Director of the Registrar’s Office

Job Purpose:

The Director of the Registrar’s Office oversees all legal, logistical, and administrative aspects of incoming and outgoing loans for exhibitions and displays. This includes negotiating international contracts, coordinating transport, insurance, customs, and couriering, and maintaining detailed records of condition, credits, and rights. The role is pivotal to the Museum’s collaboration with a wide network of public and private institutions across the globe, ensuring that all loan activity is handled with efficiency, professionalism, and strict adherence to international legal and ethical standards. The Director will manage a skilled team and demonstrate the ability to deliver under pressure across multiple projects simultaneously.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Strategy and Planning:

• Develop and implement a strategy to manage incoming and outgoing loans securely and speedily, at all times.
• Create and implement policies and procedures to dictate the museum's professional standards regarding the objects left in its care, with particular focus on loans, exhibitions, storage, packing and shipping, security of objects in transit, insurance policies, and risk management.
• Develop Registrar performance objectives and indicators and continuously monitor progress.
• Contribute to the achievement of the Collections’ and Exhibitions’ strategies, objectives, and KPIs.
• Consolidate and review progress reports and ensure proper dissemination to relevant stakeholders to stay aware and informed of any changes or progress.

Budget Management:

• Develop, manage, and monitor the Registrar’s Office’s budgeting collaboration with the Finance Department.
• Ensure effective utilization of the Registrar’s budget and report accurately any deviations from set budget.

Policies, Processes, and Procedures:

• Stay abreast of best practices to enable continuous improvement of systems, processes, and policies related to Registrar
• Ensure work is performed based on approved policies, processes, and procedures and provide corrective/improvement actions to treat non-compliances.

Functional Accountabilities:

• Set guidelines and standards for the organization and handling of incoming and outgoing loans.
• Manage all incoming and outgoing temporary and long-term loans of MoWC.
• Work together with curators and collection managers in the preparation of exhibitions and changes in the permanent display.
• Secure smooth coordination between various departments and sections before, during and after movement of objects and works on loans to other institutions to facilitate safe and effective handling of all loans.
• Coordinate with Conservation to make sure all incoming and outgoing loans have an up-to-date condition report.
• Coordinate with Collection Care/Conservation for condition reports and the adequate photo documentation all incoming and outgoing loans
• Collaborate with Documentation to secure reliable registers, updated location of collection items, and monitoring all movement in the context of loan processes.
• Negotiate and secure insurance (state indemnity or commercial) for all incoming and outgoing loans.
• Negotiate and secure the most reliable transport for all loans.
• Select, train and monitor all colleagues acting as couriers of loans.
• Implement lessons learned and best practices into departmental processes and guidelines.
• Stay updated with the latest trends and best practices in international museum registrar profession.

Stakeholder Management:

• Establish working relationships with relevant internal and external stakeholders contributing towards higher level of engagement, collaboration, and satisfaction.
• Collect feedback from relevant stakeholders regarding respective requirements and bottlenecks to derive corrective action plans.

People Management:

• Live by MoWC values, ethical standards, and governance.
• Manage and support team members in performing their tasks in line with established policies and procedures.
• Guide, mentor, and develop the Registrar’s Office team to ensure continuous growth and achievement of functional objectives.
• Set clear performance goals, provide regular feedback, and support professional development through coaching and formal evaluations.
• Delegate authority appropriately to empower team members and encourage accountability.
• Contribute to workforce planning, recruitment, and performance management while promoting employee engagement and motivation.
• Foster a high-performance, inclusive, and collaborative work culture aligned with the museum’s values.
• Promote innovation and contribute to a positive, inspiring, and diverse workplace.
• Maintain high personal standards and ensure excellence across the section.

Job Qualifications and Requirements:

Knowledge and Experience:

• Required: A minimum of 6 years of progressive professional experience with at least 2 years of experience in a leadership position of multi-disciplinary teams
• Preferred additional experience: Certified international qualifications in areas relevant for the position.
• Leading the Registrar Office of a major museum or big private collection or important commercial gallery
• Language requirements: Good oral and writing skills in English, and preferably also in Arabic

Education and Certifications:

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in museum studies, Museum Management, or equivalent
• Preferred additional experience: Master’s degree in museum studies, Museum Management or equivalent.

Personal capabilities and qualifications:

• Strategic thinking
• Excellent management skills
• Strong in relationship management and trust-building
• Strong in implementation
• Good collaboration and communication skills across departments
• Generous in sharing expertise, experience, and knowledge
• Contributes to a positive working environment, is attentive to colleagues and helps them grow
• High working capacity and outstanding resilience
• Solution- and result-oriented
• Efficient, structured and systematic
• Works independently
• Impeccable probity, integrity, honesty, and loyalty
• Professional, humble, reliable
• Ambitious, open, innovative, responsible and realistic
• Must be calm, flexible, resourceful, and focus on the details.
• Good presentation skills.