The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world’s most influential metropolis. It engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the city’s past, present, and future. Founded in 1923, the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) showcases the city’s unique stories and cultural treasures. The country’s first and largest city museum, MCNY presents immersive exhibitions and programs at the intersection of history, popular culture, and art to 200,000 people annually, including 30,000 students and educators, fostering shared identity, civic pride and engagement, and social cohesion for New Yorkers. MCNY has been recognized as one of the leading museums in New York City by publications such as Condé Nast Traveler and the New York Times, with Time Out New York awarding MCNY “Best Museum” in New York in 2021.

 

The Administrative & Projects Coordinator (Temporary) provides high-level administrative, scheduling, and project management support to the Chief Curator & Deputy Director, who oversees Curatorial, Education & Public Programs, and Collections. During a period of transition, this role ensures continuity, coordination, and operational efficiency across multiple departments while assuming select responsibilities traditionally held within Curatorial Projects.

 

This position supports complex, cross-departmental initiatives, including exhibitions and related programs, while helping manage priorities, calendars, and workflows across senior leadership. The role is ideal for a seasoned administrative professional with strong project management skills who is comfortable operating beyond a single department, navigating senior-level stakeholders, and supporting institution-wide initiatives in a museum environment. Exhibition project management experience is highly desirable. This is a full-time, temporary, position that reports directly to the Chief Curator & Deputy Director and is expected to run from April 2, 2026 through October 2, 2026.

 

Roles and Responsibilities:

 

  • Provide high-level administrative and project management support to the Chief Curator/Deputy Director, managing complex calendars, priorities, and workflows across Curatorial, Education & Public Programs, and Collections
  • Coordinate and track exhibitions, programs, and cross-departmental initiatives, ensuring timelines, milestones, and deliverables remain on schedule
  • Support exhibition and program development by coordinating object lists, content drafts, approvals, and related materials as assigned
  • Under the direction of the Manager, Curatorial Projects, coordinate with external consultants, designers, vendors, and partners to manage scheduling, documentation, and information flow as directed
  • Develop, maintain, and communicate detailed project schedules, work plans, and institutional calendars
  • Track budgets, invoices, and approvals for projects and special initiatives in coordination with senior leadership
  • Serve as a central point of coordination among internal departments and senior leadership, proactively flagging risks, conflicts, and dependencies
  • Organize and support meetings by preparing agendas, recording notes, tracking action items, and ensuring follow-through
  • Draft, proof, organize, and manage correspondence, presentations, and internal documents with discretion and accuracy
  • Maintain well-organized digital project files and documentation using Microsoft Teams and related systems
  • Apply project management best practices and tools to support efficient workflows and clear communication
  • Perform other duties as assigned to support senior leadership and departmental operations

 

A successful candidate will have:

 

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible administrative, executive support, or project coordination experience, preferably within a museum or cultural institution
  • Experience with exhibition development, curatorial workflows, or program coordination strongly preferred
  • Exceptional project management and organization skills, with ability to balance multiple priorities.
  • High degree of professionalism, discretion, emotional intelligence, and comfort working with senior leadership and external partners
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Microsoft Teams; familiarity with project management tools (e.g., Smartsheets, Asana or similar) a plus
  • Strong organizational and project management skills with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through
  • Proven ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong editorial judgment
  • Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with an interest in advancing equity within nonprofit organizations

 

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

 

Must be able to remain in a stationary position 95% of the time and able to traverse through office and museum gallery environment. Sedentary work. Requires the ability to operate standard office equipment including computers and keyboards for extended periods of time. Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Repetitive motion. Substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. On occasion, the employee may be required to work outside events with weather conditions including heat and cold. 

 

Benefits

 

The annual salary for this position is $65,000. We provide Sick Leave on an accrual basis to all employees. Your employment relationship with the Museum qualifies you for free or discounted admissions to other participating cultural institutions.

 

The Museum of the City of New York is committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as New York City and the audiences who are curious about learning more about its history and engaging in contemporary urban issues. Our staff members are dedicated to working towards a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring city museum in the world.

 

The Museum of the City of New York is an equal opportunity employer. As such, the museum provides equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants without unlawful discrimination with respect to age, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender identification or expression, marital status, military status or veteran, national origin, political association, political/personal convictions, predisposing genetic characteristics, race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and style), religion (including attire, clothing or facial hair worn in accordance with religious requirements), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions and transgender status), sexual orientation, socio-economic status, geographic location, philosophies, or any other classification protected by federal, state or local laws, in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, training, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-off, and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment. The Museum complies with applicable state and local law governing nondiscrimination in employment which prohibits discrimination and harassment against any employees, applicants for employment or interns, as well as contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants, other individuals providing services in the workplace or their employees in every location in which the Museum has facilities.