Another museum employee leaving

Otago Museum marketing and development co-ordinator Juliet Pierce is to leave the museum in November, in the latest in a recent series of staff departures.

Clare Wilson, a former collections, research and experience director, who had worked at the museum for 20 years, left last month after being made redundant in a management team restructuring.

Chris Farry, the museum's finance and commercial director, subsequently resigned, saying it was not in protest over Ms Wilson's departure, but that her going had been an ''enormous loss'', about which he had felt ''massive disappointment''.

He felt a drop in energy for his work after she left, and realised it was time to leave.

Ms Pierce (25), who was born in Invercargill and has a bachelor of commerce degree with honours from the University of Otago, has been at the museum for the past four years, being promoted last year. She emphasised she was not stepping down in protest and wanted to travel abroad and perhaps find work overseas.

She had nevertheless been saddened by Ms Wilson's departure, and remained ''extremely grateful'' for the opportunities Ms Wilson and the museum had given her.

''It's more than I could have hoped for.''

Ms Wilson had been ''incredibly forward thinking'' and had genuinely cared about ''the outcome for the community'' arising from what the museum did.

''It's the people that make the great stuff happen,'' she said.

Ms Pierce had only just completed her Otago studies when she took up her museum job and her experience had grown considerably since then. She will leave on November 5.

Dr Griffin acknowledged the work she had done, was ''sad'' she was leaving and wished her well for the future.

''It's great that we are able to attract people with such talents.''

Staff movements at the museum from time to time were nothing new, but sometimes when there was a ''change in direction'', some staff thought about the ''big picture'' from their own perspective and ''decided to move on''.

Ms Pierce's first full-time job had been at the museum and she now wanted to move offshore and try some ''overseas experience''.

The museum was committed to ''transparent'' dealings with the news media and the community, and he hoped to appoint someone to a similar role, with some overlap with Ms Pierce before she left.

- john.gibb@odt.co.nz

 

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