Director of Collections and Research; Museum Section Head III

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is looking to hire a Museum Section Head III (working title Director of Collections and Research) for its State Museum Division. The Director of Collections and Research works closely with the Director of the Illinois State Museum (ISM) in guiding and contributing to established goals in the State Museum Division’s research, collection, exhibition, and education programs in art, anthropology, botany, geology, history, and zoology.

Its collections focus on emphasis on Illinois. As a member of the Division’s Leadership Team, this position will act administratively for and collaboratively with the ISM Director. Leadership-level staff are responsible for preparation of detailed, specialized budget materials and professional reports. They contribute to Division administration by formulating and carrying out strategic planning & implementation, and discipline-based programming. They are responsible for working with senior and subordinate staff in establishing objectives and subsequent evaluations.

This position will also work assiduously with all State Museum sites to support their administrative, management, and collections care needs. We welcome all interested applicants to apply today.

Museum staff are impelled to engage in a regular cycle of professional development to maintain competence and currency in their areas of expertise or responsibility; and participate in relevant professional organizations. This position is expected to be able to occasionally travel locally, regionally, or statewide to participate in professional development, outreach events, and for general operational needs of their work site.

They may be requested to consult, advise, or present information to share their knowledge and experience with museum professionals, students, and the public. Each staff member is expected to create work that is visible to the residents of Illinois; work in a team environment across geographic locations and disciplines; perform at a level that reflects national standards and best practices of an accredited museum and brings state, national, and/or international recognition to the Museum;

follow all relevant state and federal laws; and abide by professional museum ethics.

• Serve as a senior manager at Illinois State Museum
• Serve as Research and Collections head: in either art, history, or science- serves as a subject matter expert
• Serves as a content specialist
• Perform other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the Position Overview.

• Requires a minimum Bachelors in appropriate area of specialization such as anthropology, zoology, botany, museum studies, collection management, art history, studio art, history, historic preservation or similar fields. Masters degree in appropriate field(s) of study or higher degree in museum adjacent fields preferred.
• Requires a minimum of 15 years’ experience working in museum-related areas such as collection, research, and curation. Work history should demonstrate increasing job responsibilities in program administration and staff management.
• Requires 10 years of people management experience.

Applications close 4/7/26