Description

POSITION:                        President & Executive Director

REPORTS TO:                     Board of Directors

The Levine Museum of the New South’s mission is to use history to build community.

The Levine Museum of the New South (LMNS), located in Charlotte, NC, engages a broad-based audience in the exploration and appreciation of the diverse history of the South since the Civil War, with a focus on Charlotte and the surrounding Carolina Piedmont.  Since its founding in 1991, the core values that have guided the Museum include: Scholarship, Education, Collaboration, Inclusion, and Fiscal Responsibility.

LMNS uses New South history to build community in and across the Charlotte region by:

  • serving as a civic institution, an educational resource and a center city attraction;
  • creating safe, welcoming spaces where people of different backgrounds and different perspectives feel comfortable coming together to share their stories and talk about the issues and ideas that matter to them;
  • working with community partners to co-create and co-deliver programming, onsite and offsite;
  • presenting emotionally powerful, thought-provoking exhibits and programs;
  • tackling tough and relevant issues where historical perspective can add value;
  • raising important questions, sparking community conversation and facilitating dialogue.

By serving local and out-of-town visitors, LMNS aspires to build a museum audience in the Charlotte region reflective of the community’s demographics and to attract non-traditional as well as traditional museum visitors from near and far by presenting authentic stories of Charlotte and the South.  The Museum is regarded as one of the leading institutions of its kind nationally, and in many ways, it is seen as the model in the field.  The LMNS leadership has been consistently reviewed as torchbearers for the future of museums.  The Museum is a unique organization defined by its strong community-oriented approach of ongoing collaborative initiatives, its reputation for excellence, innovation and relevance, and its high-quality delivery of programming.  The Levine Museum of the New South is an organization that truly uses history to build community.  It is an institution that educates, informs, convenes, facilitates and encourages; and its value is felt far beyond the walls of its physical location.

  • The current staff at LMNS includes 20 full-time and part-time employees.
  • The Museum is led by a diverse 40-member Board of Directors.
  • The LMNS annual operating budget is approximately $2.3MM.
  • The Museum has an endowment of roughly $6MM and it owns the building in which it resides.
  • The traditional museum component of LMNS collects, preserves, and interprets the materials, sights, sounds, and ideas that illumine and enliven history.
  • The permanent exhibit, Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers: Charlotte and the Carolina Piedmont in the New South, was named one of the best exhibitions in the Southeast by the Southeastern Museum Conference Curators’ Committee.  This exhibit is the cornerstone and “front door” of LMNS for many in the community.
  • The Museum presents traveling exhibitions as well as original exhibitions developed and presented by the staff at LMNS.
  • The educational component of LMNS presents opportunities for life-long learning about history for the benefit, enjoyment and education of children and adults, and provides historical context for contemporary issues and a community forum for thoughtful discussion.
Requirements

POSITION & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The President & Executive Director will report to the Board of Directors and is responsible for leading all aspects of the Museum – from day-to-day operations to strategic initiatives, and from community partnerships to national leadership.  The successful candidate must be a supremely capable leader in virtually all key areas related to the Museum, including:

Business and Strategic Planning

  • Work in conjunction with the Board to establish goals, objectives and measurements of the Museum’s annual and long-term activities;
  • Annually assess progress toward achieving the plan and report to the Board;
  • Seek input from internal and external stakeholders to assess effectiveness of programs and services;

Board Liaison

  • Provide leadership and support to Board and Committees to meet agreed upon goals; coordinate Board and staff assignments;
  • Prepare Executive Report of Museum activities for monthly Board meetings;
  • Assist Board with cultivating prospective board members and key volunteers; assist with orientation of new members;

Programming and Exhibitions

  • Oversee the development of high quality programmatic offerings consistent with the Museum’s mission and responsive to community needs;
  • Oversee the selection and display of temporary exhibits;
  • Maintain the quality of the Core Exhibit to ensure visitor interest and satisfaction;
  • Direct the development of new exhibition projects;
  • Maintain appropriate policies and procedures to govern selection and maintenance of programs, exhibits and collections;

Staff Management

  • Hire, mentor and develop Museum staff;
  • Conduct performance evaluations in accordance with Museum policies and recommend compensation for staff;
  • Ensure maintenance of position descriptions, performance evaluations, policies and procedures and other documents as prescribed by best practice and legal requirements;
  • Participate in annual self-assessment and performance evaluation.

Financial Management

  • Oversee the development of annual and longer term financial plans including budgets, cash flow analyses and balance sheet management;
  • Ensure adherence to financial and accounting standards and principles;
  • Ensure adherence to the restrictions and reporting requirements of donor and grant gifts;
  • Maintain physical facilities in good working order;

Fundraising

  • Direct the activities of the Development and Marketing functions to maximize membership, rental and store revenue;
  • Direct the identification and submission of grant funding opportunities;
  • Identifies and solicits major gifts from individuals and corporations for operating budget;
  • Identifies and solicits endowment and planned giving pledges;

Public Relations

  • Establish and nurture relationships with key community partners;
  • Direct marketing efforts to increase visibility and visitation;
  • Actively participate in community activities that promote the mission of the Museum;

PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS

 

The next President & Executive Director of LMNS must be a leader of the highest order, recognizing the successes of the past and charting a course for greater evolution and impact in the future.  He/She should possess the following key qualifications:

  • Possessing a genuine and identifiable calling, passion, sense of duty, and an appreciation of the role that history plays in building community;
  • Minimum of seven years of executive leadership experience; with significant nonprofit experience as either staff or board member;  Museum experience is a plus but not required;
  • Bachelor’s Degree required, with a preference for candidates with an advanced degree and/or continuing education in history, political science, law, education, sociology, psychology, business or other related field;
  • Demonstrated experience and success in leadership roles that have required active fundraising and fund development; Major donor cultivation and solicitation experience required;
  • Highly entrepreneurial, with the ability to grow services and resources with strong fiscal           responsibility;
  • Ability to work cooperatively with staff and Board, community partners, elected officials, regional and national institutions, corporations and foundations;
  • Authenticity and the proven ability to work as a team player with diverse groups of people as well as excellence in managing and developing diverse teams;
  • Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills;
  • Superior communication skills (written and verbal), including public speaking experience;
  • Highly motivated, action-oriented self-starter with strong organizational skills, especially planning and coordination;
  • Excellent time and task management skills as evidenced by a proven ability to efficiently and effectively handle multiple tasks at the same time with appropriate delegation and decision making;
  • Sound decision-making skills in an ever-changing environment; ability to adapt, plan for and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced setting;
  • Highest levels of integrity, professional maturity and sound judgment;
  • Availability to work outside of traditional business hours, to travel locally and occasionally regionally and nationally.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES & Competencies

 

To perform the job successfully, the successful candidate should demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Ability to manage and grow a complex organization while executing effectively across a broad spectrum of responsibilities;
  • Possessing keen strategic agility and institutional/community vision;
  • Diplomatic influence, with high interpersonal and political savvy; keen external awareness;
  • Collaborative and opportunity-oriented, sees the possibilities rather than the problems; seeks ways in which the Museum can bring together individuals, organizations, partners and institutions for productive and important dialogue and debate in a safe and apolitical manner;
  • Creativity marked by courage;
  • Possessing the balance of humility and will;
  • Change Agent;
  • Cultural Proficiency;
  • Maestro with staff – hires the best, brings out the best in staff;
  • Knows how and when to use the Board and volunteers;
  • Gracious, puts others out in front;
  • Poised, mature, confident and humble;
  • Resilient, cheerleader and coach;
  • Highly motivated to succeed for the good of the organization, not themselves.
Job Information
  • Charlotte, North Carolina, 28201, United States
  • 27072372
  • February 25, 2016
  • President & CEO
  • Levine Museum of the New South
  • Directors/Administrators
  • No
  • Full-Time
  • Indefinite
  • BA/BS/Undergraduate
  • Over 10 Years
  • None