Special Collections Director

Special Collections Director

Georgia Historical Society

Savannah Georgia

The Moran Company is pleased to partner with the Georgia Historical Society to recruit the organizations next Special Collections Director.

Overview

The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) the premier independent statewide institution responsible for collecting examining and teaching Georgia and American history seeks an experienced Special Collections Director to oversee its renowned library and archives. This position offers an extraordinary opportunity to lead one of the nations oldest and most distinguished historical collections during an exciting era of growth and modernization.

Based in historic Savannah Georgia GHS was founded in 1839 making it the oldest continuously operating historical society in the South. It is known nationally for its scholarly rigor public outreach and stewardship of a priceless collection documenting more than 300 years of Georgias history.

The successful candidate will be a seasoned professional with archival expertise who thrives in a collaborative high-performance environment and is motivated by excellence impact and mission.

About the Georgia Historical Society

One of the nations first historical societies GHS is unique in being a private nonprofit institution with a statewide educational and research mission. It houses the most significant collection of Georgia-related materials in existence - including manuscripts rare books photographs maps and digital resources - and serves scholars students and the public through its Research Center and statewide programming.

With a staff of 20 and an annual operating budget exceeding $5 million GHS has experienced strong institutional growth in both programmatic impact and organizational capacity. Its culture emphasizes integrity professionalism and mission alignment with a team deeply committed to preserving and interpreting Georgia and American history in a factual scholarly and apolitical manner.

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Position Summary

Reporting to the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer the Special Collections Director provides strategic and operational leadership for the GHS Research Center including its archival library and reference services. This senior leadership position ensures that GHS collections are preserved accessible and managed to the highest professional standards and that public service to patrons and researchers is of exceptional quality.

The Director supervises the Reference Desk Manager and Senior Archivist with overall responsibility for a team of approximately six employed staff plus interns and volunteers.

This position requires a hands-on collaborative leader who combines strong archival expertise with administrative and managerial skills. The successful candidate will foster a culture of excellence accountability and teamwork within the Research Center and across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Staff Management (35%)

• Lead and develop a professional team through structured onboarding ongoing training and performance management.
• Foster collaboration accountability and a positive workplace culture aligned with GHSs mission and standards.
• Oversee staff meetings goal setting performance evaluations and professional development opportunities.

Collections & Access (25%)

• Direct all aspects of archival and library operations including accessioning cataloging processing preservation and access in keeping with established institutional goals and procedures.
• Oversee growth and care of collections encompassing manuscripts rare books digital materials artifacts and microfilm.
• Ensure patron services reflect the highest professional standards in responsiveness accuracy and ethics.
• Lead improvements in workflow technology and user experience.

Facilities & Risk Management (15%)

• Oversee maintenance security and environmental monitoring of the Research Center.
• Collaborate with Finance and Administration leadership to assess building conditions recommend repairs and prioritize capital needs.
• Conduct annual risk assessments addressing structural integrity storage pest control and environmental controls.

Strategic Collaboration & Reporting (10%)

• Work with the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer to ensure departmental work is aligned with GHSs strategic plan.
• Prepare reports and presentations for the Board of Curators executive leadership and funders.
• Contribute data-driven insights to planning evaluation and institutional accountability.

Finance & Administration (10%)

• Contribute to fundraising grant proposals and donor stewardship related to the Research Center.
• Oversee fee collection and ensure fiscal responsibility in all operations.

Technology Systems & Compliance (5%)

• Oversee ArchivEra and EOS systems for archival and library management.
• Ensure compliance with copyright law and institutional policy for reproduction use and access.
• Supervise content management for the Research Centers web presence to enhance discoverability and outreach.

Key Qualifications

The ideal candidate will bring:

Education & Experience

• Masters degree in Library Science or Archival Studies from an accredited institution (archival concentration preferred).
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible archival library or museum experience including at least six years directly supervising paid staff.
• Demonstrated experience managing a major archival program historical society or special collections library.
• Strong background in archival standards (DACS EAD) relevant library descriptive standards (MARC RDA) and digital asset management.
• Experience with environmental controls preservation pest management and collection care protocols.
• Active participation in professional archival and library associations (SAA ALA or regional equivalents).

Leadership & Professional Attributes

• A collaborative and decisive leader skilled at motivating diverse teams.
• Excellent communication organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Strong ethical grounding discretion and integrity.
• Comfort operating in a high-performance detail-oriented environment.
• Emotional intelligence adaptability and a mission-first mindset.

Institutional Culture & Workplace Expectations

GHS is a high-performance mission-driven organization that expects professionalism discretion and collaboration. The culture emphasizes:

• Collegiality attention to detail and respect for institutional traditions.
• Clear communication including a collaborative and documentation-focused work style (email and CC culture).
• Adaptability emotional maturity and intelligence in a demanding and fast-paced environment.

Location & Compensation

This position is based in Savannah Georgia with no remote or hybrid option. Very occasional travel may be required. Savannah is a city rich in history and architectural beauty consistently ranked among the Souths most desirable places to live.

• Salary range: Expected to be in the $75000 to $125000 range commensurate with experience.
• Benefits include: medical dental vision retirement matching long-term disability life insurance generous vacation and holiday leave and parental leave.

Statement of Non-Discrimination

GHS provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to age race color religion sex (including pregnancy and childbirth) sexual orientation gender identity national origin veteran status disability genetic information (including family medical history) or other protected status. GHS policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including but not limited to hiring placement promotion termination layoff recall transfer leaves of absence compensation and training.

Application Process