Description
Curator & Community Engagement Coordinator
Richard I. Bong Veterans Museum | Superior, Wisconsin
Preserve our history. Tell the story. Invite the community in!
Position Overview
The Richard I. Bong Veterans Museum seeks a forward-thinking, collaborative Curator & Community Engagement Coordinator who believes a museum should do more than preserve history - it should bring history to life and create meaningful connections with the community it serves.
This position combines professional stewardship of the Center's collections and historical mission with an equally important responsibility to increase community engagement, develop partnerships, support events and programming, develop donor relationships and help the Museum continue to evolve.
The successful candidate will respect the responsibility that comes with preserving and interpreting history while recognizing that preservation and progress are not competing goals. We are looking for a curator who asks, "How can we make this work?"
The Role
The Curator & Community Engagement Coordinator will serve as a steward, storyteller, collaborator, and connector. This person will work closely with museum leadership, staff, volunteers, veterans, families, schools, businesses, civic organizations, donors, and community partners to ensure the Center is both historically responsible and actively engaged with the people of Superior, Duluth, and the broader region. Reporting directly to the Executive Director.
Key Responsibilities
Collections & Historical Stewardship
Maintain professional standards for the care, documentation, preservation, and interpretation of the Center's collections.
Research and develop exhibits that are historically accurate, compelling, understandable, and relevant to today's audiences.
Ensure artifacts, archives, and historical materials are appropriately protected while seeking creative ways for visitors to experience and understand them.
Work with veterans, families, historians, donors, and other sources to identify important stories and materials for preservation.
Help expand the museum's storytelling beyond individual artifacts to the people, experiences, sacrifices, and communities behind them.
Community Engagement & Partnerships
Proactively build relationships throughout Superior, Duluth, and surrounding communities.
Develop partnerships with schools, colleges, veterans’ organizations, businesses, nonprofits, tourism organizations, civic groups, and community organizations.
Regularly represent the Center outside the museum and develop relationships that can lead to new audiences, programs, donors, sponsorships, exhibits, and events.
Welcome outside organizations that want to collaborate with the Center and approach partnership opportunities with curiosity and a solutions-oriented mindset.
Collaborate with staff to develop new methods of donor engagement.
Identify opportunities for the Center to participate in community celebrations, educational initiatives, regional events, and collaborative programming.
Events & Programming
Work collaboratively with leadership and staff to develop, initiate and carry out strong
annual calendar of events and programming.
Support the use of the Center as a gathering place for appropriate community, educational, veteran, cultural, civic, and private events.
Develop creative programs that introduce new audiences to the Center and encourage repeat visitation.
Evaluate proposed programs and events based on mission alignment, safety, preservation requirements, community benefit, and organizational opportunity.
The curator's role is to identify how an event or program can be accomplished responsibly - not to unnecessarily prevent activity or innovation. When legitimate preservation, safety, or historical concerns exist, the curator is expected to clearly identify the concern and work collaboratively to develop reasonable alternatives whenever possible.
Exhibits & Visitor Experience
Create exhibits that tell compelling human stories rather than simply presenting objects and information.
Consider the entire visitor experience, including storytelling, interpretation, technology, accessibility, interaction, and emotional connection.
Explore contemporary museum practices and emerging approaches to interpretation and engagement.
Look for appropriate opportunities to incorporate multimedia, oral histories, interactive exhibits, temporary exhibitions, and special programming.
Continually ask how the Center can become more engaging and meaningful to veterans, families, students, tourists, and local residents.
Organizational Culture & Collaboration
Collaborate with and provide operational support to the Executive Director when needed.
Communicate concerns early and constructively, bringing solutions alongside concerns.
Respect the expertise and responsibilities of other team members.
Be comfortable trying new approaches and accept that thoughtful experimentation is part of
organizational growth.
Help create a culture where staff, volunteers, community members, and partners feel welcome bringing forward ideas.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this position will not be measured solely by the condition of the collection. It will also be visible in:
Increased community partnerships, collaborations and donor relationships.
More events and programs taking place at the Center.
Stronger relationships with veterans and military families.
Increased school and educational engagement.
Greater repeat visitation and community participation.
New and refreshed exhibits and experiences.
Increased utilization of the Center's spaces.
Positive relationships with businesses, civic organizations, donors, and community partners.
A reputation for the Center as a welcoming organization that is easy to collaborate with while
remaining responsible to its mission.
Qualifications
Ideal candidates will bring a combination of museum, historical, educational, community engagement, nonprofit, event, or related experience. Museums or curatorial education and experience are valuable, but equally important are:
Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
Excellent communication and storytelling ability.
Sound professional judgment.
Creativity and intellectual curiosity.
A collaborative temperament and comfort engaging with the public.
Stewardship understanding of responsible collections.
The ability to balance preservation requirements with public access and organizational growth.
A demonstrated ability to move projects from ideas to execution.
Experience working with veterans, military history, educational institutions, nonprofits, tourism, community programming, or public history is particularly valuable.
The Person We're Looking For
We are looking for someone who loves history and loves people.
Someone who understands that protecting an artifact for another hundred years matters - but so does ensuring that people want to walk through the museum's doors today.
Someone who recognizes that a museum can simultaneously be a historical institution, educational resource, community gathering place, tourism destination, and source of civic pride.
Above all, we want a curator who sees themselves not as the gatekeeper of the museum, but as one of the people responsible for opening its doors wider.
POSITION DETAILS
Position: Curator & Community Engagement Coordinator
Location: Superior, Wisconsin
Employment Type: Full-Time
Reports To: Executive Director and receives support from museum staff.
Salary: Minimum starting salary of $57,000 per year. Starting salary offer will reflect experience and other credentials of each applicant and will consider current regional market conditions. It will be competitive with comparable Curator of Collections positions across Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Benefits: Health Insurance, Paid Time off and retirement percentage match.
Schedule: Primarily Monday-Friday, with occasional evenings, weekends, and special events as required.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested candidates should submit:
A cover letter explaining your interest in the position.
A current resume.
3 Professional References
Please submit application materials to:
John Gidley
Richard I. Bong Veterans Museum
gidley@bongcenter.org
305 Harbor View Parkway Superior, WI 54880
Application Deadline: October 19th, 2026
PRESERVE THE HISTORY.
TELL THE STORY.
INVITE THE COMMUNITY IN!
Join the team at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Museum.
Requirements
There are no physical requirements for this position
