The Wisconsin Historical Society, considered one of the nation's finest historical institutions, is a State of Wisconsin government agency as well as a mission-driven entrepreneurial organization. The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS), founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. At its core, WHS believes that increasing the public's knowledge of history has profound societal, cultural, and economic benefit. Its library, archives and collections, historic sites and museums, historic preservation office, and extensive educational programs and community outreach are focused on our vision to enrich and transform lives through unparalleled access to history. Click here for more information about WHS' mission, vision, and core values.

WHS is committed to being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization because we truly believe this is the most effective way to attract, engage, and retain the best talent and the most meaningful way to support our mission.

• Substantial leave time including at least 3.5 weeks of vacation to start, 9 paid holidays, and ample accrued sick time that rolls over each year.
• Excellent and affordable health, vision, and dental benefits
• An exceptional pension plan with employer match and lifetime retirement payment, plus an optional tax advantaged 457 retirement savings plan
• Well Wisconsin Wellness Program
• A free and confidential employee assistance program that offers employees and their immediate family dependents a variety of tools, resources, and professional consultation services to support their health, goals, and overall well-being

Click here for more information about working for WHS.

Located in the Town of La Pointe on Mooningwanekaaning “Madeline Island” the spiritual home of the Anishinaabeg, the Madeline Island Museum (MIM) is one of twelve museums and historic sites that are part of the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS). This compassionate and goal-oriented leader will maintain and thoughtfully strengthen site operations, programmatic offerings, annual business planning, alignment with WHS, and ongoing planning for ensuing fiscal and calendar years. The Director will establish relationships with a variety of stakeholders to ensure the communication of Society and MIM activities, as well as build opportunities for potential programmatic collaborations.

The annual operational phases of work include preparing for the season, annual planning and fiscal-year budget, visitor operations from late May to late October, ensuring positive daily guest experiences. The Director will be a cultural champion managing and stabilizing the team, including day-to-day staff and intern leadership. As a leader, they will foster a healthy organizational culture as part of the WHS, inspire teamwork and collaboration, mentor staff, and build effective relationships across the agency. Core operational activities include the recruitment, onboarding, and management of staff, create and implement an annual program calendar, prepare and implement budgets, collaborate with regional stakeholders, and collaborate with agency divisions on experience design, facilities, collections, retail, and business operations. Regular operations include public programming, special events, exhibit development and PK-12 education programs, daily experience including exhibits, recruiting gallery docents, retail services, and support facility management.

The Director will work seamlessly with the many communities and people who live, work, and recreate in the Chequamegon Bay region. As an agency representative, this role communicates activities of the MIM and WHS and finds ways to collaborate with stakeholder groups such as Tribal Nations, chambers of commerce, visitor bureaus, local government, area businesses, and the Town of La Pointe. Critical to the role is engaging with Native communities and consulting with Tribal governments such as Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, language departments, and other cultural organizations. The role works collaboratively with the Friends of the Madeline Island Museum to engage their expertise and acts as an agency representative at their regular board meetings.

This role is expected to work at the museum 5 days a week and support operations as needed during peak tourism seasons. During that time this role may need to adjust hours to support weekend operations.

The salary will be between $34.00 - $41.00 per hour ($70,720 - $85,280 annually) in accordance with the provisions of the current Compensation Plan. This position is in pay schedule 81, range 01. The civil service classification is Historic Site Manager. A 2-year Career Executive trial period will be required.

Visit this link for a calculator of State of Wisconsin benefits: https://dpm.wi.gov/Pages/Employees/RewardsCalculator.aspx

A criminal background check will be conducted prior to an offer of employment to determine if the circumstances of any conviction may be related to the job.

Permanent classified state employees who are eligible for consideration (transfer, voluntary demotion, or former employees as a reinstatement) should complete the application process to apply.

WHS does not sponsor work visas. Any appointment made will be contingent on the applicant being able to prove valid status to work in the United States.

Please make sure to describe the following qualifications within your resume and/or letter of qualifications in order to be considered for this position.

Minimally qualified candidate will have experience in all of the following:

Leading a staff and/or volunteers (create work plans for staff, hire and train staff, mentor, and evaluate staff performance).

Experience engaging with community stakeholders.

Experience managing a budget and working with a team to achieve budgetary goals.

In addition to minimum qualifications, a well-qualified candidate will additionally have experience in one of the following areas:

To apply, click “Apply for Job” to start the application process. Then, you will access your existing account or to create a new account if you don’t have an account. Once you are logged in, click “Apply for Job.” Follow the steps outlined in the application process and submit your application.
Your letter of qualifications and resume are very important parts of your application and are used during our evaluation process to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job. For instructions on developing your resume and letter of qualifications for your application and what should be included in these materials, click here for resume and letter of qualifications instructions..
Submitted materials will be evaluated and the most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next step of the hiring process.

WHS is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer seeking a diverse and talented workforce. Veterans, women, people of color, LGBTQIA , and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. We provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities.

Questions can be directed to jan.zadra@wisconsinhistory.org. or (608) 264-6409.

Applications are due at 11:59PM on May 13, 2024.