Liberty Hall Historic Site Museum Seeks Executive Director

The Kentucky Society of the National Society of the Colonial Dames in America (NSCDA-KY) is seeking an Executive Director for Liberty Hall Historic Site (LHHS) Museum, a National Historic Landmark on the Kentucky River in historic downtown Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky. Applications are due by March 15, 2022.

The executive director ensures that LHHS enacts its mission to serve the public by preserving collections and sharing stories that illustrate urban life in early Kentucky, examining the contributions of Senator John Brown and his family, and demonstrating the ways in which the people and customs of the past relate to the world today.

As the chief operating officer of the museum, the executive director inspires and leads the museum’s staff; ensures the preservation of the site’s collections, buildings and grounds for future generations; promotes the production of stimulating programs that address the public’s diverse interests; develops budgets and oversees the judicious use of resources; fundraises, writes grants, and cultivates friends of the museum; deepens collaborative relationships with local and national history groups and communities; and works with the museum’s board to understand and employ best practices for museum operations to move LHHS closer to accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).

Location:  Frankfort, KY

Begins:  May 1, 2022

Salary:  $55,000-$60,000.  Fulltime with benefits.

Qualifications:  Significant experience in a management position at an historic site, museum, or other non-profit organization.  Master’s degree or equivalent in museum studies, history, historic preservation, arts management, or related area

Timeline:  Accepting applications through March 15, 2022.  Initial interviews in late March/early April.  Finalist interviews/site visits in April.  Assistance with travel expenses for finalists.

Additional Detail: 

The Executive Director is responsible for the day-to-day operation of LHHS under the direction of the Chair of the Museum Properties Committee of The NSCDA-KY Board and in accordance with the institution’s strategic plan.  Specific duties include the following:

• Leadership and Vision: Provides leadership and direction for the site by promoting relevancy to today’s audiences.  Oversees, attends, and supports public events, programs, activities, and projects that involve the community and surrounding area.  Monitors and reports to the Board on visitation numbers, trends, challenges and proposed and historical efforts to increase visitation numbers.  Proposes strategic planning ideas to further the mission of the Site. Attends regular meetings of the Board and committees as needed and oversees Staff meetings. Creates and maintains positive relations with the Board and others who promote and assist in the work of the museum at top levels. Develops community relationships beneficial to the Site.
• Administration: Oversees all aspects of the museum’s daily operations.  Supervises and evaluates the full-and part-time Staff (Curator, Educator/Volunteer Coordinator, Marketing Specialist, Bookkeeper, Housekeeper), contract employees (Tour Guides, Groundskeeper, and Landscape company), and volunteers.  Oversees the preservation and maintenance of Liberty Hall, the Orlando Brown house, support structures, museum collections, the Senator John Brown Library and Archive, and 4.7 acres of historic gardens and grounds.
• Financial and Facilities Management:  Provides proper fiscal management in accordance with policies, procedures, and financial controls established by the NSCDA-KY Board.  Prepares $350,000 annual operating budget for the Site and monitors income and expenditures to ensure adequate cash flow. Determines and authorizes operating expenditures and identifies needs for capital purchases. To assist in long-range strategic planning, identifies ongoing financial needs for maintenance, preservation, conservation, staffing and educational programming. Handles purchasing, insurance, and licensing, and submits all special funds contracts for Board approval.   Oversees Staff handling of facility event rentals at the Site. Manages two on-site rental apartments, including filling vacancies, collecting rent, and responding to tenant needs.  Responds to any emergency situations at the apartments and Site.
• Fundraising and Development:  Works with the Board and Finance Committee to ensure successful development campaigns and fundraising events and oversees Staff participation in these activities.  Researches grant and funding sources and writes grant applications.  Generates and supervises marketing efforts including the publication of an annual report.
• Curatorial and Education: Directs research to ensure that historically accurate and mission-based content is integrated into regularly offered interpretive and educational programs and published materials for the public.

Send resume and cover letter to [email protected].

​​Lorraine Beitler Research Fellowship Open to Applications

The Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries announced the inaugural Lorraine Beitler Research Fellowship for scholars interested in working with the extensive resources of the Lorraine Beitler Collection of the Dreyfus Affair. Applications are due by March 31, 2022.

This bi-annual, one-month fellowship, which carries a stipend of $3500, is expected to take place in the summer of 2022. Applications are welcome from faculty, graduate students, independent scholars, teachers, lawyers, and journalists who are engaged in projects that bear on the historical lessons and enduring significance of the Dreyfus Affair. Recipients will be expected to give a presentation on their research findings or larger project during the following academic year.

Learn more here