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
MANAGER OF DONOR RELATIONS
Full-Time, Salary, Exempt
Salary Range: $55,000 - $60,000
The Manager of Donor Relations is a key member of the Museum’s five-member Development Department. Reporting to the Director of Annual Fundraising, this position is charged with building and strengthening relationships with individual donors through careful prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. The Manager of Donor Relations will support efforts to increase the Museum’s contributed revenue streams by taking a leadership role in the planning and execution of the annual Summer Benefit (mid-July) and Museum Fund annual giving campaign.
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.
VISITOR EXPERIENCE ASSOCIATE
Part-Time, $16.00 per hour
The Visitor Experience Associate serves as the public face of the New Bedford Whaling Museum and is integral to fulfilling the Museum’s strategic goal of providing all guests with a welcoming and engaging experience. On a day-to-day basis, the Visitor Experience Associate is responsible for greeting and orienting visitors, generating revenue through admission, theater, and store sales, providing guests with information about the museum and local area, and assisting with initiatives to better understand our visitors. Success in this position requires a confident and outgoing disposition, attention to detail, prompt and reliable attendance, and an enthusiasm for working with the public. This is a part-time non-exempt position working up to 24 hours per week. Ability to work at least one consistent weekend day as well as occasional evening and some holidays is required. Schedules are published monthly.
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.
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.
