Museum management stories

Museum management ensures the smooth running of an institution’s administrative business. All activities that are not directly attached to the specific fields of museum work, such as curation, research, and communication, tend to come under this remit.

Most museums operate under a governing body, often responsible for appointing a director or CEO and other executive staff. The museum director will then look after the day-to-day running of the organisation, as well as writing and implementing core policies. Facilitating communication among the wider team, as well as the museum’s supporters and visitors is also a key duty.

Running a museum is not straightforward. It involves many different skills and teams, from curation and preservation to research and information science. In addition to this more back-of-house work, there are teams who work on education and communication, marketing, membership and more, as well as general front-of-house roles in areas like retail, food & beverage and greeting visitors.

There are different routes into museum management, with some museum directors coming up through the curator route and others coming in from the business world, bringing transferrable skills from leading other organisations. Many universities and colleges now offer both undergraduate and post-graduate qualifications in subjects such as museum studies, curatorship and museum management.

The AAM (American Alliance of Museums) offers its members a range of leadership and management resources, while in the UK, the Museums Association offers professional development schemes such as The Associateship of the Museums Association (AMA) and Fellowship of the Museums Association (FMA)