the museum-wide effort to develop educational and interpretative programs that create transformative experiences of art and culture for museum visitors. PEM devotes considerable energy to the team’s efforts to create experiences, ideas and information that PEM visitors enjoy and that enriches their lives. The CEI, and his/her staff, partner extensively with other senior leaders that manage the organization’s marketing and communications, advancement, and finance functions; with board members, docents and other volunteers; and with groups external to PEM but which serve the educational needs of children, youth and adults with different backgrounds.
PEM attracts some 250,000 visitors annually, and is recognized as an important economic engine in the region. The museum employs 245 professionals. There are 11 staff in the Education and Interpretation group, and over 100 docents that support the Peabody Essex Museum's educational mission. The current annual operating budget is approximately $22.4 million, of which about $1.2 million is allocated to activities related to education and interpretation. The CEI is a member of the Executive Leadership Team which develops the overaraching strategy of the institution in collaboration with the Board of Trustees.
For a full position description or more information, please contact Lisa Grossman, Stacy Brooks, or Mark Oppenheim at Additional information on the organization can be found at www.pem.org