Director, Learning and Community Engagement
About the role
Competition #: 26-OC-72
Posting Date: May 4, 2026
Closing Date: May 26, 2026
Department: Learning and Community Engagement
Working Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week - overtime as required)
Employment Tenure: Indeterminate
Classification: Level 6
Salary: $116,005 - $165,217 / Year
Number of Positions: 1
Language Requirements: English CCC / French CCC (reading, writing, oral) (A: beginner, B: intermediate, C: advanced)
Affiliation: Management. This position reports to the Director and CEO and is a member of the Senior Management Team.
Work Location: On-site, National Gallery of Canada, 380, Sussex Drive, Ottawa
Job Summary
The Director of Learning and Community Engagement provides strategic leadership for developing an integrated, visitor‑centered experience across the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). The role oversees a department responsible for shaping and delivering a cohesive approach to learning and engagement at the Gallery, online and in communities, ensuring that these activities reflect and advance the Gallery’s priorities, values, and commitments.
Working collaboratively across departments—including Curatorial, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization, Digital and Web, Visitor Services, Membership, and Operations—the Director ensures that learning is embedded throughout artistic and public programs and that engagement meaningfully involves diverse communities to deepen and expand their relationships with the Gallery.
The position champions a culture that centres the visitor, embraces creative learning, and advances inclusive practices throughout the organization. The Director guides the department in delivering high‑quality programming, contributing to integrated project planning, and ensuring that department activities align with institutional goals. The role requires articulate advocacy for the importance of learning and engagement and ensures that departmental resources and capacities support the advancement of the Gallery’s mandate.
Requirements
Education
- Thorough knowledge of Arts Education and Interpretation; knowledge and skills similar or equivalent to what is gained through the completion of an Undergraduate degree in Art History, Arts & Sciences, Education, Museum Studies, or related field. Advanced degree preferred.
Experience
- Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in leading the development of learning programs in a not-for-profit environment.
Skills/Abilities
- Specialized knowledge of accepted methods and policies in arts education, creative learning strategies, and methods to engage diverse audiences.
- Requires extensive strategic thinking, analytical and reasoning skills.
- Knowledge of and experience in building relationships and engaging with diverse publics.
- Project management expertise.
- Knowledge of supervision and management principles and practices.
- Ability to lead a team effectively, managing within a complex unionized and multidisciplinary environment.
- Strong communicator, goal-oriented, decisive, collaborative, and strategic in managing systems and resources.
- Ability to identify media, techniques, and trends.
- The ability to understand, express and apply extremely complex concepts and instructions of a general nature as well as extremely complex technical, artistic and administrative precepts, concepts, methods, and procedures.
- Ability to establish the Gallery as a leader in innovative and inclusive public programming, both nationally and internationally. Position requires strong initiative, motivational and leadership skills in managing systems and resources.
Condition of Employment
-
Must meet the bilingual requirement to be invited to the interview process. Reliability Status - this factor is not used at the pre-selection stage.
Additional Information
- A variety of assessment tools may be used to assess candidates.
- Alternative selection tool methods and/or reasonable accommodation are available upon request.
- Candidates are entitled to participate in the selection process in the official language of their choice. Note: Applicants selected for interviews will receive email correspondence from the People, Culture and Belonging team at the National Gallery of Canada
Values
- The National Gallery of Canada is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment that values and celebrates the diverse life experiences, voices, and histories of all individuals. We encourage applications from individuals belonging to Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities, women, persons with disabilities, and members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
Not the right fit? Search for Director, Learning and Community Engagement jobs in Ottawa, ON
About National Gallery Of Canada
Comprising works from antiquity to the present day, the Gallery has one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art in the world, as well as masterworks from numerous other artistic traditions.
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Director, Learning and Community Engagement
About the role
Competition #: 26-OC-72
Posting Date: May 4, 2026
Closing Date: May 26, 2026
Department: Learning and Community Engagement
Working Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week - overtime as required)
Employment Tenure: Indeterminate
Classification: Level 6
Salary: $116,005 - $165,217 / Year
Number of Positions: 1
Language Requirements: English CCC / French CCC (reading, writing, oral) (A: beginner, B: intermediate, C: advanced)
Affiliation: Management. This position reports to the Director and CEO and is a member of the Senior Management Team.
Work Location: On-site, National Gallery of Canada, 380, Sussex Drive, Ottawa
Job Summary
The Director of Learning and Community Engagement provides strategic leadership for developing an integrated, visitor‑centered experience across the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). The role oversees a department responsible for shaping and delivering a cohesive approach to learning and engagement at the Gallery, online and in communities, ensuring that these activities reflect and advance the Gallery’s priorities, values, and commitments.
Working collaboratively across departments—including Curatorial, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization, Digital and Web, Visitor Services, Membership, and Operations—the Director ensures that learning is embedded throughout artistic and public programs and that engagement meaningfully involves diverse communities to deepen and expand their relationships with the Gallery.
The position champions a culture that centres the visitor, embraces creative learning, and advances inclusive practices throughout the organization. The Director guides the department in delivering high‑quality programming, contributing to integrated project planning, and ensuring that department activities align with institutional goals. The role requires articulate advocacy for the importance of learning and engagement and ensures that departmental resources and capacities support the advancement of the Gallery’s mandate.
Requirements
Education
- Thorough knowledge of Arts Education and Interpretation; knowledge and skills similar or equivalent to what is gained through the completion of an Undergraduate degree in Art History, Arts & Sciences, Education, Museum Studies, or related field. Advanced degree preferred.
Experience
- Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in leading the development of learning programs in a not-for-profit environment.
Skills/Abilities
- Specialized knowledge of accepted methods and policies in arts education, creative learning strategies, and methods to engage diverse audiences.
- Requires extensive strategic thinking, analytical and reasoning skills.
- Knowledge of and experience in building relationships and engaging with diverse publics.
- Project management expertise.
- Knowledge of supervision and management principles and practices.
- Ability to lead a team effectively, managing within a complex unionized and multidisciplinary environment.
- Strong communicator, goal-oriented, decisive, collaborative, and strategic in managing systems and resources.
- Ability to identify media, techniques, and trends.
- The ability to understand, express and apply extremely complex concepts and instructions of a general nature as well as extremely complex technical, artistic and administrative precepts, concepts, methods, and procedures.
- Ability to establish the Gallery as a leader in innovative and inclusive public programming, both nationally and internationally. Position requires strong initiative, motivational and leadership skills in managing systems and resources.
Condition of Employment
-
Must meet the bilingual requirement to be invited to the interview process. Reliability Status - this factor is not used at the pre-selection stage.
Additional Information
- A variety of assessment tools may be used to assess candidates.
- Alternative selection tool methods and/or reasonable accommodation are available upon request.
- Candidates are entitled to participate in the selection process in the official language of their choice. Note: Applicants selected for interviews will receive email correspondence from the People, Culture and Belonging team at the National Gallery of Canada
Values
- The National Gallery of Canada is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment that values and celebrates the diverse life experiences, voices, and histories of all individuals. We encourage applications from individuals belonging to Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities, women, persons with disabilities, and members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
Not the right fit? Search for Director, Learning and Community Engagement jobs in Ottawa, ON
About National Gallery Of Canada
Comprising works from antiquity to the present day, the Gallery has one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art in the world, as well as masterworks from numerous other artistic traditions.