Job Summary:

The National Fund for Sacred Places (“National Fund”) is a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Fund provides financial and technical support for community-serving historic houses of worship across America. Congregations accepted into the National Fund program receive wraparound capacity-building support and technical assistance, along with matching capital grants of up to $500,000 primarily supporting urgent repair needs.

The Associate Director of the National Fund supports the Senior Director of Preservation Programs, working as part of the National Trust team delivering program services and grants through the National Fund. The Associate Director plays a leadership role in the grant application review and selection process; provides direct technical assistance and support to program participants/grantees; and provides general programmatic support and oversight as part of the National Trust team.

The Associate Director is detail-oriented and an excellent communicator, with strong project management and organizational skills, who works effectively and independently as part of a geographically dispersed interdisciplinary team. The Associate Director is teamwork oriented and actively collaborates with the National Fund team internally and externally (particularly staff at Partners for Sacred Places), and with grantees, colleagues, partners, and allies.

The Associate Director of the National Fund for Sacred Places will collaborate across the organization to achieve the National Trust’s mission as well as the Preservation Services & Outreach (PS&O) Department’s purpose of strengthening the national historic preservation movement to save historic places that tell the full American story.

This position is supported by dedicated grant funding and is therefore subject to the continued availability of funds now and in the future.

Duties:

Working with the National Fund team, and under supervision of the Senior Director of Preservation Programs, the Associate Director is responsible for:

Program Management

• Lead role in project management of National Fund program, using monday.com project management system.
• Support Senior Director in reporting to funders, partners, and internal stakeholders, highlighting the impact of the National Fund.
• Support Senior Director in leading the National Trust team working on the National Fund.
• Participate actively in regular National Trust staff team, department, and divisional meetings.
• Participate actively in regular team meetings with Partners for Sacred Places and National Trust staff working on the National Fund program.
• Develop and produce content, for review by the Senior Director of Preservation Programs, to share best practices and success stories of National Fund participants via various communications platforms.

Grant Administration

• Oversee National Trust role in annual launch of call for applications.
• Lead grant application review process for the National Trust team (typically 300 – 500 applications received annually); as well as reviewing applications/follow-up materials and preparing evaluations.
• Assist with selection of annual cohort of grantees through participation in grant review and selection meetings with National Trust and Partners for Sacred Places staff.
• Serve as main “point person” for specific National Fund grantees, supporting them throughout their participation in the program, including scheduling and leading quarterly check-in calls with all congregations assigned as point person.
• Provide technical assistance to congregations in the National Fund program as appropriate to fit their needs, including collaborating with Senior Preservation Architect and Preservation Architect and/or other subject matter experts as needed.
• Review reports and submissions from grantees, including Capital Grant submissions, Interim Reports, and Final Reports.
• Lead review and evaluation of Intervention Grant requests, working with National Trust and Partners for Sacred Places colleagues.
• Participate as appropriate in virtual and in-person Final Site Visits to grantees.
• Oversee tracking of grantee status and payment information in monday.com project management system.
• Help identify potential participants for the National Fund, encourage applications and advise applicants during the application process.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the National Fund program and of other preservation-related programs of the National Trust.
• Completing other duties and special projects as assigned.

Education/Training/Content

• Attend annual National Fund training for new cohort of grantees and assist in development of training materials, as appropriate.
• Present educational content for prospective grant applicants, program participants, or general National Trust audiences, as opportunities are identified.
• Using learnings from the National Fund, develop and present educational content for a broader preservation audience, as opportunities arise (i.e., PastForward conference, Preservation Leadership Forum).

Additionally, the Associate Director will serve as a team member working across the Preservation Services & Outreach department and across the National Trust supporting other programs and grants, such as such as America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, Preservation Funds, Diversity Scholars Program, Backing Historic Small Restaurants, etc.

Qualifications

Leadership and Management Skills

• At least 7 years of professional level experience, 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.
• Demonstrated success in leading and working on collaborative teams with internal and external stakeholders, including preservation and architecture professionals and laypersons/volunteers.
• Demonstrated advanced project-management skills, including experience managing large or complex projects.
• Advanced organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills, including issue identification, prioritization, and proactive leadership.
• Proven ability to work effectively within a geographically distributed organization and across internal departments and programs.
• Demonstrated ability to complete tasks and meet deadlines independently. Entrepreneurial spirit and skill set a plus.
• Well-organized, self-motivated team player.
• Ability to prioritize, balance multiple efforts, multi-task efficiently and respond to a high volume of ongoing requests in a timely fashion. Ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic work environment. Ability to work effectively with frequent interruptions, and be able to handle frequently changing and/or unscheduled tasks with accuracy.
• Regular and reliable attendance required.
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently on trips of one to three nights throughout the nation as required.
• Knowledge of key players in the preservation field a plus. Previous work in historic preservation, planning, or allied fields strongly preferred.
• Effective presentation skills. Excellent writing, spelling, grammar, and proofreading skills, as well as strong verbal communication and customer service skills.
• Strong organizational skills and excellent attention to detail required.
• Track record of building and maintaining productive relationships with multiple stakeholders.
• Demonstrated cultural competency and success in engaging with underrepresented communities, constituents, partners, and colleagues. Ties to diverse affinity groups, professional organizations or related associations a plus.
• Bi-lingual language skills (especially English/Spanish) a plus.
• Proven ability to continually develop skills related to use of rapidly changing technology and communications best practices. Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel required, as well as with virtual meeting platforms Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Proficiency with project management tools/software is required (The organization uses monday.com to support project management).
• Relevant experience and/or education in historic preservation, architecture, project management, or a related field is required. Experience or interest in preservation and history strongly preferred.
• Experience or significant volunteer activity in the nonprofit and advocacy sectors and experience or interest in preservation, conservation and history.
• Demonstrated interest in, and commitment to, the values and goals of the National Trust.