Program Manager

About the Dutch Open-Air Museum

In its strategic plan for 2026–2032, the museum is working toward a future in which the Indoor Museum will be further developed into a focal point for museum activities, featuring powerful, multifaceted exhibitions supported by its own collection. At the same time, the Outdoor Museum will evolve into a cohesive ensemble of thematic zones designed for visitors to linger, where craftsmanship, interactive experiences, and social interaction take center stage. The Network Museum forms a third pillar: a sustainable platform in which the NOM collaborates with partners and heritage communities to share current, relevant stories. This strategy and development require strengthening of content management and strategic programmatic coherence. That is why the new position of Program Manager is being created.

In recent years, the Education & Development, Exhibitions, and Programming departments have each contributed in their own valuable way to the museum’s public offerings. Both areas brought unique expertise, perspectives, and working methods to the table. With the decision to combine these strengths within a single Program Department, we now have the opportunity to collaborate more effectively, create stronger thematic connections, and develop shared creative directions. By bringing together talents, rhythms, and working methods, we create more space for innovative ideas, logically aligned processes, and a shared vision that further strengthens our public offerings.

The Program Manager serves as a unifying force in this process. You will provide direction for the museum’s entire public offering—from exhibitions and education to public engagement, presentations, guided tours, workshops, and digital programming. You will bring people, disciplines, and perspectives together and ensure that the Museum of Today and the Museum of Tomorrow are developed in alignment. In this role, you will use your calm, clear-headed approach and inspiration to build a program that is both substantively strong and contemporary, while remaining accessible to a broad audience. 

The essence of the role

The Program Manager oversees and develops the NOM’s curatorial direction. You will provide leadership for a museum that is deeply rooted in the community, where stories from the collection are connected to current issues. You will ensure a clear, long-term programming strategy that allows for both innovation and stability. In doing so, you will collaborate with a wide range of disciplines: from concept developers and designers to artisans, museum educators, and presenters.

You will connect people and processes, strengthen collaboration between teams and disciplines, and ensure that ideas are consistently translated into meaningful museum experiences. You create structure where it is not yet self-evident, and you clarify roles and responsibilities. You do this with care, empathy, and persuasiveness, within an organization characterized by deep commitment and a warm, family-like culture. 

Position within the organization

As a member of the management team, you will work closely with the CEO, the Director of Operations, the HR Manager, the Finance Manager, and the Marketing, Communications & Development Manager. In this role, you are a strong and authoritative figure within the organization. You serve as the chief strategic advisor to the Executive Director, to whom you also report, and together with him and the Concept Development Team Leader, you form a strategic triad that shapes the museum’s public profile.

You will lead a large and diverse department of approximately 80 staff members and 160 volunteers, divided across multiple teams: from crafts and interpretation to education, visitor services, multimedia, and concept development. This requires a leader who is accustomed to operating in a dynamic environment with diverse disciplines, scales, and perspectives, and who knows how to lead teams in an inspiring and unifying manner. 

The substantive assignment

You will develop a comprehensive programming strategy that reflects the museum’s thematic direction through exhibitions, public activities, education, and digital platforms. You ensure that museum quality, visitor experience, relevance, and diversity of voices come together naturally. The museum aims to provide space for diverse perspectives on the history of daily life; you will help translate that ambition into inspiring and inclusive programs.

An important part of the task is restoring and strengthening the chain from idea to execution. You will build a working method in which concept, design, production, and execution follow each other logically and reinforce one another. This requires process management, consultation structures, clear choices, and room for craftsmanship.

In addition, the museum has a high volume of visitors and a strong seasonal rhythm, which means that operational insight is needed in addition to vision. You know how to connect the daily reality of a large public museum to the organization’s long-term goals. 

Organizational culture and the role your leadership plays in it

The NOM is an organization characterized by a high degree of commitment, professionalism, and a deep love for the heritage it preserves. Many colleagues have been with the museum for years and bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, and dedication to their work. This continuity strengthens the museum, but it also means that changes must be implemented carefully and collaboratively. The recent organizational steps call for leadership that provides space, offers direction, and helps us collectively enter a new phase. In this role, you are a recognizable and accessible point of contact who builds trust and supports employees in finding new clarity and a shared sense of direction.

In this context, you are a leader who brings calm. You are visible, approachable, and genuinely interested in people. You listen, explain, create clarity, and provide direction. You work to foster psychological safety, strengthen trust, and ensure that team leaders are firmly established in their roles. You give employees space to take pride in what has been achieved and provide perspective on what lies ahead.

At the same time, you can be firm when necessary. You can provide a counterbalance to senior management and are confident in your profession. You are clear and honest, without being harsh. You enforce boundaries, help ensure commitments are met, and make sure the pace aligns with the organization’s development. 

Who We're Looking For

We are looking for an experienced leader with a strong museum background and a broad vision for public programming. Someone who naturally combines substantive expertise, a people-oriented approach, and strategic insight. You have experience with complex organizations, large teams, and volunteers, and know how to develop culture and structure in a sustainable way.

You possess persuasiveness, empathy, analytical skills, and an open, inclusive attitude. You understand the language of curators, creators, educators, and public engagement professionals, and bring them together in a natural way. You are curious, creative, meticulous, and able to work with the dynamics of an organization that is simultaneously changing, learning, and building. 

What the NOM offers

The Netherlands Open Air Museum offers a meaningful role. You’ll have the opportunity to connect content, people, and processes within one of the most diverse cultural institutions in the Netherlands. You’ll help shape the museum’s future, work alongside passionate colleagues, and contribute to an organization dedicated to sharing stories that matter. The position is classified in scale 14 of the Museum Collective Labor Agreement, with a 36-hour workweek. 

Additional insights from the organization

During discussions with senior management, the Works Council, team leaders, HR, and department heads, it became clear that this role requires a leader who can bring stability while also driving innovation. You must be able to switch between strategy and operations, between content and people, between the present and the future. The organization is looking for someone who understands that change takes time, but who at the same time does not shy away from providing direction.

The museum is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion and expressly invites candidates who contribute to a broad representation of perspectives within the management team. 

Interested?

The Dutch Open Air Museum is being advised by the recruitment and selection agency Colourful People for this process. René Burgler, senior partner at Colourful People, will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Are you interested and would you like to apply your experience as a program manager? Please apply as soon as possible, butno later than January 6, 2026, by submitting a cover letter and resume via the Colourful People website. If there are enough suitable candidates, we may close the process early. For any questions, please contact René Burgler at r.burgler@colourfulpeople.nl or +31 6 28 57 54 36.

The interviews will take place in late January. We plan to conclude the process in January.