Small Museum Association

POSITION: Executive Director – National Quilt Museum

Are you an inspiring and creative leader with a passion for building a strong team culture and fostering meaningful community and business partnerships? Do you have a proven record of leadership, delivering exceptional customer experiences, driving revenue, and fundraising results? If so, we are seeking an enthusiastic Executive Director to lead The National Quilt Museum.  As the Executive Director, you will play a vital role in overseeing all aspects of our operations, driving our mission forward, and making a positive meaningful impact within the quilting as well as local community.  The Executive Director will partner with and report to the Board of Directors.

Responsibilities

• Model and promote our organization's core values and passion for quilts, quilting and quilters. Emphasizing and driving these values through energetic leadership throughout all interactions and experiences.
• Cultivate a performance-oriented culture, promoting accountability, empowerment, and excellence among the staff.
• Provide inspirational leadership to our staff, offering guidance, motivation, development, accountability, and support, while aligning all with our goals and priorities.
• Create, develop, and execute stewardship, development plans, and tactics that foster strong relationships with supporters, volunteers, partners, donors, businesses, and community leaders to achieve annual objectives.
• Oversee and execute the annual budget, identifying opportunities for revenue and donation growth, as well as cost savings and efficiencies in collaboration with the Board of Directors.
• Attract, develop, and retain a high-performing lean team, ensuring adherence to our core values and mission through defined processes, while measuring results.
• Implement and execute the National Quilt Museum brand vision and executional strategy, by creating, enhancing, and personalizing our visitors’ experiences.
• Represent the National Quilt Museum at public events and engagements, promoting our mission, programs, and outcomes to media, supporters, and partners, while building additional relationships within the quilting community.

Qualifications

• Three plus years in a nonprofit leadership role, with strong proven focus on leadership, culture, accountability, revenue and fund-raising generation, and community engagement.
• A bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., business administration or nonprofit management).
• Demonstrated management experience, including talent development, and building an inclusive, high-performing team, built on transparency and accountability.
• Proficiency in budget management and execution.
• Experience enhancing organizational reputation through effective communication, internally and externally, while utilizing various marketing and media methodologies and tactics.
• Experience and proven collaborator with staff, board of directors, community leaders and industry leaders.
• Personally passionate about the maker and creative community.

Qualities for Success

• Passionate about our mission and driven to be part of something bigger.
• Proven track record of driving and exceeding objectives and expectations.
• Financial acumen, with the ability to manage and understand P&L and balance sheet.
• Collaborative nature, skilled in building teams that respect diverse viewpoints and work together for success.
• Strong leadership and management abilities, encouraging high performance and professional growth.
• Detail-oriented, with a sense of urgency.
• Inquisitive, seeking clarity where and when needed.
• Open to learning from others and continuous improvement.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, effectively articulating the organization's mission.

Job Type: Full-time

Annual Salary: $75,000.00 - $80,000.00*

*Potential annual bonus based on achieving key annual objectives

Travel

As needed, occasionally, for special events, quilt industry meetings, and donor requests.

Ability to commute/relocate

215 Jefferson Street, Paducah, KY 

Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required).

Work Location

In-person

Apply

Email a cover letter, resume and three professional references to HR@Quiltmuseum.org 

No phone calls, please. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL QUILT MUSEUM

The National Quilt Museum honors today’s quilters and inspires future quilters with exceptional exhibitions, education, and programming. Our vision is to be America’s premier quilt museum, celebrating traditional/nontraditional and extraordinary quilts from the United States and around the world.

The National Quilt Museum features masterpiece quilts created by today’s most well-known quilters and fiber artists from around world.  The museum inspires and motivates the growth and expansion of quilting to new audiences through exhibits, education programs, preservation, and advocacy efforts. The museum is in Paducah, KY and sees visitors annually from all 50 states and over 40 foreign countries. The museum was founded in 1991.

Since 2010, the museum has been an eight-time TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence winner and a two-time TripAdvisor Hall of Fame winner. The Hall of Fame honors destinations that have received the Certificate of Excellence at least five years in a row.

ABOUT PADUCAH, KENTUCKY

Paducah is a beautiful historic river town at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers. The United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Paducah as a Creative City in November 2013 for the City’s important role in the connectivity of cultures through creativity. Paducah is one of only nine cities in the United States to hold this distinction.

The county seat of McCracken County, Paducah is the largest town in the Purchase Area of the state. The combination of southern charm and hospitality that originated with Paducah’s founding in 1827 is still alive and well - blending a rich history with a stable economy, healthy business climate, and outstanding schools and neighborhoods.

Paducah boasts a thriving arts and entertainment community — from theaters and museums to parks and sporting events. Outdoor enthusiasts will appreciate Paducah’s excellent location: three state parks are within a 45-minute drive, and all offer scenic shores, challenging golf courses, beach areas, and fully equipped marinas.