Job Description:

Position Title: Director of Division Operations, Learning and Engagement

Position Type: Full-Time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Division: Learning and Engagement Division

Department: Education

Reports to: Chief Learning and Engagement Officer

About Crystal Bridges & The Momentary:

Crystal Bridges is a museum of American art located in Bentonville, Arkansas. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate the American heritage and artistic possibilities. Founded by Alice Walton in 2005, the museum opened in 2011 and is a public, non-profit charitable organization with free admission.

The Momentary is a venue for the music, art, and food of our time, and a catalyst for creativity and economic vitality. An extension to Crystal Bridges, the Momentary is a ‘living room’ where community gathers to be inspired, connected, and joyful. The Momentary enriches lives through music, art, and food experiences that inspire creativity, build community, and create joy. You belong here, make the most of this moment.

Position Summary:

The Director of Division Operations, Learning and Engagement is a key leader within the Learning and Engagement Division (L & E), serving as an operational partner to the Chief Learning and Engagement Officer (CLEO). In this high-impact role, the Director supports the CLEO’s focus on big-picture strategy and institutional leadership by overseeing the division’s business operations, financial stewardship, strategic execution, and cross-departmental alignment. The Director leads division-wide operations while supporting department heads with the systems, resources, data, and coordination needed to deliver on their goals—ensuring alignment and cohesion across a portfolio that includes K–12 education, public programs, community engagement, art and wellbeing initiatives, and the museum’s library and archives.

With an entrepreneurial mindset and strong operational acumen, this individual leads the division’s financial and business planning, monitors performance against key goals, and liaises with other museum departments and organizations within Art and Wellness Enterprises (AWE) to ensure consistent, collaborative implementation of Learning and Engagement priorities. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment and brings experience in organizational strategy, financial planning, project management, and systems thinking.

The Director reports to the Chief Learning and Engagement Officer and serves on the L & E Leadership group, along with other L & E department heads. The Director leads a team of three — two managers and one coordinator — who drive strategic operations, project management, financial planning, and performance tracking across all Learning and Engagement departments.

Principal Responsibilities:

Operational Leadership

• Translate the CLEO’s strategic vision into operational plans with clear milestones, timelines, and success indicators.
• Coordinate the execution of cross-divisional projects and initiatives to ensure alignment with broader L&E goals. Identify and implement systems and processes that build operational clarity, efficiency, and cohesion across departments.
• Facilitate the division’s goal-setting and review cycles by working closely with department heads to support the articulation, tracking, and alignment of departmental goals. While department directors remain accountable for achieving outcomes within their portfolios, this role ensures coherent, consistent reporting and divisional visibility, helping identify trends, surface insights, and support data-informed strategic decision-making across Learning and Engagement.

Financial Stewardship & Business Development

• Lead annual budgeting and long-range financial planning for the division; develop models to project resource needs, growth potential, and sustainability.
• Serve as the primary liaison to the AWE Finance team, ensuring L & E finances are aligned with institutional practices.
• Provide analytical support to department heads to assess cost structures, pricing strategies, and revenue-generating opportunities. Develop new business models and entrepreneurial initiatives that advance the museum’s educational mission.

Performance & Impact Tracking

• Develop and track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to the division’s institutional priorities: reach, reputation, and revenue.
• Collaborate with department heads to support impact evaluation and reporting, using data to highlight areas of success and opportunities for course correction.
• Design dashboards, tools, and routines that bring visibility to data and support strategic decision-making at all levels of the division.
• Act as a thought partner to the CLEO and department heads in analyzing performance trends, while reinforcing that accountability for goal achievement resides with each department.

Division-wide Planning & Integration

• Lead operational and systems planning for initiatives that span multiple departments or require new processes and structures.
• Oversee project management frameworks and tools that support alignment, collaboration, and timely execution across the division.
• Support the museum’s campus expansion by managing operational planning for new learning and engagement spaces and program delivery models.

Team Culture & Leadership

• Support onboarding and team development efforts across the division in collaboration with the CLEO and department leaders.
• Facilitate divisional meetings as required by the CLEO, ensuring clarity of next steps, roles, and accountability.
• Help ensure strong internal communication channels, shared understanding of divisional priorities, and a positive, high-performance culture.

Institutional and AWE Collaboration

• Partner with project managers and operational leaders across the museum and AWE to ensure aligned systems, shared timelines, and collaborative planning.
• Coordinate with the museum divisions (Development, Brand Strategy and Communications, Curatorial, Operations, Data Strategy and others) and AWE organizations to support integrated approaches to funding, messaging, and delivery of L&E programs.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Education, Nonprofit Management, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive leadership experience in operations, strategic planning, or financial management, ideally within a nonprofit, educational, or cultural institution.
• Proven track record of managing cross-functional teams and complex projects with multiple stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience in budgeting, financial modeling, and performance measurement.
• Strong command of project management tools and financial software.
• Proficiency in data analysis and dashboard/reporting tools
• Arkansas driver’s license

Additional Mindsets and Skills:

• Strategic and Systems Thinking: Ability to translate high-level strategy into actionable plans and scalable systems.
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: Comfort with ambiguity, innovation, and developing new business models or revenue-generating initiatives.
• Collaborative Leadership: Skilled at fostering alignment and collaboration across departments and with external partners.
• Analytical Acumen: Strong ability to interpret data, identify trends, and support data-informed decision-making.
• Operational Excellence: Keen attention to detail and a drive for efficiency, clarity, and continuous improvement.
• Equity and Inclusion Orientation: Commitment to inclusive practices and the ability to lead with cultural competence in diverse environments.
• Communication and Influence: Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills; able to facilitate meetings and drive consensus.
• Mission-Driven: Passion for education, community engagement, and the role of arts and culture in public life.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical Demands: The position requires verbal and written conversation with others, sitting, standing, walking, bending, climbing, reaching, strenuous lifting/moving objects up to 25 pounds and use of hands to manipulate, handle or feel objects, tools or controls. Vision abilities required by the job include close vision and color perception.

• Work Environment: Work will be performed in an office environment, museum spaces, and in communities served. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. Position requires some independent overnight travel for research, professional meetings and other travel as necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the position.

All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement and background check. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States.

Crystal Bridges is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a culturally diverse workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. We encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.