Division: Program Development

Classification: Full Time, Salary, Exempt

Directly supported by: Assistant Director of Strategic Engagement

Directly supports: N/A

Salary: $50,000 salary plus DOE

Working at the High Desert Museum

Join a talented and diverse team! The High Desert Museum is a dynamic workplace where you can learn from a curator about art, visit our North American river otters, and enjoy the laughter of the thousands of school children who visit us on field trips every year, all in a day on the job. Set in a tranquil Ponderosa pine forest just south of Bend, the Museum embraces being both a vital community resource and one of the most popular destinations in the region. We’re filled with people who support each other and are passionate about what we do.

About us

The High Desert Museum opened in Bend, Oregon in 1982. As an interdisciplinary museum, it shares the stories of the High Desert region through cultures, art, history and the natural world to convey the wonder of the High Desert region, which spans across 11 states of the Intermountain West. The Museum features 100,000 square feet of indoor space, which includes two permanent exhibitions and three changing galleries, and outdoor exhibits beyond the main building that include the Autzen Otter Exhibit, the Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center and the High Desert Living History Ranch. The Museum also offers a range of programs, from summer Kids Camps to wildlife photography workshops. Last fiscal year, the Museum welcomed nearly 220,000 visitors, more than double the size of Bend.

The Museum is a private, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It has become the largest cultural institution in Oregon east of the Cascades over the last four decades and today is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, was the 2019 recipient of the Western Museums Association’s Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence and was a 2021 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

About this job and what you’ll do

The Program Facilitator will be critical to the continued growth of the Museum’s High Desert Project initiative. This initiative is advancing our founding vision to be a place for dialogue and connection across different perspectives and is helping to shape the future of the Museum. Specifically, the initiative consists of approximately four to five event series each year that use powerful, immersive experiences to engage a group of individuals in dialogue around some of the most pressing issues in our region. From organizing field trips into the High Desert and coordinating with artists on immersive installations to facilitating in-depth conversations, you will plan, coordinate, and facilitate experiences for the High Desert Project. You will try out new ways of building connection between participants with different backgrounds and experiences and help revise the initiative based on your experiences. You will be responsible for building relationships with individuals and organizations across the region that reflect a variety of positions, world views, and perspectives and contributing to the long-term vision for this initiative.

In addition to our strong health and welfare benefits, the Museum also provides full-time employees with 10.5 paid holidays, and four personal days per calendar year (this will be prorated based on hire date). You will also accrue two weeks of paid vacation per year for the first year of employment.

About who you are

The Program Facilitator is a skilled planner, organizer, and facilitator. You have the ability to coordinate and implement powerful experiences and an in-depth understanding of how to shape experiences to support connection and dialogue. You can navigate discussions among people with different perspectives and experiences around significant and, at times, emotionally driven topics. Perhaps you’ve had experience managing programs that bring together people, organizations, or agencies or you’ve worked in community organizing or conflict management. You are detailed-oriented and have the skills to work with vendors, presenters, and participants to plan and implement each aspect of the event. You are passionate about the High Desert and want to contribute to promoting a future for this region where people and the landscape can thrive together.

Want to learn more?

For a detailed job description listing the essential functions of this position and the education, experience, and skills requirements, click here.

Importantly, we recognize and honor that the qualifications required to excel in this position can come from a range of both professional and lived experiences. In the job description we describe what we believe to be important qualifications for a candidate to have while remaining open to the diversity of experiences that can lead to these skill sets. Position descriptions are often presented in a way that leaves qualified candidates feeling unwelcome, intimidated, uncomfortable and/or unqualified to apply. Recognizing that, we strongly encourage anyone who feels passionate about this work and believes they have what it takes to thrive in this role to apply.

Want to apply?

Please send PDFs of your resume & cover letter to:  jobs@highdesertmuseum.org

The Museum provides an equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

 Mission

The High Desert Museum wildly excites and responsibly teaches through innovative, interdisciplinary experiences, creating connection to and dialogue about the High Desert.