Administrative Assistant, Curatorial

MFAH•Houston, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Curatorial Administrative Assistant will provide support for two curatorial departments at the MFAH: Modern and Contemporary Art and Prints and Drawings. This role involves extensive administrative tasks related to meetings, acquisitions, documentation, correspondence, travel, and collaboration with other departments. The assistant will manage various administrative processes, maintain digital and physical filing systems, and support curatorial staff with specific projects and daily operations.

Requirements

Solid clerical, organizational, and computer skills.
Detail-oriented and able to meet deadlines.
Proficient with Microsoft programs such as Word, Excel, and Power Point.
Previous clerical office experience, including Microsoft Suite, data entry, proofreading, Adobe Acrobat and PDF.
Must be able to work flexible hours, may include occasional evenings and weekends.
Must undergo and meet company standards for background and reference checks.
Required ability to handle multiple tasks concurrently.
Seeing, hearing, speaking, and writing clearly in order to communicate with staff, guests and others.
Frequent sitting, standing and walking, which may be required for extended periods of time.
Good vision or corrected by use of glasses and/or contacts for reading and viewing abilities.

Nice To Haves

Associate or Bachelor's Degree in a related field preferred OR a combination of education and related work experience in an office or other related environment.
Interest in fine arts desirable.

Responsibilities

Prepare for and follow up on quarterly subcommittee meetings, including creating acquisition folders, initiating acquisition reports, creating agendas, sending meeting notifications and RSVP requests, submitting work orders and AV requests, and submitting shipping or TR requests.
Assist with artists’ questionnaires and print documentation sheets for permanent collection files.
Generate and submit Conservation Exam Requests for upcoming acquisitions and file Conservation Reports.
Maintain an Excel spreadsheet for the in-progress agenda of department subcommittee meetings.
Document tombstone information about incoming purchases and gifts, submission dates for Shipping Requests and CERs, TR numbers, report writer identity, and report status.
Prepare meeting PowerPoints in collaboration with the Curator and Curatorial Assistant.
Order catering, organize dishware, glassware, and flatware, set up catering tables, and prep meeting rooms.
Prepare post-meeting summaries.
Prepare and submit Purchase Packet and Gift Report paperwork for new accessions, including purchase orders.
Track all acquisition paperwork through payment and financial statements.
Send regular announcements and reminders for programs and community events.
Migrate object- and artist-related materials to Permanent Collection folders at the end of the fiscal year.
Liaise with Learning and Interpretation (L&I) and Development departments for lectures, events, and promotional materials.
Assist with rotation layouts and anticipate production needs for exhibitions and installations.
Add pertinent deadlines to Outlook calendars for rotations, installations, and exhibitions.
Assist with maintenance of Object records in TMS.
Obtain rights and reproductions permissions and image files for comparative images.
Gather information to submit and track formal photography requests for new photography of collection objects.
Collect and file photographs of installations.
Organize flat and digital filing systems.
Save important email correspondence using a standard naming convention.
Prepare files to go to Archives.
Draft, review, and mail correspondence for acquisitions, on-view objects, and patron groups.
Handle miscellaneous mailings and shipments.
Coordinate trainings and requests for volunteers.
Assist with interviews of interns and fellows and coordinate department-specific onboarding and trainings.
Coordinate travel arrangements, including communicating with travel agents, generating requisitions, and submitting expense reports.
Assist with the organization of the annual Art + Paper patron trip.
Support other curatorial administrators on an ad hoc basis for meetings and events.