NEW HAMPSHIRE BOAT MUSEUM
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Wolfeboro/Moultonborough, NH
Application Deadline: CLOSED
New Hampshire Boat Museum, located in two locations in the beautiful Lakes Region, seeks a talented Executive Director to lead the organization during a period of dynamic growth that includes completion of a capital campaign and additional phases of a new museum facility. The Executive Director will embody the energy of the museum’s passionate stakeholders, communicate excitement about the mission, and skillfully navigate the logistics of literally moving the museum to a new place of relevance and engagement.
New Hampshire Boat Museum
Founded in 1992 by ardent antique and classic boating enthusiasts, New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM) has evolved into an interactive hub for preserving and celebrating New Hampshire’s freshwater boating stories.
NHBM’s collection contains more than 2,500 objects, including wooden and transition wood-fiberglass motorboats from renowned brands like Chris-Craft, Lyman, and Century. Visitors of all ages can immerse themselves in rotating exhibitions that showcase the rich history and stories of living and boating on the lakes.
Beyond exhibits, NHBM offers a range of educational programs and events designed to engage families, including boat building classes, community sailing, model yachting, and boating safety courses. The Museum hosts annual events like the Alton Bay Boat Show and the New England Vintage Boat Auction along with the biennial Wolfeboro Vintage Race Boat Regatta.
The Museum also offers seasonal cruises on Lake Winnipesaukee aboard the Millie B and the Miss Lauren, detailed reproductions of classic 28-foot, mahogany, triple cockpit 1928 Hacker-Craft motorboats that allow guests to experience the “golden age” of boating in New Hampshire.
Until recently NHBM was located in the former theater building and dance hall of the historic Allen “A” Resort, a popular 20th-century lakeside destination and unique piece of the region’s boating heritage. In 2022, following a successful capital campaign, NHBM acquired a 24,000 square foot building about a half-hour away to expand operations. This new facility will become the Museum’s year-round headquarters when it is completed in 2025, offering programming in a climate-controlled environment to make NHBM a year-round operation. The original Museum facility will remain an integral part of the museum as a seasonal campus.
NHBM is a 501(c)3 nonprofit governed by a twelve-member Board of Trustees, a staff of three year-round and twenty-seven seasonal employees, and 125 volunteers. The Museum has an annual budget of about $600,000 and welcomes 10,000+ visitors per year, primarily during the summer months.
The Museum’s mission, vision, and values encapsulate the organization’s aspirations:
Mission
To inspire an enduring connection, stewardship, and appreciation for New Hampshire’s freshwater boating heritage through compelling exhibits, experiences, and educational programs.
Vision
The NHBM will be the premier destination for people to experience boating activities, learn about our boating heritage, and invite connection, curiosity, and new understanding of the irreplaceable fresh waterways of New Hampshire.
Values
Honoring the past while embracing the future
Inclusion
Dynamic lifelong learning
Respect
Safety
Relationships, collaboration, and engaging with community
Joy
The Opportunity
This is an outstanding opportunity for an accomplished nonprofit leader to help the Museum leverage its unique assets, build its capacity, and cultivate sustainability by creating new pathways for engagement. Working in partnership with a dedicated Board, staff, and team of volunteers, the Executive Director will pilot the organization as it pursues several timely and important initiatives:
Completing the buildout and phased opening of its new 24,000 square-foot Museum, transitioning the organization to a year-round operation.
Guiding the Museum through the final phase of its $4 million capital campaign.
Leading an updated Strategic Plan which accounts for the sustainable operation of two facilities and envisioning innovative pathways for growth.
Transitioning the organization to new levels of professionalism and efficiency, providing strong leadership with regards to governance and policies.
Facilitating the Museum’s branding and community engagement through a robust visitor outreach and media relations initiative.
Responsibilities and Expectations
The Executive Director will have proven effectiveness as an executive or senior-level professional in nonprofit organizations such as museums, historic sites, preservation institutions, or other similar mission-driven organizations. The successful candidate will demonstrate accomplishment as a strategic thinker, team builder, fundraiser, innovator, and leader adept at translating vision into organizational action.
Assume overall executive responsibility for New Hampshire Boat Museum, creating dynamic strategic direction, visitor engagement, and financial support.
Oversee final phases of buildout of the Museum’s new facility; supervise exhibition consultants and contractors, ensuring adherence to budget, timeline, and specifications.
Lead an energetic fundraising effort in collaboration with the Board and Development Director that includes grants, individual donations, major gifts, and corporate philanthropy. Execute final phases of a capital campaign focusing on buildout and sustainable operations of the new Museum facility.
Inspire and nurture a team of staff members and volunteers that displays creativity, collaboration, and achievement.
Provide financial oversight and sustainability; ensure the fiscal integrity by budgeting revenues and expenditures that ensure the financial health of the organization.
Supervise day-to-day operations, providing the spark for program development, educational outreach, visitor experience, earned revenue streams, and stewardship of the Museum’s collections.
Develop a trusting and mutually supportive relationship with the Board and other principal stakeholders to turn vision and strategy into sustainable reality.
Create and sustain collaborations with businesses and organizations in the Lakes Region and throughout the broader area.
Serve as the Museum’s primary spokesperson, representing the organization at events, in the media, and cultivating key relationships locally, regionally, and nationally.
Experience, Skills, and Attributes
A minimum five years of executive or management experience, preferably in a nonprofit environment or other mission-driven organization.
Demonstrated enthusiasm for successful fundraising, working with donors, foundations, sponsors, and governmental funding sources.
Strategic planning skills which provide organizational vision and direction, focused on building capacity in service to mission as well as financial sustainability.
Pragmatic and successful experience as a senior-level administrator and project manager, ideally having experience with building projects, audience development, revenue generation, and visitor experience.
Success in leading dynamic teams of professional staff and volunteers who exude enthusiasm for the organization’s mission, collections, and programs.
Emotional intelligence and people-oriented leadership skills that serve internal and external stakeholders. Ability to sustain strong relationships with the local community in alignment with the Museum’s values.
Experience working collaboratively with a Board and enabling effective committees and governance practices.
Outstanding marketing, communication, and advocacy skills.
Financial acumen and management oversight to develop and manage an annual budget and a multi-year strategic plan. Comfortable to interpret financial performance to the Board and other stakeholders.
Academic degree and experience in history, museum studies, historic preservation, education, or other relevant field.
Compensation
The salary range is $80,000 to $100,000 commensurate with experience, plus benefits including health insurance and retirement plan contribution.
How to Apply
To apply in confidence, submit application by September 13, 2024, to: Dan Yaeger and Ken Turino, Senior Search Consultants, Museum Search & Reference, via SearchandRef@museum-search.com.
Please include:
A cover letter expressing interest in the position and giving brief examples of past related experience.
A résumé.
The names and contact information for three professional references, indicating their relationship with the candidate.
Applicants are encouraged to apply early as candidates will be considered on a rolling basis. Nominations are welcome. All applications and nominations are kept confidential; we will not contact references without your permission. For more details, visit: www.museum-search.com/open-searches.
Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this position.
About The New Hampshire Lakes Region
One of the country’s oldest destinations for tourism and outdoor recreation, the New Hampshire Lakes Region is located near the southern edge of the White Mountains on the traditional homelands of the Indigenous Penacook people. The region is famous for its 273 bodies of water, the largest of which is the 21-mile-long Lake Winnipesaukee, where the New Hampshire Boat Museum’s two locations are located in Wolfeboro and Moultonborough.
The Lakes Region is characterized by charming towns connected by scenic roads winding along the shores of mountain lakes. Wolfeboro, on the southeastern edge of Lake Winnipesaukee, is known as the oldest summer resort in America, has about 6,400 year-round residents and 25,000 during the summer tourist season. Moultonborough, located between Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake (famous as the location of the movie On Golden Pond), has about 5,000 residents year-round with 20,000 in the summer.
Communities within the Lakes Region are highly desirable areas to live and work, with excellent school systems, peaceful quality of life, and affordable cost of living.
Wolfeboro is an hour’s drive to New Hampshire’s larger cities of Concord, Manchester, and Portsmouth (Moultonborough is an hour and a half away), each offering access to museums and culture, shopping, dining, breweries, hospitals, and services. Concord is the capital city of New Hampshire, with numerous cultural facilities and a lively downtown that includes the 1819 New Hampshire State House, one of the country’s oldest state capitols. Manchester offers additional cultural, health, and sports amenities, plus the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Portsmouth is a bustling seaside community featuring 17th and 18th century buildings as well as a noteworthy dining scene. Boston is about two hours away by car.
