Description
ADKX preserves and interprets the diverse stories of Adirondack history, culture, and people to spark thoughtful dialogue and help shape the Adirondacks of the future.
The Adirondack Experience (ADKX) seeks an Executive Director who will bring energy, creative capacity, and vision to lead the museum into its next phase of growth and development.
THE INSTITUTION
ADKX strives to be the preeminent, trusted repository for the material culture and stories of the Adirondacks’ diverse people, past and present. ADKX preserves and interprets the diverse stories of Adirondack history, culture, and people to spark thoughtful dialogue and help shape the Adirondacks of the future.
From lumber camp in the 1860s to the Blue Mountain summer hotel in the 1880s to museum in 1957 to the Adirondack Experience of today, the museum’s perch on 121 acres above Blue Mountain Lake embodies the transformation of the Adirondacks from wilderness to mineral and lumber resource to resort and recreational community to a museum. ADKX’s rich collection, some 30,000 objects, more than 70,000 photographs, 9,000 books, 800 collections of original manuscript materials, and permanent and temporary exhibits form a rich documentary of the ways people have understood, lived in, utilized, and interacted with the Adirondacks, from its early Native American peoples to today.
Current temporary and permanent exhibits include Artists & Inspiration in the Wild, which offers an inclusive and wide-reaching interpretation of Adirondack current and historic art. Life in the Adirondacks, a 19,000-square-footpermanent exhibit, is a fully immersive, interactive exploration of the Adirondack Park and its history, traditions, and people at work and at play. Home to the second-largest private collection of boats in the United States, Boats and Boating in the Adirondacks offers the most significant collection of authentic Adirondacks guide boats, canoes, and watercraft available, and illustrates the importance of boats for transportation and leisure in the Adirondacks. More than 50 boats are on exhibit each year.
In 2027, ADKX will open a new permanent, interactive exhibition – The Black Experience in the Adirondacks. It represents a milestone in ADKX’s ongoing efforts to enrich everyone’s understanding of the significant contributions the Black community and other diverse communities have made to the Adirondacks over time.
The Adirondack Experience has a specialized regional library with national and international significance. It is the largest, most comprehensive repository of materials relating to the history of the Adirondack region and the Park. The library serves the residents of the region and the broader research community, including students, authors, journalists, historians, documentary filmmakers, and three fellows annually.
ADKX has a significant year-round educational outreach program, in person and digitally, serving a range of young students and adults alike, both on and off campus throughout the Adirondack Park, and even beyond its “blueline” boundary. Typically, over 12,000 school children are reached throughout the school year through visits to ADKX with their classmates and teachers, but more importantly, most are reached by ADKX-employed educators bringing museum exhibits, artifacts, Adirondack stories and history to them by visiting their schools with tailor-made programs.
With an annual operating budget of almost $6 million and an endowment of $70 million, ADKX is governed by a 21-member Board of Trustees and employs 37 full-time, year-round staff, with 50 to 60 additional seasonal staff. For more information, please visit https://www.theadkx.org.
THE POSITION
The Executive Director will provide stewardship, direction, and day-to-day management of the ADKX. The Executive Director will be committed to developing a program of exhibitions, education, and signature activities that uplift the artistic, historical, and cultural assets of the region. Working with the Board of Trustees, the Executive Director will develop a multi-year strategic plan to further the organization’s mission and vision and ensure ADKX’s continued financial stability and growth.
Serving as the face of ADKX, the Executive Director will engage patrons, supporters, and partners within the Adirondack community, build relationships, and elevate the profile of the museum. The Executive Director will develop working relationships with a variety of representatives of public and private organizations, members of boards, museum staff and trustees, and the general public and the media.
The Executive Director will embrace the importance of fundraising within a region with a finite (and largely seasonal) donor base, while taking a lead role in new donor identification and cultivation. The Executive Director will articulate the direction and priorities of the museum’s current capital campaign, build on the campaign’s early quiet phase success, and galvanize support for those efforts across its membership and donor base and the broader Adirondack community.
Overseeing the efforts of a highly engaged and dedicated team of seasonal and full-time staff members, the Executive Director will nurture a collaborative internal culture of open communication, common vision, shared objectives, and common purpose, empowering, motivating, and bringing out the best in each team member.
PRIORITIES AND ONGOING RESPONSIBILITIES
On an ongoing basis, execute, maintain, and periodically update ADKX’s multiyear plan and strategy, which includes a focus on community engagement and partnerships, new and refined exhibitions and programs, priorities, and allocation and sourcing of the resources necessary to achieve ADKX’s performance goals and expectations.
Provide effective leadership to ensure management that the day-to-day operations and budgets are efficiently administered and that the museum remains on stable financial footing; ensure the accountability and proper allocation of resources; oversee budget development and monitoring to ensure sound financial planning and practices.
As chief fundraiser, oversee current fundraising activities, work closely with the Board and the Chief Development Officer to cultivate important relationships, secure gifts, create an actionable plan for annual fundraising, continue a robust and successful program of grant applications and public/private funding, and continue to build on the momentum of the capital campaign, currently in its quiet phase.
Instill a sense of renewed urgency museum-wide around increasing attendance and audience development efforts; encourage and promote fresh thinking about marketing and interpretation and foster the museum’s use of social media as a tool for marketing, museum education, off-season programming, and community engagement.
Increase ADKX’s visibility and brand power in the Adirondacks, across the state of New York, and beyond, and develop strategies to attract and engage all audiences.
Actively develop and cultivate relations with Board members that foster engagement and stability; bring forth their best ideas, efforts, resources, contacts, and support; keep the Board informed on policy, budgetary, and any other critical issues; serve ex-officio on all Board committees.
Provide appropriate leadership and direction to all staff; ensure that well-defined goals, clear responsibilities, and levels of accountability are in place to achieve excellence at all levels within the organization.
Present and execute a coherent plan for the expansion of the Library and Archive, currently underway; position ADKX as a model institution in its research and programming; nurture the intellectual life of the museum; embrace and maintain its ongoing commitment to scholarship and historical research that explores and embraces a contemporary narrative of Adirondackers and their contributions, past and present.
Elevate ADKX’s use of technology in all aspects of operations, exhibitions, and programming.
Requirements
IDEAL EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
A proven track record leading a significantly complex nonprofit institution, ideally within a museum, historical property, or comparable entity, with credibility and connections in the museum world.
A willingness to actively participate in the cultural and civic life of the Adirondacks, particularly during the museum’s busy summer season, and to embrace and fit into the culture.
Experience aligning strategic planning with institutional capacity and fiscal resources; business acumen, financial management, and analytical skills, with the ability to oversee the budget and maintain the financial wellbeing of a nonprofit institution.
A commitment to the preservation, exhibition, and best use of ADKX’s collections in scholarly research, exhibitions, and educational programming; ability to leverage professional connections in the arts and historic circles to attract interesting partnerships and collaborations, and integrate the museum’s exhibitions and activities with the region’s other cultural resources
A track record of success as a fundraiser with measurable results in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting new donors; capital campaign experience, ability to connect with untapped philanthropic resources, potential partnerships, and revenue-generating opportunities, along with a dogged approach to identifying and pursuing grants from a range of government, corporate, and private foundation sources as a key component in ADKX’s development strategy.
Success in building and retaining staff, as well as engaging, inspiring, and uniting them to new levels of effectiveness, transparency, and programmatic impact; the ability to break down silos and delegate, manage, and prioritize multiple activities and responsibilities with clarity and confidence.
Experience leading and managing a highly complex physical plant and multiple properties; an understanding and/or appreciation of building preservation is a plus.
Marketing and public relations and communication savvy, along with presentation skills that are effective with a range of audiences, including volunteers, staff, business and community leaders, the media, and the general public.
The ideal candidate will also have or be:
An entrepreneurial and outward-facing leader; one who will inspire and instill in others a sense of trust, confidence, energy, good feeling, and collaboration; someone who is viewed and respected as an advocate for ADKX and its potential.
Creativity and vision along with demonstrable real-world management skills – a left-brain/right-brain person; a good listener and communicator who can affect and manage change and prioritize resources; the ability to bring clarity to plans and activities; diplomatic, with a high degree of social and emotional intelligence.
A coalition and constituent builder; able to wear multiple hats and manage multiple priorities and engagement strategies.
Politically savvy and resilient; able to respond with grace to unforeseen challenges; open to asking tough questions and sharing opposing points of view; able to maintain perspective and balance.
A creative problem solver who is likeable, accessible, and visible in the Adirondack community and beyond; flexible and supportive, with a strong sense of personal and professional integrity.
Respect and passion for the Adirondacks and their unique culture, environment, and people; a well-balanced local perspective or a willingness to develop one, with an appreciation for and understanding of the region’s lifestyle and the cadence of the seasons; on all fronts, a sense of continuity, good humor, thoughtfulness, and common purpose.
The annual salary range for this position is between $250,000 and $300,000. Total compensation includes competitive benefits and possible campus housing.
It is the Adirondack Experience’s policy to provide equal opportunity in employment to all employees and applicants. No person shall be discriminated against in any condition of employment because of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, military or veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender dysphoria, citizenship status, genetic information, predisposition or carrier status, domestic violence victim status, and any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
Applications, including cover letters and resumes, or nominations should be sent to Mark Tarnacki and G. Angela Henry at: ADKX@PhillipsOppenheim.com.
