Head of Collections and Curatorial

Come work for the leading employer in the Coachella Valley. Agua Caliente offers a comprehensive benefit and compensation package that includes rich medical and dental benefits, a 401k plan with employer match, more than 3 weeks of paid time off per year for newly hired employees, and other great benefits like food and beverage discounts at our three casinos, fuel discounts, tuition and wellness reimbursement, plus much more.

Who We Are

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized Indian Tribe located in Palm Springs, California, with 32,000 acres of reservation lands that spread across Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, and into the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountains.

The Tribe currently owns and operates two 18-hole championship golf courses, 3 casinos located in Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, and downtown Palm Springs, two world class spas, and fuel stations.

For more information about the Tribe, visit www.aguacaliente-nsn.gov.

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (ACCM) opened in the fall of 2023 and is a 48,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility, located in downtown Palm Springs, California.

The Museum includes a permanent 10,000 square foot gallery on the history, culture, and present times of the Agua Caliente peoples, a 2,200 square foot changing gallery, dedicated collections storage areas, a 1,000 square-foot dedicated retail space, education classroom, meetings rooms and an outdoor education garden.

ACCM is owned and operated by The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, a federally recognized Indian Tribe.

Summary

The Head of Collections & Curatorial is a department head and member of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum’s (ACCM) Senior Management Team, reporting to the Executive Director. The position sets direction for and leads the Collections & Curatorial Department, which encompasses curatorial programming, exhibition development, collections management, registration, and NAGPRA compliance. The Head of Collections & Curatorial supervises the Assistant Head of Collections & Curatorial, Registrar, Assistant Registrar, Lead Preparator, and an Exhibition & Collections Assistant, as well as Tribal interns and independent contractors/vendors. The position delegates day-to-day operations to staff while remaining directly involved in detailed, object-level work when projects require it. The position is accountable for the care, documentation, and stewardship of ACCM collections and loans, prepares reports and recommendations for museum leadership and the Tribal Council, works across ACCM departments and with other Tribal departments, and develops policy and process for collections and exhibitions.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Leadership and Department Management

• Provides strategic direction for the Collections & Curatorial Department and serves on the Senior Management Team, contributing to museum-wide planning, priorities, and decision-making.
• Supervises and evaluates department staff, including the Assistant Head of Collections & Curatorial, Registrar, Assistant Registrar, Lead Preparator, and Exhibition & Collections Assistant, along with part-time and temporary employees and Tribal interns, across multiple ACCM sites. Sets priorities, delegates responsibilities, and reviews work for quality and consistency.
• Oversees the hiring and onboarding of department staff, and prepares onboarding, transition, and handover materials to support continuity.
• Generates and manages the Collections & Curatorial Department and temporary exhibition budgets.
• Manages external contractors as needed, including exhibition design, conservation, rigging, packing, crating, shipping, framing, and mount-making.
• Designs and implements department systems and workflows, including interdepartmental request processes, to improve coordination between Collections & Curatorial and other ACCM departments.

Curatorial and Exhibitions

• Along with the Executive Director, leads curatorial planning and exhibition development for permanent, temporary, and digital exhibitions, including concept, object selection, interpretation, and layout.
• Oversees exhibition production from planning through installation, including wall-by-wall installation planning, label and text review, artist and maker name verification, and coordination with exhibition designers, preparators, archive staff, and other departments.
• Directs registration and logistical arrangements for exhibitions and loans; coordinates staff duties, executes loan agreeme