Executive Director, Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society

STATUS: Full-time, exempt
LOCATION: Oberlin, Ohio
SALARY: $65,000 to $70,000, plus benefits
REPORTS TO: Board of Trustees

THE OPPORTUNITY
The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society is hiring its first paid Executive Director to open the Evans House to the public and lead it into its next chapter. The Board of Trustees wants Oberlin to become a destination for Black heritage tourism in this region of the country, with the Evans House as the starting point, built in partnership with the Oberlin Heritage Center and the City of Oberlin. The next Executive Director will have the chance to shape the public identity of a nationally significant site from its first days as an open educational center and historic site, so that people planning a visit to Cleveland also plan a day in Oberlin to see the Evans House.

ABOUT THE SOCIETY
The Society honors the legacy of Wilson Bruce Evans, Sarah Jane Leary Evans, and their descendants, and places that legacy within Oberlin’s larger story as a historic site in the continuing struggle for Black freedom, racial equality, and social justice. The Evans House, a National Historic Landmark across the street from Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, is in the second phase of its rehabilitation and is expected to open to the public in early 2027 as an educational center and historic site.

For six years, volunteers have built the Society almost entirely, led by a founding Executive Director who served without pay and a Board of Trustees that includes descendants of the Evans family from two branches. The Society has a growing membership, a working relationship with the National Park Service, and permanent exhibits being installed under an interpretive plan the Board and the Evans family helped shape.

THE ROLE
The Executive Director is the Society’s first paid executive and, initially, its only employee. This person leads the organization as it moves from a rehabilitation project to an operating historic site, partners with a Board of Trustees that is shifting from running the work to governing it, and leads the Society’s next strategic plan with the Board. The founding Executive Director will work alongside the new Executive Director through September 2027 to transfer relationships, files, and history, and the Board will stay actively involved through the opening. Evans family descendants take an active part in the Society’s governance, which is one of its real strengths, and Oberlin is a community where trust is earned over time. The right person will take time to listen and learn from the community before leading change.

WHAT YOU WILL DO
• Financial management. Develop and manage the annual budget, work with the Treasurer and accountant on reporting, and prepare the Society for its first full audit.
• Revenue and fundraising. In the first two years, focus on bringing in visitors, building membership and partnerships, and establishing the Evans House in the community, while the Board shares fundraising through its fundraising committee. Over time, take the lead on raising the operating budget with the Board’s support.
• Board partnership. Report to the Board at each meeting, carry out its direction, and keep committees and action items moving.
• Community partnerships and public voice. Build relationships with the Evans family, the Oberlin Heritage Center, the City, Oberlin College, schools, churches, and civic groups, and serve as the Society’s public face, including on social media.
• Grants and federal funding. Research, write, and manage grants, and maintain the relationship with the National Park Service.
• Site operations. Open the house, set regular visiting hours, and manage vendors, safety, insurance, and the daily work of an open building.
• Programs and visitors. Develop public programs, plan rotating exhibits, and bring visitors in from Oberlin, Cleveland, and beyond.
• Volunteers. Recruit, train, schedule, and supervise the volunteers who give tours and help run the house.

WHAT YOU BRING

Required

• Three to five years of nonprofit management or comparable leadership experience, including responsibility for a budget
• A record of raising operating revenue from individuals, members, and foundations, including gifts asked for and closed personally
• Experience reporting to or working closely with a volunteer board
• A record of building community partnerships, including earning trust in a community where you are new to the community or the position
• Experience researching, writing, and managing grants, including government grants and their reporting requirements
• Experience running the daily operations of a site, facility, or program open to the public
• Strong writing and public speaking skills
Preferred
• Knowledge of African American history, Underground Railroad and abolition history, or Oberlin history
• Museum, historic site, or public history experience
• Experience bringing in visitors through marketing, social media, or heritage tourism, and building earned revenue
• Experience developing public programs and educational initiatives
• Experience recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers
• Experience opening a new site or launching a new organization
• Working knowledge of nonprofit employment and compliance requirements

A museum background is not required. Genuine interest in the Evans family’s story is.

COMPENSATION
The salary range is $65,000 to $70,000, based on experience, plus benefits. The Board of Trustees has approved a 3% salary increase at the end of each of the first two years of employment, with later increases set through the annual performance review. Some evening and weekend work is expected for public hours, programs, and events.

HOW TO APPLY
Please send a resume and a cover letter to the Search Committee at [email protected]. In your cover letter, we invite you to share what draws you to the Evans family’s story and to Oberlin, and to describe your experience building revenue and community relationships.

We will accept resumes and cover letters until December 20, 2026, and interviews will begin the week of January 4, 2027, and continue until the position is filled. The full job description is available on request at the same email address and at https://evanshhs.org/requests-for-proposals/.

The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of every background and are committed to a fair and consistent process for every candidate.