Career Opportunity

Curator III - Curator of Photography and Student Art (3544) – SFO – Museum (List ID #156481)

Recruitment: RTF0156480-01098626

Published: May 23, 2025

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

• Application Opening: 5/23/25

• Application Deadline: Apply Immediately. Application filing will be open at least through 6/6/25, 5:00 PM (PST) and will close any time thereafter

• Compensation: $101,140 to $123,032 annually
• Recruitment ID: PEX-3544-156481

San Francisco International Airport (SFO), an enterprise department of the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF), has approximately 1,700 CCSF employees and strives to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive employer.

SFO’s mission is delivering an airport experience where people and our planet come first and our core values are Safety and Security, Teamwork, Excellence, Care, and Equity. Learn more about careers at SFO. 

For more information about SFO, visit www.flysfo.com. Follow us on X and Facebook.

As a team member of SFO, you will embrace SFO’s core values and SFO’s Racial Equity Action Plan.

Established in 1980 by the Airport Commission, SFO Museum’s mission is to delight, engage, and inspire a global audience with programming on a broad range of subjects; to collect, preserve, interpret, and share the history of commercial aviation; and to enrich the public experience at San Francisco International Airport. The Museum has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1999 and retains the distinction of being the only accredited museum in an airport. The Museum operates more than twenty-five sites throughout the Airport terminals, including fourteen galleries that exhibit a rotating schedule of art, history, photography, science, and cultural exhibitions. Among the sites is the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, which houses a permanent collection of more than 150,000 objects related to the history of commercial aviation. For additional information about SFO Museum, please visit www.sfomuseum.org.

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt, Category 14: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

Role description

SFO Museum is seeking an inspired and energetic curator to lead two key programming areas—Photography and Student Art. Under the direction of the 3546 Curator IV, Curator in Charge of Exhibitions, the Curator of Photography and Student Art will organize and curate a robust schedule of Photography and Student Art exhibitions for our gallery locations through SFO International Airport.

This position is tasked with identifying a broad range of subjects and artists for exhibition; conducting direct outreach to individuals: both private and public institutions to secure exhibition partnerships; working closely across departments, including collaboration with Registration, Graphic Design, Social Media, and Preparation, to ensure exhibition goals are met. SFO Museum is excited to share this opportunity with someone eager to lead the Photography and Student Art programming. The candidate will join a team of innovative and passionate museum professionals who produce an extraordinary variety of exhibitions for an audience of more than 52 million annual visitors to the San Francisco International Airport.

The essential functions of this position include:

1. Produce an advance exhibition schedule for Photography and Student Art.
2. Program a broad range of subjects for the Photography and Student Art exhibitions throughout the Airport.
3. Curate and write text for Photography and Student Art exhibitions for presentation in SFO Museum galleries; secure selections from exhibition partners with sufficient time for Registration department to conduct loan process.
4. Collaborate with the Museum’s Graphic Design team to meet established deadlines for Photography exhibitions; provide selected image files, corresponding text, and selections for graphic treatment to graphic designer with sufficient time for production.
5. Curate and write exhibition text for Student Art exhibitions: secure and deliver necessary artwork or files with sufficient time for scheduled gallery installations and online presentation.
6. Promote SFO Museum exhibitions and increase awareness of the program’s offerings; select 3-4 exhibitions annually for press release and announcements.
7. Work collaboratively with SFOM colleagues to achieve the mission and goals established in the Museum’s Strategic Plan within the established budget and time restrictions.
8. Take an active role in the conceptualization, development, and execution of special projects, particularly those involving photography. Responsibilities include identifying relevant themes, securing materials, and coordinating with external partners and internal teams to produce exhibitions and graphic treatments that extend beyond the Museum's standard programming.
9. Actively work to expand community engagement by building relationships with local organizations, fostering partnerships, and developing programs that encourage participation in the Museum’s exhibitions and initiatives.
10. Lead tours of exhibitions for internal and external partners. When called upon, deliver presentations to a variety of audiences, including community groups, professional organizations, and the travelling public.
11. Organize and participate in events, such as artist talks, public programs, and Employee Resource Group activities, to highlight exhibitions and special projects. Act as a Museum representative to promote SFO Museum’s mission and build public interest.
12. Develop and implement programming that complements exhibitions, enhances visitor understanding, and strengthens community connections.
13. Perform other duties as assigned.

How to qualify

1. Education: Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in the fine arts, art history, decorative arts, design, history, library science, museum studies, natural history, science, technology, or other closely related disciplines. AND
2. Experience: Five (5) years of museum experience.

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications. 

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

One year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above 40 hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Desirable Qualifications
The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred to hiring.

1. Five (5) years of experience in museum exhibit curation and ability to independently curate exhibitions.
2. Familiarity with the Mac platform, Microsoft Office. Working knowledge of Epson systems and large-format inkjet printing processes a plus.
3. Ability to plan, organize, implement complex projects; ability to multitask and problem solve.
4. Ability to work in a team-oriented, fast-moving and dynamic environment.
5. Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
6. Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with volunteers, assistants, supervisors, Museum and Airport staff, outside agencies, and the public.

Nature of Work
May require extensive walking, standing, computer work requiring keyboarding and prolonged sitting and working off a flat screen monitor to perform job duties; ability to work effectively with managers, co-workers, contractors and other personnel; and ability to identify issues and problem solve.

Verification
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at Verification of Experience and/or Education

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedures
The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements.  Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to interview.  Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates.  If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited for an interview.

NOTE: Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through all of the steps in the selection procedure.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Security Clearance: Candidates for employment with the San Francisco Airport Commission are required to undergo a criminal history record check, including FBI fingerprints, and Security Threat Assessment in order to determine eligibility for security clearance and may be required to undergo drug/alcohol screening. Per Civil Service Commission Rule Section 110.9.1, every applicant for an examination must possess and maintain the qualifications required by law and by the examination announcement for the examination. Failure to obtain and maintain security clearance may be basis for termination from employment with the Airport Commission.

Customs Clearance:  This position requires that the incumbent be qualified for unescorted access to the San Francisco International Airport U.S. Customs Security Area. An application for a U.S. Custom Access Seal may be submitted to Customs ONLY after employment has commenced. Employment in this position requires that the incumbent submit an application for, successfully acquire and maintain a Customs Access Seal. Per Civil Service Commission Rule 110.9.1, every applicant must possess and maintain the qualifications required by law and by the examination announcement for this examination. Failure to acquire or maintain customs access, a requirement for this position, may be basis for termination from employment with the Airport Commission. Customs Access Seal requirements and procedures are located in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 19, Part 122, Sections 181 or 189.

What else should I know?

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

HOW TO APPLY
Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. 

Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Recruiter Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the Recruiter Vicky Lei at vicky.lei@flysfo.com.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.