Executive Director

OVERVIEW:

The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) seeks a visionary and experienced leader to take the highly respected nonprofit cultural institution and its expert staff to a new level.

The Executive Director maintains and enhances CCAHA’s position as a leader in the conservation and preservation fields. Internally, the Executive Director is responsible for the management and oversight of all CCAHA operations and programming—providing strategic vision and leadership, ensuring the Center’s financial health and stability, sustaining the staff’s expertise, development, and productivity, and maintaining the high quality of services for which CCAHA is known. Externally, the Executive Director builds and strengthens partnerships and collaborative opportunities, advocates for excellence in the conservation and preservation fields, promotes the importance of conserving and preserving our cultural heritage, and expands the organization’s network and impact. The Executive Director is challenged to deepen CCAHA’s profile both locally—serving institutions, individuals, and communities in the Philadelphia area and the mid-Atlantic region—and nationally and beyond.

The ideal candidate possesses excellent people and organizational skills; is a strategic thinker; is familiar with the community of museums, archives, libraries, conservators, and private collectors; understands nonprofit funding and finances; understands CCAHA’s operations as both “mission” and fee-for-service “business”; can speak knowledgeably about trends and developments in the conservation and preservation fields; and is invested in furthering the Center’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).

This full-time, salaried position is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and requires a modest level of national travel. Salary is commensurate with experience and includes a competitive benefits package.

ABOUT THE CONSERVATION CENTER FOR ART & HISTORIC ARTIFACTS: CCAHA is one of the leading conservation and preservation organizations in the United States, with a professional staff of 33 and an annual operating budget of $3.25 million. The Center serves museums, libraries, archives, corporations, federal, state, and local government entities, and private individuals from across the nation. CCAHA fulfills its non-profit mission by conducting conservation treatment on paper-based art and archival materials, including books, paintings, prints, and photographs, maintaining a robust digitization program, providing housing and framing services, carrying out consultation services, developing and presenting workshops and conferences, and through training of future conservation and preservation professionals. CCAHA was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Philadelphia.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The CCAHA Executive Director:

• Reports to the Board of Directors,
• Supervises the Deputy Director, the Director of Conservation, the Director of Development, the Director of Preservation Services, and the Manager of Marketing & External Relations,
• Represents the organization externally and also supports staff members as national leaders in their fields of expertise,
• Provides internal leadership and develops and manages staff,
• Provides thought leadership,
• Maintains CCAHA’s visibility and national leadership in the conservation and preservation fields,
• Provides financial oversight and integrity, and
• Supports the Board of Directors through effective collaboration, coordination, and communication.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required:

• Demonstrated leadership and management skills, including talents in building and motivating teams and in fostering a positive and rewarding workplace.
• Excellent communication and social skills, comfortable communicating both inside and outside the organization; diplomatic, tactful, and transparent.
• Demonstrated capacities for innovation, vision, and execution. o Ability to develop, interpret, and manage against budgets. o Deep understanding of the fundraising and grant-writing processes.
• Advanced degree in a relevant field and at least 5 years’ experience in a conservation, preservation, or collections environment, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Commitment to increasing CCAHA’s diversity, in terms of its staff, its programmatic outreach, and its board. o A strong desire to serve CCAHA, to see it flourish, and to protect and enhance its reputation—as a destination employer in its fields and as a provider of the highest quality conservation and preservation services.

Preferred:

• Understanding of a range of conservation and preservation philosophies and approaches, methods, processes, and techniques.
• Solid connections in the worlds of art museums, libraries, archives, or history. o Solid connections with major arts-and-culture funders.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The hiring salary range for this position is $130,000 to $160,000.

A comprehensive benefits package for this position includes:

• Medical, vision, and dental coverage,
• ADD/Life Insurance,
• Short- and long-term disability insurance,
• Nine holidays, plus paid vacation, sick, and personal time, and
• A 403(b) retirement plan with immediate eligibility to contribute and, after one year of employment, an employer contribution and match up to 5% of annual salary.
• In addition, after 7 years of service, and with approval of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director is eligible for 12 weeks of paid sabbatical.