Programs and Commissions Manager

Programs and Commissions Manager

• Ongoing
• Full-time 35 hours per week
• Sydney CBD - The Domain
• Clerk Grade 7/8
• Total Remuneration Package up to $142,695
• Salary Range ($113,574 to $125,720)

Established in 1871, the Art Gallery of New South Wales is located in Sydney's The Domain adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden and near the Central Business District, the Gallery acknowledges the original custodians of this land – the Gadigal people.

The Art Gallery attracts around 2 million visitors annually and runs Australia's largest education program with over 90,000 student and teacher visits per year.

With our expanded campus the Art Gallery has a new state-of-the-art building located next to our existing and much-loved building. Providing us with close to double the exhibition space, the expanded Art Gallery enables us to share more art with more people and provide more family, learning and educational programming for all our audiences.

We are seeking diverse, collaborative, supportive and brilliant individuals to work alongside our existing talent and build on our rich history to create an even more inspiring Art Gallery for the future.

For more information about the Gallery and our future, please visit our website

About the Role

The purpose of this role is to manage a team to deliver allocated commissions and programs related to exhibitions, the cinema, Art After Hours and family programs at the Gallery to increase and extend audience engagement with the Gallery. This role facilitates teams to realise the curatorial concept and presentation of agreed programs and ensures that human and financial resources are responsibly managed for each assigned program. This role negotiates, manages and monitors the contractual obligations for programs.

For more information about the role please view the Role Description and information for applicants or call the nominated contact person listed in the advertisement.

What Technical/Soft Skills you require

• Appropriate tertiary qualification or relevant, equivalent professional experience.
• Proven program delivery experience of free and ticketed events including budgeting, negotiating and managing contracts, risk assessments, resourcing and logistical planning.
• Experience in managing a team to deliver engaging programs.
• Experience using project management software and museum specific relational databases.
• High level communication with strong facilitation, negotiation and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work flexible hours with late night and weekends

Targeted Questions

• Provide an example of when you have been part of a team working in a collaborative environment that successfully produced a large-scale program, festival or commission. How did you contribute to the team and lead co-ordination? Explain your process and outcome (maximum of 300 words).
• This position maintains diverse program responsibilities and can be faced with challenging time constraints. Please provide an example of a situation where you were required to prioritise conflicting tasks involving management and/or liaising with artists and musicians within a gallery/museum environment or festival context. (300 word limit)

For your application to be considered

To submit your application online, please provide:

Your resume (maximum five pages)

A covering letter addressing the technical/soft skills, as outlined above

A response to the Targeted questions, in the text box provided in your application form (max 300 words)

Part of the assessment process may include additional online capability testing, skills testing or work samples in accordance with the Government Sector Employment Act 2013, therefore you may be contacted to participate.

Pre-employment checks are a critical part of our recruitment process and can include reference checks, working with children checks, criminal history checks, medical assessments, as well as various other checks to ensure your suitability for the role. It should be noted that discretion may be granted from the Art Gallery for those with a background check record. This is dependent on the role, its requirements, and the impact it has on the Art Gallery as a whole. A risk assessment will be carried out before a determination is made in this regard. Any criminal record information is kept in the strictest confidence, is not placed on an applicant's personal file, and is destroyed within very strict timeframes.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and flexible workplace and strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, people who identify as LGBTIQA+, people with a disability and other diversity groups.

We strive to achieve an inclusive and accessible experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out to the recruitment team via You can also view our diversity and inclusion strategic framework here.

Enquiries

If you require further details about this role, please contact Charlotte Cox, Head of Exhibitions at

If you require assistance submitting your application online or require adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact the recruitment team via For more information about adjustments, please visit: Information about adjustments available throughout the recruitment process

Closing date for applications: 17 November 2025 – applications must be lodged electronically. Applications submitted via email will not be accepted.