MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES & HISTORY

HISTORIC RESOURCES SPECIALIST LEAD

Site Director, Eudora Welty House & Gardens

To apply for this position online, please go to the Mississippi State Personnel Board at www.mspb.ms.gov and submit an e-application. If you need more information about the application process please contact Diane Mattox, human resources director, at 601-576-6866.

MDAH is hiring a director for the Eudora Welty House and Garden. Located in Jackson, the EWHG is a National Historic Landmark and one of the most intact literary house museums in the nation. The property includes the author’s 1925 Tudor Revival home with historic gardens and an education and visitors center in the house next door.

The director supervises staff and takes the lead in developing innovative programming to draw the public to the site. The director is responsible for coordinating with MDAH staff, other state agencies, the Eudora Welty Foundation, which supports the site through fundraising and public programming, the Welty family, and other partners.

The director oversees maintenance and preservation of the site’s buildings, grounds, and artifacts, working closely with other MDAH staff and advisors. The director is responsible for administering day-to-day operations and maintaining national level museum standards.

Work involves formulating, directing, and controlling the operations of the museum through subordinate personnel and conferences with other administration personnel. Incumbent will oversee maintenance, preservation, and conservation of the site’s buildings, grounds, and collection by working with agency professionals, and with architects, exhibits designers, scholars, and advisory team members from other agencies and institutions. Incumbent will be responsible for administering day-to-day operations, security of persons and property, and maintaining national level museum professional standards.

Additional responsibilities include preparing and managing site budget, developing strategic plans, developing and producing wide variety of programming for school groups and general public, supervising museum staff members and various contractual workers, managing volunteer program, and serving as public relations representative for the museum. Incumbent will also interact with the Eudora Welty Foundation which promotes the work of Eudora Welty and assists with programming at the site. The Museum is open to the public Tuesday–Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The site is also open on the second Saturday of each month from 9:00 a.m. – 12: p.m. Office hours are Monday – Friday from 8:00 am.-5:00 p.m. Work is subject to infrequent review, through conference and reports, by the Sites Administrator and the Museum Division Director. Site director will be on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to insure proper protection of this National Historic Landmark.

Education and experience must meet one of the following criteria:

 Master’s Degree from an accredited four-year college or university; and three (3) years of special experience defined below.

 Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited four-year college or university; and four (4) years of special experience as defined below.

Special qualifications: A the Bachelor’s degree or higher level, degree must be in museum studies, historic site management, archaeology, anthropology, business, history, southern culture, education, literature, or art. Required work experience must have been in museum or historic site management and/or teaching, interpreting, promoting Eudora Welty works.

MDAH is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Our Mission: By preserving Mississippi’s diverse historic resources and sharing them with people around the world,MDAH inspires discovery of stories that connect our lives and shape our future.