MANAGER OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Hours: 0.8 FTE (4 days per week). There will be some flexibility in the days of the week to be worked. TarraWarra Museum of Art has a flexible work from home policy. This position can work 2 days a week from home.

Salary: $75,000 - $80,000 depending on experience (for 4 days per week) plus 12% superannuation

About TarraWarra Museum of Art

Established in 2003, TarraWarra Museum of Art is a not-for-profit public art gallery located on Wurundjeri Country in the Yarra Valley, Victoria. In Woiwurrung—the language of the Wurundjeri people—Tarrawarra translates approximately as ‘slow moving waters’ and is the name given to the area in which the Museum is located.

Not only did the founding patrons Marc Besen AC and the late Eva Besen AO gift the Museum building, they also donated over 600 artworks from their private collection of 20th and 21st century Australian art. Building on the Eva and Marc Besen gift, the Eva and Marc Besen Centre, a purposebuilt education and visible storage centre, opened in March 2025. Designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects with landscaping by OCULUS (in collaboration with Wurundjeri horticulturalist Craig Murphy Wandin), this award-winning building has enabled the Museum to significantly expand upon our public programs and learning and engagement activities. By 2026, the Centre will be able to facilitate 167 public and learning and engagement programs annually.

TarraWarra Museum of Art has a national and international reputation for curating significant exhibitions and programs with Australian and international contemporary artists and curators. The Museum presents three to four major exhibitions per year featuring Australian and international artists and guest curators.

TarraWarra Museum of Art understands the vital role that art can play in fostering a culture and a community that proudly recognises and respects the creative expressions, living traditions, deep knowledge systems, diverse talents, and abiding connection to Country of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia. Through the presentation of a range of stimulating, innovative and challenging commissions, exhibitions, public programs, and learning and engagement activities we have provided opportunities for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples to share with our audiences their diverse artistic and cultural practices, express their historical experiences and convey their unique contemporary perspectives and insights. From July 2023–July 2025, the Museum implemented its first Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan which involves the full support and commitment of all management and staff.

Our Vision

Connecting Art, Place and Ideas

Our Purpose

Generate a suite of exhibitions and experiences, drawing inspiration from our location, exemplary collection and current ideas. We aim to engage with audiences to develop a deeper understanding of the worlds that artists create.

Each member of our staff contributes toward TarraWarra Museum of Art achieving the goals within the Strategic Plan 2024–2027, which are:

• Connecting art, place and ideas
• Audience engagement
• Collaborating with the sector
• Providing for robust, sustainable and secure operations

Our Values

TarraWarra commits to the following Values in everything we do:

• Respect for art and the artist
• Respect for the spirit of philanthropy – the inspiration for the Museum
• Respect for First Nations voices of Wurundjeri Country and beyond
• Respect for the natural world and sense of place, inspiring fresh creative perspectives
Respect for the diversity of our visitors
• Respect for the curiosity of our audience
• Respect for cultural safety, equity and access

Position Overview

This 4 day a week position is located at the TarraWarra Museum of Art and is responsible for developing and engaging the Museum’s external stakeholders, including sponsors, supporters and partners. These range across private philanthropic foundations, corporate companies, local, state and federal funding bodies, local council, and a range of in-kind supporters. The position also actively works with the TarraWarra Museum of Art Board.

Key Performance Indicators

1. Maximise sponsorship and financial opportunities, striving to achieve financial donations of $500,000 per annum and secure 5 sponsorship relationships for the next 5-10 years.
2. Actively develop the Museum’s TarraWarra Contemporary donor group
3. Ensure the timely acquittal of government grants, and annual reports to the Museum’s sponsors and supporters.

Learn more about how you can apply: https://www.twma.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Manager-of-External-Relations-Position-Description-2025-.pdf