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4420 Warwick Boulevard
Kansas City, MO 64111

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Kemper Museum is a free art museum in Kansas City, Missouri that presents global contemporary art.

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Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art acknowledges it resides on the ancestral territory of the Osage, Kaw, and Otoe-Missouria, among other tribal nations forcibly moved to the region such as the Shawnee, Wyandot, Delaware, Potawatomi, Sac and Fox and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) nations. We recognize and support the continued vibrancy of Native communities and cultures today who continue to thrive, as well as the inherent sovereignty of tribal nations. We are compelled to serve and advocate for these communities in accordance with our public mission.

Kemper Museum acknowledges and respects the diversity of Native people connected to this land today. Many recognize the land and all beings who live within it as relatives. We acknowledge the earth we inhabit, the waters of the Blue River, the Kansas River, the Missouri River, and the plants, animals, and people supported by them. 

We acknowledge our responsibility to be good caretakers of the land we occupy. 

Click here to learn more about our land acknowledgment process.

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Open jobs at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri

Kemper Museum Careers

It is our policy to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military status, and any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local laws. We prohibit any such discrimination or harassment.

Manager of Individual Giving 2026.pdf

Department: Advancement 
Reports To: Chief Development Officer
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Position: Full-time, exempt


About Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art: 

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a leading presenter of contemporary art in the Midwest. Since opening in 1994, the Museum has been committed to enriching lives through contemporary art by connecting diverse audiences with the work of living artists. With a robust schedule of exhibitions, public programs, and educational initiatives, the Museum serves more than 50,000 visitors annually. Admission is always free, reflecting the Museum’s mission of accessibility and community engagement. Philanthropic support and membership play a critical role in sustaining the Museum’s exhibitions, collections, and educational programs.

Help supporters accomplish their philanthropic goals and fulfill their philanthropic passions through a genuine relationship with Kemper Museum. The Kemper’s Development Team works collaboratively to establish and nurture relationships that generate rewarding philanthropic investment in the Museum.

The Manager of Individual Giving is devoted chiefly to identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding mid-level individual donors ($1,000-$4,999). Beyond annual support, the Manager is also responsible for cultivating donors to secure current and deferred endowment gifts. The successful candidate would be a highly organized, self-motivated individual who has excellent communication, project management, presentation and interpersonal skills. Experience in development for an arts organization is desirable, as is a strong team orientation and a sense of humor.

Normal office hours are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Flexibility is required as the work schedule may start earlier or end later in the day. Some flexibility is also available on remote work. The Associate Director, Individual Giving should also expect to work at weekend and evening events as needed


Manage a portfolio of approximately 150 supporter and prospect households including members of Visionaries (gifts of $2,500+). May also include several corporate donors.

Build relationships with supporters/prospects.

Solicit annual gifts, both new and renewals, upgrading gifts as appropriate.

Cultivate annual supporters toward a gift/pledge for the Kemper Museum’s endowment or other special campaigns.

Define and implement strategies to move lower-level supporters into Visionaries.

As part of the philanthropy team, create and implement a stewardship strategy that effectively appreciates supporters which also provides appropriate public recognition for their support.

Participate in prospect management meetings to determine appropriate prospects for various campaigns and the strategies to cultivate and solicit mid-level and major prospects.

Staff liaison to Kemper Contemporaries (young professionals group) working with both the chair and committee members to develop events and strategies to grow the Contemporaries.

Engage committee and board members as well as other volunteers in the engagement, solicitation and stewardship of individuals supporters and qualified prospects.

Assist the Development Department with supporter engagement and stewardship events at the Museum and in the community as needed.

Staff Kemper Museum events such as exhibition openings, ArtJaunts and ArtSalons as needed.

Work with the Manager of Special Events to develop events that meet the needs of Visionaries members.

Other duties and projects as assigned by the Chief Development Officer.

Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree and/or CFRE is a plus.

Three years minimum experience in development (preferably working with individual supporters and as a member of a development team).

Proven track record with increasing responsibility and measurable success against goals.

Appreciation for the arts and an understanding of their role in our community.

Effective written, verbal and presentation skills.

Attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple tasks.

Proficient with Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, Teams)

Recognizing that you may not fit all the job qualifications, but if you have relevant experience, please apply.

Please send cover letter, resume, and references to employment@kemperart.org or you may mail hard copies to:

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art 
Diane Lambert, Human Resources Manager 
4420 Warwick Blvd. 
Kansas City, MO 64111

Please include Manager of Individual Giving in the subject line. No phone calls, please. Open until filled.

Museum Shop Sales Associate 2026.pdf

Department: Museum Shop
Classification: Part-time, Hourly Non-Exempt
Reports to: Retail Operations Manager
Date: 2026


Working closely with the Retail Manager, the Museum Shop Sales Associate’s role is to provide assistance and excellent customer service to the visitors of Kemper Museum’s retail shop, online shop, and other retail initiatives. This individual will display confidence in generating sales, merchandising, and safeguarding the shop’s assets. 

Greet and assist customers with purchases, handling sales transactions, general museum questions. 

Establish and maintain relationships with customers and Museum Shop artists thru follow up, etc. 

Use observation, insight, and creativity to enhance the customer shopping experience. 

Attend curator led new exhibition walk-through. 

In tandem with Retail Manager, assist in the research and ordering process of products 

Participate in marketing/design projects for the Museum Shop. 

Maintenance of inventory data through yearly inventory counts, etc. 

Maintaining the shop appearance by restocking, dusting, tidying, and organizing. 

Receive/process and display new inventory. 

Visual merchandising/display of existing inventory. 

Manage opening/closing procedures including submitting Shop Daily Sales. Report and cash/check deposits. 

Assist with membership sign-ups and parking validation 

Assist in maintenance of electronic and paper files. 

Assist with meeting monthly sales goals. 

Customer Service: Manages difficult or emotional customer situations, responds promptly to customer needs, solicits customer feedback to improve service, responds to requests for service and assistance, meets commitments 

Oral Communication: Speaks clearly, and persuasively in positive or negative situations, listens and gets clarification, responds well to questions, demonstrates presentation skills, participates in meetings 

Design: Generates creative solutions, translates concepts and information into images, uses feedback to modify designs, applies design principles, demonstrates attention to detail 

Quality: Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness, looks for ways to improve and promote quality, applies feedback to improve performance, monitors own work to ensure quality 

Attendance/Punctuality: Is consistently at work and on time, ensures work responsibilities are covered when absent, arrives at meetings and appointments on time 

Motivation: Sets and achieves challenging goals, demonstrates persistence and overcomes obstacles, measures self against standard of excellence, takes calculated risks to accomplish goals 

Education: HS Diploma required/1 year college education (art/design background preferred) 

Experience: Minimum of 1+ years retail sales 

Knowledge of MAC OS X, Adobe Creative Cloud, MS Office 

Excellent communication and organization skills 

Ability to manage details with consistency and clarity 

Ability to meet deadlines in a fast paced environment 

Ability to work collaboratively with a diverse staff, artists, and customers 

Ability to work accurately with multiple interruptions 

Vision: The ability to see clearly at 20 inches or less and at 20 feet or more. The ability to identify and distinguish colors. Three dimensional vision, the ability to judge spatial relationships, and distances to see objects where and as they actually are. The ability to adjust the eye to bring an object into sharp focus. 

Lifts Weight and Exerts Force: lifts weight or exerts force on objects up to 50 lbs by lifting, lowering, pulling, carrying or pushing. 

Handle: The ability to seize, hold, grasp, turn or otherwise work with hand or hands and arm or arms. 

Hear: The ability to perceive the nature of sounds by ear. 

Cover letter and Resumes can be emailed to employment@kemperart.org or you may mail hard copies to: 

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Diane Lambert
Human Resources Manager
4420 Warwick Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64111

Department: Exhibitions
Classification: Non-Exempt, Full Time
Reports to: Exhibitions Manager
Supervises: Temporary Prep Staff
Date: 2024

The Preparator undertakes the responsibility of art handling and exhibition installation, which includes designing and creating  gallery furniture and special buildouts, the scheduling, relocation, presentation, and installation of artwork both in the museum’s permanent collection as well as traveling exhibitions, long, and short-term loans.

Work in concert with the exhibitions manager and curatorial department to implement exhibition designs.

Create appropriate lighting design, and help to control visitor experience of the museum through didactic material and determine strategies for a wide range of media.

Install and de-install exhibition objects.

Ensure temporary prep staff use art handling best practices.

Measure, cut, install, and maintain all exhibition signage/graphics.

Recommend installation materials, equipment and mounting/framing supplies.

Perform routine exhibition maintenance including conducting daily gallery checks, and maintain exhibition lighting. Clean cases, platforms, and frames as needed.

Work collaboratively with outside vendors and contractors.

Fabricate and install exhibition components, including pedestals, platforms, supportive mounts, cradles, brackets, platforms, bases, vitrines, crates, etc. made of wood, wood composites, metals, Plexiglas and other materials according to proper museum standards for 2-D and 3-D objects.

Perform carpentry for exhibitions and exhibition areas including demolition, wall repair, painting, and fabric wrapping. 

Recommend, assemble, install, and modify shop machinery, hand tools, shop and museum carts, materials handling vehicles, as necessary and within budget parameters.

Maintain an organized working area within galleries and in Prep office to ensure objects being prepared for exhibition are safe and secure.

Assists Exhibition Manager with the maintenance of Permanent Collection, which includes regular inspection of objects and light cleaning if necessary.

Prepares objects for loans and exhibitions in coordination with the Exhibitions Manager and Senior Registrar.

Assists the Senior Registrar and Exhibitions Manager in annual inventory.

Helps maintain outdoor Permanent Collection sculpture.

Consults on the safe transport of objects: including packing and unpacking; scheduling appropriate transportation; and monitoring objects.

Assist with assembling, managing, and delegating to skilled part-time preparatory laborers.

Ability to perform as department head in the absence of the Exhibitions Manager.      

Ensure an organized and orderly work space.

Planning/Organizing: Prioritizes and plans work activities, uses time efficiently, plans for additional resources, sets goals and objectives, organizes or schedules other people and their tasks, develops realistic action plans

Team Work: Balances team and individual responsibilities, exhibits objectivity and openness to others' views, gives and welcomes feedback, contributes to building a positive team spirit, puts success of team above own interests, able to build morale and group commitments to goals and objectives, supports everyone's efforts to succeed, recognizes accomplishments of other team members.

Dependability: Follows instructions, responds to management direction, takes responsibility for own actions, keeps commitments, commits to long hours of work when necessary to reach goals, completes tasks on time. 

Oral Communication: Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations, listens and gets clarification, responds well to questions, demonstrates group presentation skills, participates in meetings.

Problem Solving: Gathers and analyzes information skillfully, develops alternative solutions, works well in group problem solving situations, uses reason even when dealing with emotional topics.

Innovation: Displays original thinking and creativity, meets challenges with resourcefulness, generates suggestions for improving work, develops innovative approaches and ideas, presents ideas and information in a manner that gets others' attention.

Judgment: Displays willingness to make decisions, exhibits sound and accurate judgment, supports and explains reasoning for decisions, includes appropriate people in decision-making process, makes timely decisions

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, journalism, English, marketing communications, or related

Bachelor's degree in an art related field and relevant experience in museum or gallery work or the equivalent combination of education and experience. 

Experience with artifact handling, exhibition construction/installation techniques, and structural fabrication, including but not limited to framing artwork, stretching canvases, and maintaining interior and surface integrity of large and small-scale works of art in a wide range of media.

Demonstrated knowledge of basic carpentry tools, machinery, and safety practices.

Demonstrates knowledge of Adobe creative suite, Sketch Up.

Ability to drive box truck, scissor lift, and operate other material lifts. 

Talk: The ability to express or exchange ideas accurately, loudly, or quickly by means of the spoken word, imparting information or detailed instructions to clients, to the public, or to other workers.

Handle: The ability to seize, hold, grasp, turn, or otherwise work with hand or hands. (Fingers are involved only to the extent that they are an extension of the hand.)

Reach with hands and arms: The ability to extend the hands and arms in any direction.

Climb: The ability to ascend or descend ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles, ropes, and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands or arms.

Kneel: The ability to bend legs at the knees to come to rest on knee or knees.

Crouch: The ability to bend the body downward and forward by bending legs and spine.

Lift Weight and Exert Force: Lifts weight or exerts force by lifting, lowering, pulling, carrying, pushing, slapping, striking, kicking, pulling, or jerking. Must be able to lift 50 lbs comfortably.

Vision: The ability to see clearly at 20 inches or less and at 20 feet or more. The ability to identify and distinguish colors. Three-dimensional vision, the ability to judge distances and spatial relationships to see objects where and as they actually are. The ability to adjust the eye to bring an object into sharp focus.

Resumes can be emailed to employment@kemperart.org or you may mail hard copies to:

Department: Museum Protection
Classification: Hourly, Non-Exempt
Reports to: Museum Protection and Operations Manager
Date: 2024

A Level I Museum Protection Officer is responsible for providing physical security of Kemper Museum and its remote satellite locations in order to safeguard its works of art, both interior and exterior, its buildings, grounds, and parking areas to assure the safety and well-being of staff, visitors, and persons in and around the museum and its remote facilities. This individual will possess strong customer service skills to assist in creating a quality visitor experience. Ability to work with moderate to close supervision and to carry out assigned duties and responsibilities in an effective manner.

Protection of Artwork, Facilities, and Public

Comprehend, adhere to, and enforce all museum security policies and procedures.

Working knowledge of all museum emergency plans and procedures, including medical emergencies.

Provide security checks of museum buildings, grounds, parking areas, and remote satellite locations (even in adverse weather conditions).

Working knowledge of plan and procedure when artwork, buildings, or grounds are damaged or compromised.

Main lower parking lot security booth including the monitoring of vehicle and museum patron safety. Issue warnings to non-museum visitors parking in designated museum parking spaces. 

Be alert for and report all safety hazards immediately to the on-duty Floor Supervisor.

Open and close museum according to published public hours.

Report to on-duty Floor Supervisor any unusual or suspicious activity.

Professional standards of attitude, demeanor, and presence as related to safety and security are required at all times.

Report to on-duty Floor Supervisor any safety or health incidents or accidents involving staff or public.

Create written Incident Reports as necessary.

Relate museum security policies and procedures to visitors and staff in a non-confrontational, professional attitude and demeanor.

Interact with and assist visitors by answering routine questions regarding museum facilities, galleries, restrooms, parking areas, Café and directions to other local destinations.

Direct visitors to additional resources when appropriate.

Ability to remain open-minded and outwardly un-opinionated as related to art on exhibition.

As a facility frequented by the public for personal enjoyment, maintain a warm, friendly, welcoming, service-oriented attitude and manner at all times while on duty.

Maintain a clean, crisp, and professional appearance, adhering to security dress code while on duty.

Ability to resolve conflicts in a positive, constructive manner.

Perform Any and All Other Duties Assigned by on-duty Floor Supervisor

Job Knowledge/ Professionalism: Demonstrates the knowledge and skill necessary to perform effectively; understands the expectations of the job; keeps professional knowledge up to date. Maintaining integrity of Museum standards in ones presentation of self to the public.

Dependability: Maintains an acceptable attendance record, works as scheduled, gives appropriate notice of absence.

Trustworthiness: Ability to maintain discretion and confidentiality as it pertains to the Museum’s policy and procedures, personnel and other privileged information.

Interpersonal Skills: Maintains harmonious working relationships with supervisors, co-workers, and the public.

Judgment/Alertness: Ability to make sound judgments pertaining to safety of art and public. Ability to maintain constant awareness of people and surroundings.

High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Physical Requirements 
- Stand/Walk: The ability to remain on one's feet in an upright position at a work station without moving about. The ability to move about on foot. 
- Talk: The ability to express or exchange ideas accurately, loudly, or quickly by means of the spoken word, imparting information or detailed instructions to clients, to the public, or to other workers. 
- Handle/Feel: The ability to seize, hold, grasp, turn, or otherwise work with hand or hands. The ability to perceive attributes of objects and materials such as size, shape, temperature, or texture, by touching with skin, particularly fingertips. 
- Stoop: The ability to bend the body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist; requires full use of the lower extremities and back muscles. 
- Reach with hands and arms: The ability to extend the hands and arms in any direction. 
- Lifts Weight and Exerts Force: Lifts weight up to 40 lbs or exerts force by lifting, lowering, pulling, carrying, pushing, slapping, striking, kicking, pulling, or jerking. 
- Vision: The ability to see clearly at 20 inches or less and 20 feet or more. The ability to observe an area that can be seen up and down or to the left and right while eyes remain fixed on a given point. Three-dimensional vision, the ability to judge distances and spatial relationships to see objects where and as they actually are. The ability to adjust the eye to bring an object into sharp focus. This is required when doing close work at varying distances from the eye.

Classification: Part Time on call, Non-Exempt 

Under the supervision of the exhibitions coordinator, the on call preparator ensures safe handling, storage, movement, and installation of all types of works of art in both collections and exhibitions.

Participates, as directed, in the movement of all works of art in the museum’s care

Install and de-install exhibition artworks and exhibition furniture as directed

Implement exhibition designs as determined by curator and exhibitions coordinator