Museum Executive Director

WILLIAM CLARK MARKET HOUSE MUSEUM | PADUCAH, KENTUCKY

Help Shape the Museum’s Next Chapter

The William Clark Market House Museum is entering an exciting period of opportunity. We seek a collaborative, forward-thinking Executive Director to work alongside our Board of Directors to develop a strategic roadmap for the museum’s future and help put that shared vision into action.

Our goal is to build on the museum’s historical legacy while strengthening its operations, expanding fundraising and development, and creating deeper connections across the community. We welcome a leader who appreciates history, arts, and culture and brings particular strength in organizational leadership, development, fundraising, and relationship-building.

The Central Opportunity: Build the Roadmap Together

The Executive Director’s most important initial priority will be to partner with the Board to assess where the museum stands, explore what it can become, and establish a realistic, actionable plan for its next three to five years. We are not seeking someone to necessarily arrive with a predetermined vision. We are seeking a thoughtful partner who will listen, bring ideas and experience, build consensus, and help translate shared priorities into results.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Board to evaluate opportunities and challenges, establish strategic priorities, and develop measurable goals and timelines.
• Lead implementation of the shared roadmap, regularly assessing progress and adapting plans with the Board.
• Strengthen fundraising and donor development; cultivate sponsors, grant opportunities, and sustainable revenue sources.
• Build lasting partnerships with schools, businesses, civic groups, cultural organizations, donors, and community leaders.
• Modernize organizational practices and strengthen financial planning, budgeting, and operational sustainability.
• Expand public awareness, visitor engagement, and the museum’s relevance through outreach, marketing, and innovative programming.
• Oversee day-to-day operations, exhibitions, educational programs, visitor services, administrative functions, and gift shop activities.
• Lead and support staff and volunteers, fostering collaboration, accountability, and a welcoming visitor experience.
• Ensure responsible stewardship of museum resources and compliance with applicable nonprofit standards and regulations and board requirements.

Qualifications & Experience

• Strength in leadership, organizational development, strategic planning, or nonprofit/business management.
• Strong desire and ability to coordinate fundraising, donor cultivation, sponsorships, grants, or revenue development.
• Strong financial and operational judgment, with the ability to turn plans into practical action.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and relationship-building skills, including working with a governing board.
• An entrepreneurial, community-minded approach and an ability to engage diverse partners and audiences.
• A genuine appreciation for local and regional history, arts, and culture.

Museum or cultural-sector experience is welcome, but not required. We encourage candidates with strong leadership and development backgrounds in other fields to apply.

Why This Role Matters

This is a chance to help an established community institution evolve for the future. The Executive Director will have meaningful opportunities to shape priorities in partnership with an engaged Board, strengthen the museum’s long-term sustainability, and make its stories and programs more accessible and connected to Paducah and the region.

Please submit a resume, cover letter, and answers to the additional application questions as listed here.

Pay: $40,000.00 - $55,000.00 per year

Application Question(s):

• List the maximum operating budget you have managed.
• List the maximum number of direct reports you have managed at one time.
• Please list three professional references familiar with your organizational leadership or development capabilities (ideally including at least one supervisor or board member). Please provide contact information for each.
• Please describe your experience working with or reporting to a governing board of directors (e.g., nonprofit board, corporate board, or public advisory committee). If you have interacted closely with a board, please briefly describe the nature of your interaction and how you maintained clear, collaborative communication between organizational staff and the board.
• Detail your specific experience with fundraising, donor cultivation, corporate sponsorships, or grant writing. If your background is outside the nonprofit sector, please explain how your business development or revenue-generating experience translates to this role.
• Outline your experience developing and managing budgets, including both budget size and the number of years of experience managing. How have you successfully navigated unexpected expenses or funding needs that occurred midyear that were not included in the budget?
• How have you successfully built lasting partnerships with schools, businesses, or civic groups in your past roles? What is your approach to making history, arts, or culture relevant to a diverse modern audience?
• The immediate priority for the next Executive Director is to partner with the Board to build a 3-to-5-year operational roadmap from scratch. Describe a time when you collaborated with a governing board, steering committee, or key stakeholders to assess an organization's status and build a consensus-driven strategic plan, or how you plan to approach such work.

Experience:

• Leadership/Management: 1 year (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $40,000 - $55,000