Careers - New Bedford Whaling Museum

Careers

New Bedford Whaling Museum is committed to diversity among its employees and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

Career Opportunities

New Bedford Whaling Museum is committed to diversity among its employees and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

All applicants must submit an application for employment along with their resume and cover letter and follow the “To Apply” instructions noted in job openings below.

 

Museum Careers

The Richard W. Burkhardt Endowed Fellowship in History, Science, and Art

$20,000 per year/24-months/ 16-hours per week (in-person preferred)

The Burkhardt Fellowship is a two-year research appointment from Spring of 2025 through Spring of 2027. The Fellow must be a currently enrolled graduate student, working towards an M.A. or Ph.D. They will work 16 hours per week on a research agenda that aligns with their academic research and supports strategic priorities for the curatorial and collections division. While in-person is strongly preferred for this position, a remote research position could be negotiated for the right candidate.

For the 2025-2027 Fellowship term, the museum seeks a current graduate student working on African American history, American studies, material culture, economic history, or ante-bellum American history to engage in preliminary research for a 2027 exhibition tentatively called North/South. The exhibition will chart the material, economic, political, and social linkages between New Bedford, Philadelphia, Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans in the ante-bellum period (ca. 1800-1860). The fellow will explore earlier histories of enslavement and abolition in Southeastern Massachusetts and examine the circulation of people, money, and resources between these five key coastal cities. One goal is to connect individuals – free and enslaved, whenever possible, with economic investments and material extraction, including the movement of Southern Live Oak, whale oil, people, and cotton. These histories will be contextualized against the backdrop of abolition, Quakerism, and Black activism. Key research questions include: How reliant was New Bedford on the slave economy before the war? Were individual economic interests in systems supported by slavery contradicted by abolition, or were such realities held in tension? What material artifacts and manuscript collections can help to tell this important historical story? This is a 24-month appointment. The exhibition will open in Fall/Winter 2027.

For the full Position Description, Qualifications, and Application Instructions click here. Candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER

Full-Time, Salary, Exempt

Salary Range: $60,000 - $70,000

The New Bedford Whaling Museum is seeking a full-time Human Resources Manager.  Reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer & CFO, the Human Resources Manager will run the daily functions of the HR department including facilitating the hiring and interviewing of staff, administering pay, benefits, and leave, enforcing company policies and practices, monitoring employee morale and helping to foster a positive workplace culture. The ideal candidate will hold a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field and will have 3-5 years of human resource management experience.  PHR, SPHR, or SHRM-CP a plus.

For the full Position Description, Qualifications, and Application Instructions click here. Candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Art Handler / Object Preparator / Installation Technician

Contract work on a temporary project basis

Hourly Rate: $15-50/hour, dependent on experience

The New Bedford Whaling Museum seeks contract Art Handlers / Object Preparators / Installation technicians to work on a short-term contract basis for project-based timelines. They will assist in all aspects of preparation, packing, transporting, installation, deinstallation, and storage of works for the museum. The ideal candidate understands that the safety and security of artworks and of fellow team members is critical. This position will move and install valuable art objects in various locations; pack and unpack objects, maintain collections storage areas to ensure the safety of the art; create custom crate interiors for outgoing loans, frame and unframe two-dimensional works, and perform other miscellaneous art handling duties as required. They work closely with curators and other department staff, under the direction of the Chief Curator and the Associate Curator of Exhibitions and Collections to facilitate the safe exhibition of works from the collection. We are looking to have resumes on hand for project-based work throughout the year.

For the full Position Description, Qualifications, and Application Instructions click here. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and filed for future projects. No phone calls, please.

Click here for information on our High School Apprenticeship Program.