Subject Line: ILHS Executive Director SearchDeadline is 5pm on Thursday, November 17, 2017The Illinois Labor History Society, one of the oldest independent labor history organizations in the U.S., is seeking an Executive Director to begin in early 2017. Salary and benefits negotiated, based on experience.Desirable Characteristics and Responsibilities

The ideal candidate for Executive Director of the ILHS is a person who has a passion for the mission of the organization to encourage the preservation and study of labor history of the Illinois region, and to arouse public interest in the profound significance of the past to the present. This person recognizes that at its core the ILHS is an educational and service organization that strives to provide value to its individual and institutional members and the public at large. The ED must demonstrate a collaborative working relationship with the Board of Trustees for whom s/he reports to.The candidate will have a broad base of knowledge in running an organization on a day to day basis, working with staff and volunteers and recruiting same. Concurrently, the ED must be able to utilize the resources of the ILHS and expand its programs and presence in the labor community and the public at large. This will be done in part by developing collaborative relationships with its affinity organizations and allies. The ED takes a lead in both creating and managing a culture of service and excellence and obtaining resources to make that possible. The successful candidate must combine a unique blend of professional and personal characteristics. Among these qualities are:

• Collaborative Leader -must be able to demonstrate success through operating in a collaborative governing role. Demonstrated ability to cooperatively work/interact with a diversity of interests including staff, the ILHS Board of Trustees, members of the Society, union leaders, academic scholars, teachers collaborating partners, vendors, other cognate associations, and the media.


• Management-demonstrated success in managing programs and motivating people.


• Business Skills-the ability to manage all aspects of the ILHS’s daily business functions including financial, technical and membership programs. This includes ensuring the program activities are carried out such as tours, book sales, newsletter, Annual Dinner, and planning special events and programs, including working caterers, handling promotion, and other logistics, with a vision to expand all the above as determined by the Board.


• Excellent Communicator- the ability to be a strong presence in the labor community and beyond and positively represent the ILHS and its membership publicly. This includes the ability to build relationships across a broad spectrum of individuals and groups in the allied community and beyond, and must possess requisite public relations skills and public speaking capabilities and other outreach strategies.


• Fundraiser-the ability to build and execute fundraising campaigns from endowment building, membership drives, individual contributions, union contributions and other sources of developing financial stability including grant writing.


• Other Qualities-must possess basic computer literacy skills associated with Quickbooks, MS Office, the ability to update the website (Squarespace platform) and other social media, and the ability to learn new technologies, and willingness to travel throughout the state and work non-traditional hours as needed.

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posted by:

Emily E. LB. Twarog, PhDAssistant ProfessorSchool of Labor and Employment RelationsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign312-413-0166 – phone312-413-2997 – faxwww.illinoislabored.org@etwarogDirector, Regina V. Polk Women’s Labor Leadership Conference www.reginapolkschool.orgInnovations Editor, Labor Studies Journal www.lsj.sagepub.com