Careers at Locust Grove

Chief Executive Officer

Job Description

Job Title: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Location: Locust Grove, Louisville, Kentucky

Reports to: Board of Directors

Position Type: Full-Time, Exempt

Position Summary: Historic Locust Grove seeks a talented, creative, and dynamic leader to guide this historic site for the next decades of growth. The CEO will lead the organization in all aspects of operations, managing a staff of 12 full and part-time employees and a strong corps of volunteers; working with the Board of Directors to develop policies, secure funding, expand community outreach, and develop innovative educational programs that highlight the site’s Revolutionary era history, significance to the region, and its role as a former site of enslavement.

Organization Description: Locust Grove is a 1790s historic site, National Historic Landmark, and an AAM-accredited museum set on fifty-five wooded acres in Louisville, just southeast of the Ohio River. It was the final home of General George Rogers Clark, a leader of the Revolutionary War in the West, who founded the city of Louisville. The site is dedicated to preserving and interpreting its historic structures, landscapes, and rich cultural history. Locust Grove tells the story of all the people who lived and worked here, free and enslaved, in the early years of the nation, engaging the public through tours, programs, exhibits, performances, lectures, demonstrations, publications, and more. The site is a stop on the Lewis and Clark Eastern Legacy Trail.

Historic Locust Grove, Inc., is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that manages Locust Grove under a contract with the site’s owner, Louisville Metro Parks.

Our operating budget is $750,000 annually. Visitors include tourists from around the world, but much of our audience is local and regional including public and independent schools from Kentucky and Indiana. Our annual attendance ranges from 18,000- 28,000 people per year for programs and tours. We recently completed phase I of our capital campaign with the construction of $3M event pavilion and associated support spaces; we are planning a Phase II fundraising campaign.

Locust Grove is open to the public for tours and programs every week from Tuesdays through Saturday, and the grounds are open year-round. The site has 14 buildings and 55 acres of woods, meadows, gardens, and fields, that are both an educational and a recreational resource, providing historic and heirloom plantings and natural areas that form a pollinator habitat and bird sanctuary. The staff is supplemented by many community volunteers who take on all roles in the running of the organization and the presentation of special events such as annual festivals. We work in partnership with other cultural organizations including local museums and archives and historic houses, performing arts organizations, and universities.

 

Position Description:

LEADERSHIP:

● Provide strategic leadership and vision to the staff, board, and community partners

● Communicate Locust Grove’s goals and priorities throughout the organization and in the wider community

● Oversee the direction and emphasis of historical interpretation of the museum through all of its initiatives and programs, with the Director of Interpretation and other staff

● Update, maintain, and execute a Strategic Plan in partnership with the Board and staff

● Maintain AAM accreditation standards throughout the organization and lead the 2026-2027 re-accreditation application process

● In collaboration with the Board of Directors, formulate policies and coordinate the activities of Board committees

PRESERVATION AND STEWARDSHIP:

● Provide oversight in the maintenance, care, preservation, and security of the museum’s collection of historic and modern buildings and historic landscape, working with the Buildings and Grounds Supervisor and other site staff

● Ensure the integrity, reputation, and trust of the organization throughout the community

● Engage with the broader historic preservation community and museum community, sharing Locust Grove’s work and contributing to best practices in the field

ADMINISTRATION:

● Responsible for negotiating and managing all agreements associated with the function and operations of the site, as a fiduciary

● Working with the Business Manager, provide accurate and timely financial and administrative information to the Board of Directors, Louisville Metro Government, and the public

● Ensure maintenance of all museum records, including financial, in accordance with legal and ethical standards

● Ensure appropriate risk management policies and strategies are maintained for the site and organization

● Provide oversight of daily operations, including facilities management

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT:

● Act as the museum’s HR director, in consultation with the Human Resources Committee of the Board; responsible for all personnel matters including, hiring, supervision and evaluations, professional development, disciplinary actions and terminations, with the support of staff managers and the Board

FINANCE:

● Develop, manage, and monitor the museum’s $750,000 budget annual operating budget, and capital and restricted funds, ensuring financial sustainability and effective resource allocation for preservation, programs, and operations

● Forecast and anticipate future site and organization needs and develop long-range plans with staff and Board

● Ensure that earned income programs such as rentals are managed to benefit the budget while still supporting preservation and interpretive standards

DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDRAISING:

● Responsible for, in partnership with the Board of Directors and the staff Development Coordinator, securing funding to ensure sufficient annual operational and capital income for Locust Grove including earned income, grants, and charitable gifts

● Responsible for cultivating new donor and sponsor relationships and for maintaining and expanding existing relationships.

● Work with the Board to develop long-term financial strategies for capital campaigns and endowment growth to ensure the site’s continued preservation

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY:

● Strengthen the museum’s role as a community resource working with a broad constituency of staff, volunteers, donors, members, government officials, and board members, on community inclusion and outreach to existing and untapped audiences and partners

● Represent Locust Grove in the local community and the museum community through public speaking and other community engagements

● Ensure that the interpretation of the site’s history, including its role as a site of enslavement, reflects a commitment to equity, inclusivity, and historical integrity

 

Requirements:

Education and Work Experience:

● Master’s Degree in Museum Studies, American Studies, American History, or appropriate related field, required

● Minimum of five years managerial and leadership experience, required

● Excellent oral and written communication and public relations skills, with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders, required

● Budget management experience, required

● Familiarity with professional museum standards, required

● Experience with museum accreditation, preferred

● Experience in fundraising, preferred

Personal Characteristics:

● Visionary leader with a passion for history, preservation, and education.

● Excellent organization and planning skills, decision-making and initiative

● High energy level and strong sense of urgency.

● Collaborative, team-oriented, and able to inspire staff and volunteers

● Committed to diversity and inclusion in the museum’s programs and in the interpretation of the site’s history

Physical requirements:

This an in-person, on site position. While performing the essential duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to speak and hear, to stand and walk, including climbing stairs, and occasionally lift up to 20 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Locust Grove does not discriminate against candidates and employees because of their disability, sex, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, veteran status, or any other protected status under the law.

Salary Range: $75,000-$85,000 depending on previous experience. HLG pays 80% of employee’s health insurance (family plans available but not covered by HLG), SimpleIRA plan, paid time off, and other benefits. Relocation expenses negotiable. Probationary period of 90 days. Subject to terms & conditions in HLG Employee Handbook.

 

TO APPLY: send a letter of interest with a resumé or CV to Joe Pierson, Board Chair, at jpierson@pinionadvisors.com, by Oct. 7, 2024. Applications will be held in confidence