Who We Are

Founded in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private, not-for-profit educational, historic, and cultural institution that owns and operates one of the largest and best-known museum complexes in the world. Our mission is “that the future may learn from the past” through preserving and restoring 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia’s colonial capital. We engage, inform, and inspire people to learn about this historic capital, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape a new nation. Today, Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the U.S. The Historic Area is the 301-acre restored colonial capital with 88 original buildings and 525 buildings reconstructed to how they appeared in the 18th century through extensive archaeological, architectural, and documentary research. The Historic Area is staffed by highly trained, historically dressed interpreters and expert tradespeople who bring the 18th century to life. The Foundation also owns and operates two world-class museums, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, and a renowned research library, the John D Rockefeller Jr Library. Additionally, Colonial Williamsburg is home to five world class accommodations at the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge Autograph Collection, the Griffin Hotel, the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotels and Suites and the unique Colonial Houses in the Historical Area. Visitors may also indulge in food and drink at our many on site restaurants and taverns that blend a historically inspired dining experience with today’s evolved tastes. Each year over 5 million people visit Williamsburg and another 20 million engage with us digitally.

About the Position

Founded in 1989, Colonial Williamsburg’s Bob & Marion Wilson Teacher Institute is the standard-bearer for quality teacher professional learning at cultural institutions. Every summer, the Institute provides rigorous, relevant, and engaging multi-day professional development sessions onsite and online to over 800 teachers from numerous states and nations. Since its inception, over 30,000 teachers have gone through the program. Throughout the school year, the program team also facilitates teacher webinars as well as professional development workshops in-person and digitally in partnership with peer institutions.

The Director is responsible for ensuring the ongoing success of this marquee program and will lead it through an exciting period of innovation and growth.

Essential Functions:

1. Provide visionary and actionable leadership to the Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute department, programs, projects, and participants.
2. Identify and execute strategies to further grow the Teacher Institute’s reach and impact, both onsite and online, with a goal of ensuring participation by teachers from all 50 states every year. Develop partnerships with peer organizations.
3. In partnership with the Executive Director of Strategic Projects and Partnerships, play a lead advisory role on the history.org initiative, representing Colonial Williamsburg’s resources and materials in the development of the site.
4. Lead the development of new, innovative curricular resources for teachers participating in Colonial Williamsburg Professional Learning programs to meet the needs of diverse educators and learners today, including enhancing content to ensure it is inclusive and relevant and deploying pedagogical tools to meet the spectrum of student learning styles and needs. Work in partnership with the Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios to create new digital educational media products for teachers and students.
5. In partnership with the Digital Asset System Specialist in the John D Rockefeller Jr. Library, oversee the implementation and enhancement of the new Bob and Marion Wilson Educator Resource Library, managed in an Orange Logic Digital Asset Management System, including ongoing review and improvements to the curricular resources housed there as well as the site UX/UI.
6. Oversee the evolution of the Master Teacher program to meet the needs of a larger Teacher Institute program, including: grow the pool, increase diversity in the cohorts, and enhance teacher advisory roles throughout the year on the Teacher Institute as well as Educator Resource Library, curricular resource development, and history.org.
7. Lead and build a team of dedicated professionals through a period of change, ensuring staff engagement, growth, and satisfaction. Identify and solve inefficiencies across workflows to maximize the team’s capabilities.
8. In partnership with the Vice President, Executive Director, Director of Teacher Outreach, and Development, support all fundraising efforts relevant to the Teacher Institute, including liaising with donors and prospects, writing or reviewing grant proposals and reports, and presenting on funding opportunities at internal and external meetings.
9. Develop and pursue opportunities to objectively study and measure the impact of the Teacher Institute on participating teachers and their students over time, including history and civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
10. Represent Colonial Williamsburg at professional conferences, meetings, and consortia as appropriate.
11. Additional responsibilities as assigned.

Other Duties: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Required and Preferred Education and Experience:

Required:

• Minimum 10 years’ experience working in teacher education, preferably in a cultural institution context.
• Master’s degree in education, history, or a related field.
• Classroom social studies teaching experience.
• Deep knowledge of the American education system, including social studies curriculum and instruction.
• Deep knowledge of museum education pedagogy, including object-based inquiry.

Qualifications:

• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Deep knowledge of and experience with change management.
• Passion for history, education, and promoting cultural values.
• An innovative thinker who embraces new ideas and is eager to leverage technology improve work and work products.
• A self-starter with a commitment to excellence who takes initiative within parameters to advance the mission and motivates others to do the same.