Director & CEO at AKDN — NeverHard

Job Description The Aga Khan Museum (AKM) in Toronto, Canada offers visitors a window into worlds unknown or unfamiliar: the artistic, intellectual, and scientific heritage of Muslim civilizations across the centuries from the Iberian Peninsula to China. Its mission is to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the contribution that Muslim civilizations have made to world heritage. The Museum aims to connect cultures by presenting rotating displays of historical and contemporary art from its Permanent Collection and special exhibitions as well as a dynamic range of live performances. The Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Aga Khan Museum (AKM) reports to the Board of Directors and, in robust collaboration with the Board and team, will be responsible for setting and articulating a compelling vision that advances the Museum and its collection and galvanizes its stakeholders. AKM seeks a leader who will set a clear strategy and boldly guide the Museum forward, pursuing excellence and ensuring a clear path to an even more vibrant and impactful future. The Director & CEO is charged with overall internal leadership of the Museum, including strategic direction, operational strength, and long-term sustainability. They also play the primary role in representing the Museum externally to a wide variety of constituents and serve as the public face and spokesperson of the Museum. The Director & CEO serves as AKM’s principal fundraiser and forges strong external partnerships and collaborations across Toronto, Canada, and around the world. Key Responsibilities Serves as the driver of the Aga Khan Museum’s vision and strategic direction as well as its long-term planning, goal setting, and all operations. Leads strategic decision-making, executing priorities and goals that amplify the Museum’s mission, ensuring the organization’s dynamism and uncovering opportunities for further excellence and impact; ensures financial discipline; reaches out to broad communities; grows and diversifies audiences; and oversees the deployment of key assets, among other opportunities. Advances the reputation of the Museum and serves as its principal spokesperson and external leader; engaging actively with leaders throughout the Toronto community, as well as on a national and global basis. Stewards and expands the Museum's permanent collection. Leads extensive fundraising activity in partnership with senior management in development and with the Board, as well as collaborations and partnerships with other institutions internationally. Provides clear leadership for the staff and fosters an equitable and thriving organization with people at the center; nurtures a high performing, positive culture and recruits, develops, and retains strong talent, while ensuring that organizational objectives and defined goals are accomplished and celebrated; lives with and models the values of humility, integrity, and authenticity as a leader. Ensures that there is a close working relationship and broad-based collaboration between the Museum and AKTC. Ensures that there are appropriate policies, organizational structures, and partnerships - local, national and international - in place to guide the development and delivery of the Museum's exhibitions, collections, education, programming, research and physical as well as digital content development, marketing events, and audience management strategies. Leverages the skillsets and perspectives of the Board of Directors, working collaboratively to ensure sound governance, cultivating a clear and effective partnership between governance and management, and meeting individually with Board members as appropriate. Develops and furthers partnerships with peers and other appropriate museums, educational and academic institutions and forges new strategic links to reach audiences. Assures the sustainability of the Museum, including strong operational systems and budgetary processes; makes decisions both collaboratively and efficiently, and communicates them with transparency. The requirements The next Director & CEO of the Aga Khan Museum will be an inspiring, strategic, and collaborative leader with the stature and credibility to lead this unique institution. This role requires an individual with a track record of successfully leading sustainable impact as well as a demonstrated passion for the Aga Khan Museum’s vision of impacting lives and contributing to more inclusive and peaceful societies. The candidate will bring a track record of success in fundraising and revenue generation, as well as demonstrated experience managing teams and budgets of significant scale and complexity. They will have a deep appreciation for the unique mission of the Aga Khan Museum, as well as the desire and ability to advance – and execute on – a vision for the years ahead. The successful candidate will be highly skilled in collaborating with the Board and inspiring the team to push the boundaries of what the Aga Khan Museum can accomplish. This inspiring and collaborative leader can convey a vision of impact for the future, create a clear strategy for the path ahead, and build and lead an outstanding team to excellence across the organisation. Leadership Competencies & Personal Attributes Setting Vision & Strategy Able to articulate and advance a distinctive and compelling future vision for the Aga Khan Museum, positioning the Museum for sustained growth, connectivity, and impact. Translates strategic ideas into clear institutional priorities, measurable goals, and disciplined execution. Brings the capacity to lead organizations through complexity and evolution while fostering a strong sense of shared purpose and engagement across staff, Board members, and stakeholders. Delivering Results & Pursuing Excellence Sets high expectations and drives accountability for performance. Makes confident, timely decisions in complex environments, balancing risk, opportunity, and fiscal responsibility. Brings strong business acumen, including oversight of earned and contributed revenue. Partners effectively with the Board of Directors to support sound governance and institutional discipline. Leverages relevant external partners and the AKDN network to the maximum extent reasonable to further the Museum's plans. Building Relationships & Diplomacy A credible and confident ambassador who represents the Aga Khan Museum with distinction to external audiences. Navigates complex stakeholder environments and governance dynamics with clarity, cultural sophistication, and steadiness. Demonstrates strong emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and political acumen. A strong understanding - or demonstrated ability to develop such an understanding - of the Canadian cultural milieu, political dynamics, diplomatic relationships, and governing priorities, systems, and departments. Fundraising & Resource Development Is enthusiastic about fundraising as a critical element of continued growth. Proactively builds philanthropic and civic relationships and enjoys making the case for support. Has a track record of expanding their organization’s fundraising base and collaborating with others to raise significant funds. Has proven success forging and maintaining mutually productive relationships with peer institutions and partners to further their organization’s impact. Russell Reynolds Associates is leading the search for the Museum’s next Director and CEO. For further information please contact AgaKhanMuseum@russellreynolds.com. For further information please visit: : : https://images.agakhanmuseum.org/uploads/2026/10/Director-CEO-Success-Profile_Aga-Khan-Museum-FINAL-10.26.2026.pdf?_gl=1*oh88mn*_gcl_au*MTc3MDc5MTcyMC4xNzkzMjAxNDQ1Li0uLS4xNzkzMjAxNDQ1LjU5NTA5MDk1Ni4xNzkzMjk5NzE5LjE3OTMzNjIyNTU.