Supervisor, Indigenous Historical Interpretation

Description

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, The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute, 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

In collaboration with a team of lead-interpreters, supervisors ensure the execution of daily operations in the historical area. The Indigenous supervisor maintains the smooth, accurate, and engaging interpretation of tours, programming, and special interpretative events with a fundamental charge of creating a seamless guest experience across Colonial Williamsburg. The primary responsible is supervising and coaching interpretative staff, ensuring that training standards are implemented, evolving in engagement, and improved upon through continued coaching techniques and educational standards while working closely with mangers to facilitate best practices for cultivating an inclusive, learning, and high producing environment.

Essential Functions:

Provides administrative, clerical, and logistical support to The Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area Operations Division Team by:

1.Provides supervision of Indigenous interpretative programming and staff and assists managers in oversight of exhibition buildings in the Historical Area.

2.Responsible for observing and evaluating professional presentations, provides constructive feedback, schedules coaching sessions, and works closely with team members to achieve successful results.

3.Supervises a team of American Indian interpreters and conducts performance reviews.

4.Supports interpreters in the creation of historically accurate interpretations that reflect the goals and objectives of the historic site and are supported by relevant documentation drawn from critically vetted sources.

5.Consistently coaches interpreters to use a variety of interpretive techniques to promote engagement.

6.Collaborates with colleagues across the organization to ensure the integrity of preservation and conservation of historic buildings.

7.Assist in developing training materials and updating manuals with managers' guidance.

8.Works with other supervisors, historians, curators, and other departments to conduct coaching sessions and/or implement new interpretative materials.

9.Maintains accurate daily operational forms, monitors supplies, and communicates needs for daily operations. Reports building concerns and demonstrates good stewardship for all CW historic buildings.

10.Demonstrate proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite with the ability to adapt to new processes implemented for better efficiency.

11. Ability to evaluate situations, communicate, and use sound judgment to achieve a resolution in animpartial manner.

Required and Preferred Education and Experience:

Required: Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field working with 2-5 years’ experience or 5 years of relevant experience collaborating with teams in a museum environment are encouraged to apply.

Preferred: Bachelor’s Degree with 2-5 years’ experience and exceptional leadership skills in coaching and training development.

Qualifications: