Description

Job: Full time, Salary, Exempt, Non-union

Reports To: Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director (Museum Director) 

The Milwaukee Art Museum is a vibrant, welcoming destination where art, architecture, and community come together. As a cultural cornerstone of Milwaukee and a symbol of civic pride, the Museum connects people of all ages and backgrounds through inspiring exhibitions, engaging programs, and unforgettable experiences   

Position Summary:   

The Chief of Business Enterprises is accountable for the strategy and performance of the organization’s earned income portfolio—Admissions/Visitor Services, Retail (Museum Store), Event Rentals, and the outsourced Café and Parking operations—while protecting and elevating the overall visitor experience and brand. Reporting to the Museum Director, this role sets earned revenue direction, drives cross-department alignment, and ensures strong operating discipline, controls, service standards across all visitor-facing revenue touchpoints, and provides ongoing analysis and refinement of all earned income streams.

This role works with other senior leaders to ensure institutional priorities are met when areas of responsibility overlap. Examples include, but are not limited to, supporting the visitor-to-member journey through oversight of the Visitor Services Department without owning membership revenue and supporting the Event Department’s execution of internal mission-driven programming. 

Key Responsibilities:

1) Lead the Earned Revenue Portfolio

• Set the annual earned revenue plan and multi-year roadmap for Admissions/Visitor Services, Retail, Event Rentals, and externally operated Café/Catering and parking garages.
• Translate organizational goals into clear targets, KPIs, and monthly operating rhythms for each area (forecasting, performance reviews, corrective action plans).
• Gather, utilize, and analyze visitor data to provide the Museum Director with crisp, data-backed recommendations on pricing, hours, staffing models, investment tradeoffs, and impacts on visitor experience. Directly lead and coach the Director of Visitor Experience, Director of Events, and Director of Museum Store.
• Set expectations for service standards, operational discipline, and results; hold leaders accountable through goal-setting, 1:1s, and regular business reviews.
• Ensure training, staffing approaches, and escalation protocols are consistent across visitor-facing areas and aligned with organizational values.

2) Drive Admissions and Visitor Service Performance

• Through the Director of Visitor Experience, ensure admissions operations deliver a welcoming, efficient, and consistent guest experience that aligns with institutional values.
• Improve throughput and conversion (pre-purchase, onsite purchase, add-ons) by partnering with Brand Management and leveraging ticketing data.
• Establish service recovery standards and oversee resolution of complex visitor issues and reputationally sensitive incidents.
• Utilizing visitor data, work with Director of Visitor Services and Chief Operating & Financial Officer to calculate and revise annual admissions goals to ensure model accurately predicts projected revenue.

3) Optimize Event Rentals and Internal Events

• Through the Director of Events, drive rentals pipeline performance, utilization, and client experience (response standards, proposal quality, packaging, and service delivery).
• Through Director of Events, consistently review, evaluate, and enhance revenue opportunities through expanded offerings and vendor partnerships.
• Own rentals strategy and pricing guardrails; monitor competitiveness and adjust packages/rate card recommendations for Museum Director approval as needed.
• Provide leadership over the execution of internal events while partnering with cross-departmental colleagues to ensure institutional priority alignment, and maximizing revenue.

4) Maximize Retail Profit

• Through the Director of Museum Store, lead store performance: merchandising strategy, product mix, vendor strategy, inventory discipline, and profitability.
• Set expectations for margin management, inventory turns, shrink controls, payroll expenditures, and promotional effectiveness; review performance and adjust seasonally.
• Review and set KPI expectations to ensure profitability and alignment with institutional peers.
• Align product storytelling with exhibitions/programming where it can measurably improve sales and visitor satisfaction.

5) Mange Relationships with External Café /Catering and Parking Partners

• Serve as the organization’s primary relationship lead for external operators; enforce contract expectations and brand/service standards.
• Run regular operating and financial reviews with the operators (sales trends, staffing stability, guest feedback, quality, hours, event support).
• Coordinate operational readiness for peak periods and major events; escalate and resolve performance issues quickly and professionally.

6) Cross-Functional Alignment

• Foster ongoing, consistent communication across departments to ensure alignment on institutional priorities, protocols, financial controls, and standards are achieved.
• Work directly with all members of the Senior Leadership Team to provide insight, expertise, and guidance on all matters that engage with the Enterprise Department while maintaining a mission-first mindset.
• Works directly with Senior Leaders in making decisions as it impacts overall operational strategy.

Requirements

Education & Experience

Required

• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience overseeing earned revenue functions in a public-facing environment (museum/attraction, hospitality, venue, tourism, retail, events, or similar), including responsibility for multiple revenue lines.
• Demonstrated success growing net earned revenue through strategy and execution—pricing, product/package design, sales pipeline discipline, operating hours/staffing models, and service standards.
• Proven ability to lead through managers, including direct experience supervising senior leaders (e.g., Directors) and building accountability systems (KPIs, cadence, performance improvement, coaching).
• Strong financial acumen: ability to drive budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and KPI dashboards, and to translate data into clear decisions and recommendations for executives.
• Experience balancing guest experience and brand with commercial outcomes; strong judgment in service recovery and reputational risk situations.
• Excellent communication skills—able to present clearly to the Museum Director, Board of Trustees,  and senior leadership, and to set direction with consistency and follow-through.

Preferred

• Experience in a mission-driven organization where brand, access, and community trust are central (museum/cultural nonprofit strongly preferred).
• Experience working with non-profit Board
• Experience with event rentals strategy (utilization, packaging, pricing guardrails, service standards) and working within a shared-authority contracting environment.
• Strong retail business fundamentals (merchandising strategy, inventory turns, margin management, shrink controls).
• Familiarity with ticketing and POS ecosystems and analytics/reporting (specific platforms a plus), including process design and controls.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, hospitality, arts administration, or related field (or equivalent experience). Advanced degree a plus.
• Calm, credible leadership in high-visibility visitor and event moments.

Physical Demands

• Remain stationary up to six hours per day
• Occasionally move packages up to 25lbs
• Move about the museum and offices
• Communicate and exchange information with staff and external constituents
• Operate computer and other office productivity machinery