Interpretive Planner (IP)

Royal Ontario Museum

Interpretive Planner (IP)

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is an agency of the Government of Ontario. ROM acknowledges that its museum is situated on what has been the ancestral lands of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Anishinabek Nation, including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation since time immemorial to today.

Founded in 1914, the ROM showcases art, culture, and nature from around the world and across the ages. Ranked among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America, ROM is Canada’s largest and most comprehensive museum, housing a world-class collection of 13 million artworks, cultural objects, and natural history specimens featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. The museum aims to transform lives by helping people understand the past, make sense of the present, and come together to shape a shared future in which people flourish in concert with the natural world.

Situated in a truly 21^st century context—in one of the most diverse major cities in the world, and within a country known for pluralism, openness, and embracing global perspectives—the ROM is poised to take a dramatic leap forward as it focuses on building greater engagement through inclusion, transdisciplinary thinking, digital practices, and innovation. For years, the organization has been a space for embedding and showcasing Indigenous lifeways, ways of knowing, and cultural expressions, and has engaged with Indigenous advisors, artists, knowledge holders, and an Indigenous Advisory Circle (established in 2014, with a membership that includes elders, knowledge carriers, educators, artists, French speakers, youth, and allies with cross-disciplinary knowledges and interests in the arts, sciences, and technology) to share with the wider world the vast stories, learnings, practices, and traditions of First Peoples.

It is within this context that ROM invites nominations and applications for the role of Interpretive Planner (IP), a position that will give a passionate individual the opportunity to further elevate and expand upon the work being carried out at the ROM.

As the key proponent of a comprehensive and visitor-centric encounter, the IP will take centre-stage in exhibition and gallery development teams. In close collaboration with curators, exhibition designers, and media developers, the IP will engage in every aspect of exhibition conception, development, implementation, and evaluation. They will prepare interpretive plans, being in line with cutting-edge museum practices and the overarching vision of the ROM. They will bring plans to life. In addition to these core responsibilities, the IP will also foster a culture of openness and inclusivity by facilitating ongoing conversations with museum visitors, community groups, and advisors. This collaborative approach will allow the IP to integrate diverse perspectives and co-creation into the exhibition development process, creating an exceptional visitor experience that inspires, educates, and delights.

Among the qualifications being sought in candidates, the incoming IP must have a deep and abiding commitment to advancing reconciliation, equity, diversity, and inclusion in all its forms and must believe, intrinsically, in the importance of leading with curiosity and welcoming ideas that can later be synthesized and turned into possibility. While all candidates are encouraged to apply and, in so doing, share how they see themselves adding value to the ROM environment, the following credentials and/or experiences are seen as possible markers of the candidates most likely to realize success in their role: A) a degree in Museum Studies, Education, or a related field, along with years of interpretive planning experience for museums and galleries (or equivalent education or training and experience), and/or an acceptable equivalent grounding in Indigenous teachings and knowledges, education, and lived experience; B) skills in interpretive text writing, storyboard development, experiential design, content analysis, and problem-solving as well as having an understanding of museum visitor studies and informal learning theory as applied to exhibition development; C) excellent communication skills, including creativity in digital, three-dimensional, and graphic design techniques; D) a deep intellectual curiosity about the connections between art, culture, and nature; E) knowledge of or experience with matters of reconciliation, equity, inclusion, and representation in museums as well as histories and complexities of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other types of discrimination, and; F) the ability to facilitate, nurture, and maintain relationships with advisors, particularly in Indigenous communities; other community relationships could include, but are not limited to, immigrant/newcomer, Disability, etc. For this position, First Nations, Métis, or Inuit ancestry would be considered a significant asset.

How to Apply