SF Bay Area

Position:  Art Handler (In-House Focus), Art Services

Status:  Full-time | Non-Exempt | Hourly

Compensation Group:  Experienced

Compensation Range:  $ 27.50 – 33.96 per hour

Hiring Range:  $25.00 – $35.00

Reports to:  Head Art Handler / Director of Collection Care

Hours:  Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:30pm (with availability for 8am starts and 6pm ends)

Minnesota Street Project Art Services, founded & headquartered in San Francisco since 2016, is the Bay Area’s fastest growing and most innovative provider of highest quality art storage, installation, packing, crating, transportation, and solutions.  Our clients include private collectors, galleries, and institutions who value our emphasis on customer relationships, collection care, and creative problem solving.

As part of the Minnesota Street Project and affiliated with the Minnesota Street Project Foundation, 100% of our profits are used to support the visual arts ecosystem in the Bay Area.
 

Job Summary:

Minnesota Street Project is seeking a full-time Art Handler (with In-House focus), with expert customer service, art handling and transportation, and packaging skills to join our team of arts professionals.  This person will exhibit a friendly and approachable demeanor with all Minnesota Street Project clients, staff, and vendors, acting as a positive ambassador for the Art Services department, as well as the overall Project.  This person must value teamwork, collaboration, and community.  This person will demonstrate an understanding of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access in the arts and in our daily lives and has cultural flexibility/agility and a commitment to fostering a respectful and inclusive work environment.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Enthusiastically and diplomatically work in tandem with all team-mates; Offer respectful communication to all team members and clients, ensure deadlines are continually met, and has a keen eye for detail.
• Assist in daily work orders (pack and handle artwork), install artwork for client viewing room appointments, stage outgoing artworks, anticipate incoming shipments by designating spaces in advance of deliveries, and transports artworks safely within our campus as needed
• Look ahead at upcoming jobs on the calendar and ensure that you are familiar and prepared to execute the full scope or consult with the project manager if there are any uncertainties.
• Assist the Registration & Project Management teams with assessing and labeling artworks; condition report artworks on an as-needed basis.
• Keep storage and our campus warehouses consistently clean, useable, and client-ready, bringing a proactive approach; inventory and ready supplies for field teams; administer reuse and recycling policies
• Prioritize the safety of personnel and artworks, always adhering to company operational guidelines.
• Be prepared to fill in as-needed field work including packing, delivery, and installation of artworks in client’s homes, offices, and galleries.
• Drive company fleet vehicles including box trucks and sprinter vans for in-house and field-job related tasks.
• Assist the crate shop, operations and other MSP departments as needed.
• Attend weekly department meetings, as well as occasional company-wide meetings and trainings.
• Perform other related duties as required.
• Available to work 5 consecutive days of the week, between the hours of 8am and 6pm, and occasionally beyond.

Required Skills, Abilities, and Experience:

• Minimum 2 years’ experience in a museum, gallery, or art shipping organization; demonstrated expertise in art handling techniques, packing, crating, and storing protocols, as well as client relations and team communication.
• Art transportation and shipping knowledge; valid CA license and ability to drive a 16 – 26’ box truck.
• Willingness to safely shift directions for the need of the artwork or client, in a moment’s notice.
• Experience operating material moving equipment (VRCs, forklifts, scissor lifts, material lifts, gantries, and pallet jacks).
• Outstanding communication and ability to take direction and ask for assistance, as needed, ensuring projects stay on schedule.
• Demonstrate concern for detail, accuracy and precise execution of work, all while being adaptable and willing to learn a new direction or skill.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbally and written.
• Work well independently and as a team; gracefully shift between work across our campus, client, and office settings, whilst communicating along the way.
• Ability to safely lift 50+ lbs individually and 75+lbs as a team.
• Proficient with iPad and PC Tablets.  Comfortable using computer databases.

To Apply:

Please email resume with the subject line “Art Handler (In-House Focus) – Last Name” to artservicesjobs@minnesotastreetproject.com.  No calls, please.  Applicant must be based in California.  Thank you for your interest in Minnesota Street Project.

Benefits:
 
Minnesota Street Project offers a competitive benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, LTD, AD&D, Vacation and Sick Time Off, Parental Leave, Retirement Savings, 401-k Plan, and Pre-Taxed Commuter and Childcare Benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Minnesota Street Project provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. 

Executive Summary
Living Jazz seeks a values-driven, relational Executive Director to steward the organization into its next chapter. Founded in 1984 and rooted in Oakland, Living Jazz is a community-centered arts organization that transforms lives through the music, spirit, and culture of jazz.

Living Jazz is an interconnected web of artists, students, educators, donors, and community members who understand jazz not only as an art form, but as a cultural practice grounded in belonging, access, and social change. Its programs span immersive camps, in-school education, and civic cultural events—including In the Name of Love, the East Bay’s long-standing musical tribute honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—each developed with deep respect for jazz’s history, legacy, and Bay Area roots.

At this moment, Living Jazz is focused on strengthening coherence across its programs and systems—prioritizing quality, sustainability, and belonging as it builds toward the future. The next Executive Director will lead this work by connecting vision to practice, supporting a strong and collaborative staff team, and serving as a trusted ambassador for the organization and its mission.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director serves as Living Jazz’s chief fundraiser, strategic leader, culture carrier, and external representative.

About Living Jazz
Founded in 1984, Living Jazz transforms lives through the music, spirit, and culture of jazz in the Bay Area. For more than four decades, the organization has built programs that use jazz as a vehicle for artistic excellence, education, and community connection.

Living Jazz centers the cultural legacy of jazz, honors its roots in the African diaspora, and embraces the art form’s inherent values of collaboration, improvisation, equity, and belonging. The organization intentionally prioritizes access for communities historically excluded from arts education and seeks to amplify voices of artists and students of color.

Core programs include:

Jazz Camp West, an intergenerational immersive jazz experience in the California redwoods
Jam Camp West, a youth-focused program welcoming students of all backgrounds, abilities, and financial means
RootED, providing free, jazz-rooted music and dance education in under-resourced public schools
In the Name of Love, the East Bay’s long-standing musical tribute honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., celebrating jazz as a civic and cultural force
Across its work, Living Jazz centers the cultural legacy of jazz, honors its origins in the African diaspora, and uses music as a vehicle for belonging, self-expression, and community connection.

The Opportunity
The next Executive Director will guide Living Jazz through a period of thoughtful alignment rather than rapid expansion. This role centers on stewardship, integration, and judgment—connecting strategy to lived practice and ensuring that programs, people, and resources move in concert.

Living Jazz has a highly capable staff with strong chemistry, diversified funding, and increasing visibility of its impact. The opportunity is to build on this strength by clarifying priorities, professionalizing systems where needed without losing the organization’s grassroots spirit, and supporting staff to do their best work.

What You Will Accomplish
In your first 18–24 months, you will:

Weave coherence across the organization by aligning programs, staff, and governance around shared priorities—without privileging one program at the expense of the whole.
Strengthen philanthropic relationships through steady, values-based fundraising leadership, including direct engagement with individual and major donors and thoughtful partnership with the Board.
Be present and supportive for staff—showing up consistently, setting clear expectations, and fostering a culture of trust, empathy, accountability, and humor.
Serve as a credible public voice for Living Jazz and for arts education more broadly, with cultural fluency in jazz history, Oakland, and the Bay Area.
Connect vision to execution by pairing big-picture strategy with a willingness to be “boots on the ground” when needed—helping translate goals into practical action.

A Month in the Life
No two months look exactly the same, but your leadership energy is likely to be distributed across:

Relationship-building and fundraising — cultivating donors, stewarding foundation relationships, and making thoughtful, values-aligned asks.
Internal leadership and culture — supporting a strong, collaborative staff team; clarifying priorities; and addressing issues directly and humanely.
Strategic integration — working across programs and with the Board to ensure that mission, resources, systems, and culture reinforce one another.
External presence and advocacy — representing Living Jazz in civic, cultural, and sector spaces; strengthening visibility, advocacy, and press relationships.
Governance partnership — collaborating closely with the Board on strategy, accountability, and shared leadership.
This is a role for a leader who understands that progress here comes from connection and follow-through—someone who can listen carefully, be clear about what is being asked, and help the organization deliver on shared goals with integrity and care.

Who We’re Looking For
Strong candidates will bring many of the following qualities:

Fundraising confidence and judgment, particularly with individual and major donors, and the ability to partner effectively with the Board in philanthropy.
High emotional intelligence, with the ability to lead through relationships, communicate clearly, and address challenges directly and constructively.
Strategic and financial acumen appropriate to a $1.8M+ organization, including comfort working across earned and contributed revenue.
Cultural fluency in Oakland and the Bay Area, with credibility among artists and communities of color and a demonstrated commitment to equity and belonging.
A systems-minded leadership approach, with the ability to strengthen clarity and process without flattening creativity or culture.
Deep alignment with Living Jazz’s values of access, belonging, collaboration, and artistic excellence.
Knowledge of jazz as a cultural tradition, including respect for its roots in the African diaspora and its role in civic life, education, and social change.
Experience in arts organizations, education, or community-centered nonprofits is strongly preferred.

Location and Compensation
This is a full-time position based in Oakland, California, with some flexibility for hybrid work. The salary range is between $140,000-$155,000, with benefits.

To Apply
Living Jazz is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a workplace where diverse identities, perspectives, and experiences are welcomed and valued. Candidates from historically underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged to apply. All inquiries will be handled confidentially.

The search for the next executive director is being led by Cristine Kelly of Fix Creative. To apply, please direct a cover letter and resume to:
LJSearch@fixcreative.org.

This announcement is intended to provide an overview of the role and opportunity, not an exhaustive list of responsibilities.