Associate Registrar of Rights and Reproductions, Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, MA)

Posted September 5, 2025

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), one of the nation’s most dynamic art museums, is seeking an Associate Registrar of Rights and Reproductions. Founded in 1799, PEM is dedicated to transforming people’s lives by creating a museum experience that celebrates the capacity of art and culture to inform and change our understanding of our place in the world. By presenting art and culture in new ways, by linking past and present, and by embracing artistic and cultural achievements worldwide, the museum offers unique opportunities to explore multilayered and interconnected arenas of creative expression.

Associate Registrar of Rights and Reproductions is responsible for managing intellectual property rights for the museum’s collections, exhibitions, publications, and programs. This position secures rights and images or other digital content for use in PEM’s exhibitions, publications, programs, and promotional materials, as well fulfilling requests and managing licensing for reproductions of works from the museum’s collections. Working in close collaboration with the Collections Systems Administrator, this position oversees the integration, processing, management, and distribution of images, captions, and rights information through the museum’s digital asset management system (Piction). The Associate Registrar of Rights and Reproductions provides guidance to staff across the museum, helps to define intellectual property policies and procedures, and contributes to PEM’s strategic goal of maximizing and increasing digital access to the collections.

Reporting to the Head Registrar, this position is a key member of the Registration department, working as part of the collection registration team and in close collaboration with the exhibition registrars. Additionally, the Associate Registrar of Rights and Reproductions works closely with Exhibition Planning, Curatorial, Collection Management and Marketing, participating on cross-departmental teams, collaborating with colleagues, and representing PEM with external stakeholders including peer institutions, artists, galleries, third party licensors, private individuals, and vendors.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree in Art, Art History, Museum Studies, Library or Information Science, or closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience is required; graduate degree preferred.
Five years of experience coordinating intellectual property rights; art museum experience preferred.
Three years of experience managing rights and images or digital content for museum collections, exhibitions, publications, and programs.
Thorough knowledge of copyright and intellectual property law and professional standards of practice.
Experience with digital asset management systems required; Piction experience preferred
Experience with collection management database systems.
Experience drafting, negotiating, and reviewing rights and licensing agreements.
Understanding of museum standards of practice for collection information including data standards, digital asset management, and cataloguing standards.
Collaborative, and conscientious colleague who can work well in a team environment.
Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively and diplomatically with internal and external partners.
Flexible and creative problem solver.
Ability to be proactive, use independent judgment and initiative, and work well under pressure.
Meticulous attention to detail and the ability to maintain data accuracy.
Well-organized with the ability to prioritize and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

The hiring range for this role is $60,000 to $63,000 commensurate with experience.

How to Apply

Please use the following link: https://secure5.entertimeonline.com/ta/CBIZ20793.careers?ApplyToJob=436591199

PEM strives to create a community of belonging that draws upon the widest pool of talent, embracing individuals of all backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives. We seek candidates who can contribute to helping us achieve our goals and encourage you to apply for our open positions identifying the contributions you can make.

PEM considers all qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy or pregnancy related condition or any other characteristic protected by law.