Open Forum

Hello friends!

I am an emerging museum professional with just over a year of career experience. Recently, I have begun to learn all of the ins and outs of the systems within our museum and have been tasked with finding a way to make them all work together. My museum opened in a rush in 2020, and there are still many big processes that need to be figured out, from ticketing, to our store and restaurant, to budgeting, to accounting for our grants and donations. The past year, I have worked alongside development as a grant coordinator, and in finance as accounts receivable to establish financial workflows and processes with our accounting software. I am learning how the many different softwares and programs our teams use work, and I am also developing APIs to connect them all. 

As I begin to lean more into this role, I am wondering if anybody out there has someone at their museum who does this kind of work, and if so, what is their title? Where do they live in the museum ecosystem? With the opportunity to change my title on the horizon, I'd love to know what kind of standards are already out there. Purely for IT reasons I feel that I am some kind of digital architect, rather than a developer or an analyst. 

Let me know what you think, and I would love to meet with anyone who fits this description! Mentors are everything to me as an emerging professional. 

Edit: for reference, my museum has seven divisions, all led by a director with a variety of departments under them. 

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Cricket Kaya
Grants Coordinator
First Americans Museum
Oklahoma City OK
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Hi Cricket, 

I really feel this question! I've been there. My initial thoughts while reading your description were that you fall into a more general administrator category, but when you suggested "Digital Architect," I thought maybe I was missing something. Are you building the software systems for your ticketing, finance, etc, systems? If not, I would not claim that title. If you are doing the work of figuring out how to bridge the systems with internal processes and accountabilities for maintaining those systems, I would again suggest that you are an Administrator. It might sound generic, but someone who can problem solve anything within a museum infrastructure is absolutely indispensable. Feel free to sjuh up that name with other descriptors, so suggestions are: Museum Administrator, Administrative Manager, Executive Administrator, Business Administrator. If you have any other questions about this, or want to share more particulars so I can rethink the titling, feel free to reach out! 

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Eliza Coviello
Deputy Director
National Academy of Design
New York NY
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Hi Eliza! Wow, thanks for your response!

I am building the systems from an IT/ software perspective (figuring out the software for folks, learning how to customize it to our needs, building and coding integrated APIs to connect softwares, automating workflows) and then I am also implementing them, training on their use, and developing systems and processes to go along with the software functionality.  I spent a lot of time making flowcharts that involve software processes in tandem with human processes. Most of it is related to accounting and finding a flow between our ticketing software, accounting software, and crm. (Yes... they are three different softwares). 

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Cricket Kaya
Grants Coordinator
First Americans Museum
Oklahoma City OK
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2025 08:53 AM
From: Eliza Coviello
Subject: Help me figure out what my museum job is called!

Hi Cricket, 

I really feel this question! I've been there. My initial thoughts while reading your description were that you fall into a more general administrator category, but when you suggested "Digital Architect," I thought maybe I was missing something. Are you building the software systems for your ticketing, finance, etc, systems? If not, I would not claim that title. If you are doing the work of figuring out how to bridge the systems with internal processes and accountabilities for maintaining those systems, I would again suggest that you are an Administrator. It might sound generic, but someone who can problem solve anything within a museum infrastructure is absolutely indispensable. Feel free to sjuh up that name with other descriptors, so suggestions are: Museum Administrator, Administrative Manager, Executive Administrator, Business Administrator. If you have any other questions about this, or want to share more particulars so I can rethink the titling, feel free to reach out! 

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Eliza Coviello
Deputy Director
National Academy of Design
New York NY
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Cricket, This might not be the answer you are looking for, but museum titles don't always reflect what we actually do in real life. That doesn't mean you shouldn't advocate for a title and compensation that befits your work duties (and performance).

If you are already looking for related positions on job posting websites, you can stop reading here, but if not: I would do that, and look for positions with lots of overlap in both nonprofit and for profit sectors. With your research, you should find a few job titles with duties that describe most of what you do, and reflect your training/education. Then you have something to use when speaking with your supervisor about a job plan. I recommend having a conversation about a path forward rather than an ultimatum. It is more likely to be a positive experience that way.

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Andie Near
Museum Registrar
Columbus OH
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Hi Andy! That's makes a lot of sense. 

My leadership is very open to my growth and they actually encouraged me to ask around the network for guidance! I'm not necessarily too concerned with the title as a name itself, but just trying to ground myself in the field and find others who do similar work. Looking at job listings is a great idea, even though I feel very at home in my institution. I appreciate your thoughts!

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Cricket Kaya
Grants Coordinator
First Americans Museum
Oklahoma City OK
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2025 09:14 AM
From: Andie Near
Subject: Help me figure out what my museum job is called!

Cricket, This might not be the answer you are looking for, but museum titles don't always reflect what we actually do in real life. That doesn't mean you shouldn't advocate for a title and compensation that befits your work duties (and performance).

If you are already looking for related positions on job posting websites, you can stop reading here, but if not: I would do that, and look for positions with lots of overlap in both nonprofit and for profit sectors. With your research, you should find a few job titles with duties that describe most of what you do, and reflect your training/education. Then you have something to use when speaking with your supervisor about a job plan. I recommend having a conversation about a path forward rather than an ultimatum. It is more likely to be a positive experience that way.

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Andie Near
Museum Registrar
Columbus OH
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Hi Cricket!

If you need a laugh, maybe check out the Museum Title Generator.

I work at a large state historical society that employs over 300 staff and operates a network of 26 sites. The tasks you describe fall into the departments of finance, merchandise, facilities, development. Typically the titles of director or manager are saved for people with direct reports -- but at a small institution I could see those titles still being used if you complete the work tasks as well. My thought would be Director/Manager of Museum Systems or Financial Operations.

Best,

Angelica Maier, Curator of 3D Objects, Minnesota Historical Society

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Angelica Maier
Curator of 3D Objects
Minnesota Historical Society
Saint Paul MN
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Hi Angelica!!

That name generator is hilarious. I've shared it with everyone I know at this point. 

Thanks for the insight!!

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Cricket Kaya
Grants Coordinator
First Americans Museum
Oklahoma City OK
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2025 09:48 AM
From: Angelica Maier
Subject: Help me figure out what my museum job is called!

Hi Cricket!

If you need a laugh, maybe check out the Museum Title Generator.

I work at a large state historical society that employs over 300 staff and operates a network of 26 sites. The tasks you describe fall into the departments of finance, merchandise, facilities, development. Typically the titles of director or manager are saved for people with direct reports -- but at a small institution I could see those titles still being used if you complete the work tasks as well. My thought would be Director/Manager of Museum Systems or Financial Operations.

Best,

Angelica Maier, Curator of 3D Objects, Minnesota Historical Society

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Angelica Maier
Curator of 3D Objects
Minnesota Historical Society
Saint Paul MN
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I have been with my museum for 10 years. While I am technically an Administrative Assistant, I have filled various roles. I settled recently on Museum Assistant. Like you, I have paid bills, managed the budget, worked with our members, governance, and even recently been the event coordinator.

A previous title I played with was Membership & Development Coordinator. You could use coordinator as part of your identity.

Some of my colleagues tease that I am the assistant to the museum.

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Brandy Morrison
Membership and Development Coordinator
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Montgomery AL
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Good morning Cricket!

There are probably several titles that would be a decent fit for your role. I think a question for you to consider is, "What is my desired career path?" Look for job titles that will keep you moving on that path. If GLAM IT--or IT in general--is your jam, something like "Technical Business Analyst" or "Application & Integrations Administrator" or even "Solutions Architect" are all good options. My area of focus is IT, but I'm sure there are plenty of folks who could offer suggestions for titles for other areas. 

-Rachel

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Rachel Weaver
Director of Information Technology
Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute
Williamstown MA
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There are lots of great replies here. How about something like XXX of Museum Systems and Operations Integration. You could Manager, Director, Coordinator in front of that depending on the situation. 

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Jim Olson
Co-Founder and Principal, The Experience Alchemists
Natick MA
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