Registrar

The Registrar serves as the primary steward of the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum’s permanent collection and loan activity, ensuring the physical safety, legal integrity, and intellectual control of all objects in the Museum’s care. Working in close partnership with the Chief Curator and curatorial staff, this position oversees all aspects of collections documentation, movement, and risk management within a National Historic Landmark, a historic museum environment.

The Registrar plays a critical role in upholding the professional, ethical, and interpretive standards of the Flagler Museum, stewarding a collection that includes Gilded Age decorative arts, furniture, fine and applied arts, archival materials, and historically significant objects related to Henry Flagler, the Florida East Coast Railway, and turn-of-the-century American life.

This is a hands-on, detail-driven role suited to a collections professional who takes stewardship personally and is comfortable balancing administrative rigor with careful, physical collections work in a historic structure.

Duties & Responsibilities

Collections Management & Documentation

• Maintain the permanent collection database (Collector Systems) with accuracy, consistency, and adherence to current museum data standards
• Execute and oversee accessioning, deaccessioning, and cataloging of collection objects
• Create, maintain, and audit object records including provenance, ownership history, donor restrictions, bibliographic references, rights and reproduction status, and location data
• Conduct regular physical inventories and reconcile object locations within galleries, storage, and exhibition spaces
• Maintain organized digital and physical collections files in compliance with museum policy

Loans – Incoming & Outgoing

• Manage all aspects of loan administration for incoming and outgoing loans, including drafting, negotiating, and executing loan agreements
• Serve as the primary point of contact for institutional lenders and borrowers
• Coordinate facilities reports, packing specifications, fine art shipping, courier arrangements, and installation/deinstallation schedules
• Track loan deadlines, renewals, and return requirements through a comprehensive loans calendar
• Ensure appropriate insurance coverage for all loaned objects from point of departure to return

Insurance & Risk Management

• Manage the Museum’s fine arts insurance program in coordination with leadership and insurance brokers
• Prepare and maintain accurate insurance values for the permanent collection and incoming loans
• Initiate and manage periodic reappraisals when required
• File and manage insurance claims; coordinate with insurers, conservators, and legal counsel as needed
• Assess and mitigate risk related to transportation, exhibition, storage, and the constraints of a historic building

Condition Reporting & Conservation Coordination

• Conduct condition checks and prepare detailed condition reports for all objects entering or leaving Museum custody
• Coordinate with contract and consulting conservators on assessments, treatments, and preventive care initiatives
• Maintain conservation documentation and treatment histories within the CMS
• Monitor environmental conditions in galleries and storage spaces in coordination with facilities staff
• Advise staff and contractors on safe handling, packing, and movement of historic objects

Collections Care & Historic House Stewardship

• Oversee the physical care and organization of collections storage areas
• Develop and implement collections care protocols appropriate to a Gilded Age historic house museum
• Monitor for pest activity, environmental fluctuation, and physical hazards
• Advise on safe display, rotation, and maintenance of historic interiors and original furnishings
• Participate in emergency preparedness planning and serve as a key responder for collections emergencies

Exhibitions & Installations

• Coordinate registrar responsibilities for all exhibitions and rotations, including object lists, condition reporting, insurance scheduling, and installation oversight
• Collaborate closely with curatorial and exhibitions staff during planning to integrate collections care considerations
• Manage packing, crating, and transport in coordination with approved fine art shippers

Rights, Reproduction & Access

• Manage rights and reproduction requests for collections objects and archival materials
  Maintain accurate intellectual property and permissions records
  Respond to research inquiries and coordinate scholarly access in accordance with institutional policy
  Support digitization and online access initiatives through accurate records and image documentation in the CMS.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Art History, History, Museum Studies, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred
• Minimum of 3–5 years of museum registration or collections management experience
• Proficiency with Collectors Systems or a comparable collections management system
• Demonstrated experience with loans, insurance coordination, condition reporting, and object handling
• Thorough knowledge of AAM standards, NAGPRA compliance, museum ethics, and collections stewardship best practices
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience drafting and negotiating loan agreements
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a small, highly professional team

Preferred

• Experience with Gilded Age, decorative arts, furniture, or historic house museum collections
• Familiarity with objects related to American industrial, social, or architectural history
• Experience supporting temporary exhibitions in a historic interior setting

Physical Requirements

This position involves regular movement of and around museum objects. The Registrar must be able to lift up to 30 pounds with appropriate equipment, work in collections storage and historic interiors, and navigate varying environmental conditions, including climate-controlled spaces.