JOB SUMMARY

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) established the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF) in 2017 to preserve and uplift sites of Black American resilience, activism, and achievement that are fundamental to understanding national identity. In partnership with diverse communities, social impact funders, and stakeholders, the AACHAF works to center Black American history and historic places at the core of our democracy while protecting and preserving the buildings, landscapes, and stories where that history happened. During the AACHAF's first phase, the NTHP supported more than 300 national preservation projects and led a national movement that used preservation to enact positive social change. Your work with us will not just be a job but a transformative journey that will shape the future of our nation's heritage.

The AACHAF Department within the Preservation Division manages a diverse, evolving set of preservation projects, grantmaking, and national initiatives such as Descendant and Family Stewardship. To grow its impact and improve internal efficiencies, the AACHAF is building a talented team of professionals to (1) implement the Descendant and Family Stewardship work priorities, (2) collaboratively manage the work in coordination with internal staff and external stakeholders, and (3) deliver quantifiable, equity-driven outcomes. The activities include project management of the three-year project launch of the Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative, which provides for partnership development, stewardship planning, local and national convenings, and modeling new approaches for descendant-led and family-led preservation projects at presidential sites to sites of enslavement.

Reporting to the Senior Director for Preservation Practice, the Senior Manager for Preservation Practice provides expertise in historic preservation, project management, community engagement, interpretation, and program implementation for the Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative. This position also supports all programs associated with the AACHAF, including grant recipients, demonstration project partners, and partners in exemplifying best practices for preserving and interpreting African American historic places. A culturally competent, passionate, highly motivated, organized, and detailed professional will contribute to the daily management, work, and enhancement of the systems, reporting, and project coordination of AACHAF preservation and architectural projects.

This is a 3-year grant funded position with the potential to become an ongoing role based on performance and increased revenues, and subject to the availability of continued funding.

DUTIES

The Senior Manager will:

• Implement and manage the new Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative under the direction and supervision of the AACHAF Senior Director for Preservation Practice. This staff person will coordinate and track all activities across a diverse range of programming including, (a) preservation projects at African American historical sites, presidential sites, and National Trust Historic Sites, (b) a national convening of industry leaders to update and craft the existing rubric on teaching slavery interpretation and descendant engagement, and (c) community outreach on best practices and new models in the field. The staff person should have experience of or capacity to work with descendant communities.
• Lead and manage a concurrent portfolio of approximately two or three national preservation projects in partnership with property owners, descendants, families, and external and community stakeholders, providing targeted and specialized preservation expertise to protect, preserve, and activate sites. This staff person will advance these projects along their individual timelines, collaborating across the AACHAF Department and the entire organization to implement existing strategies and help to determine new opportunities for increased preservation impacts.
• Define preservation strategies in consultation with the AACHAF Senior Director for Preservation Practice and other staff, prepare the plan of action and schedules for each project, and work with interdisciplinary internal teams and external consultants and partners to advance project plans and goals.
• Manage complex teams and stakeholders and engage directly with a diverse set of descendant communities, families, civic, preservation, business, and governmental leaders to achieve vision and goals.
• Organize and facilitate visioning meetings with local and national stakeholders utilizing digital tools and identify and contract with Black-owned and minority-led consulting firms.
• Manage project budgets and track project performance and metrics for dissemination internally and externally, in coordination with the AACHAF Senior Director for Preservation Practice and Director of Program Finance.
• Support promotion of the projects, organizations, and site histories to increase public education and engage new audiences in the work.
• Prepare project reports and participate in the development of funding proposals, presentations, workshops, and conference sessions and/or help produce content in support of AACHAF programs, outreach and promotion as needed and produce content in support of AACHAF programs as needed.
• Manage technical and specialized assistance in response to field inquiries and consult with local communities to protect historic places and advance organizational missions.
• Advance two annual grantmaking review processes by reviewing and scoring Letters of Intent and Applications, participate in phased grants review meetings, and act as a grantee liaison.
• Report to the AACHAF Senior Director for Preservation Practice.
• Complete other duties and special projects as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

The Senior Manager will:

• Have 8 years of professional level experience, including experience in comprehensive preservation planning, particularly in a matrixed and geographically dispersed non-profit. Relevance of experience and size and type of organization worked for may be taken into account when considering background/qualifications.
• Have experience and/or education/training in the fields of historic preservation or related fields such as urban planning, architecture, cultural resources management and other aligned professions.
• Have advanced project-management skills, including project budgeting and planning, experience managing large or complex projects, and advance organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills, including issue identification and prioritization.
• Have effective presentation skills; excellent writing, spelling, grammar, and proofreading skills; as well as strong verbal communication.
• Have demonstrated organizational skills with excellent attention to detail and a proven ability to collaborate across departments to achieve results with limited supervision.
• Have a proven track record of building and maintaining productive relationships with multiple stakeholders. When working in the office, an ability to work successfully in close proximity to others is required. When working remotely, an ability to work effectively in a remote environment by maintaining productivity and communications to meet deadlines and goals is required.
• Be able to prioritize, multi-task, and efficiently respond to a high volume of ongoing requests in a timely fashion. An ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic work environment and handle frequently changing and/or unscheduled tasks with accuracy is required.
• Have an entrepreneurial spirit and skill set and a demonstrated cultural competency and success in engaging historically with underrepresented communities, constituents, partners, and colleagues. A demonstrated interest in and knowledge of African American history, preservation, affinity groups, professional organizations, or related associations is a critically important.
• Be comfortable talking about identities such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, ability, and gender in plain, specific terms as they relate to cultural heritage, equity and social justice. A background in DEIA work a plus.
• Have a proven ability to continually develop skills related to use of rapidly changing technology and communications best practices. A knowledge of and proficiency with Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel and Power Point.
• Conduct significant travel as required for this position.