Job Listing
 🔗Executive Director

  • Full Time
  • Ithaca, NY
  • $70,500 - $75,500/- USD / Year
  • Applications have closed
  • Job Summary: This position works in close partnership with an engaged and experienced Board of Directors to provide overall leadership and strategic direction to advance Historic Ithaca’s mission.
  • Job Qualifications:

    Leadership experience in a similar organization with the ability to inspire and support a team, set clear goals, and make thoughtful decisions.
    Nonprofit financial management, including budgeting and making the most of resources to support sustainable growth.
    ·       Demonstrated fundraising success—cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors, foundations, and corporate partners. Strong writing and public speaking skills, and a clear, respectful communication style.
    Comfort representing the organization and building positive relationships with community members, partners, and the media. A steady, solutions-oriented approach—able to navigate unexpected situations, identify root causes, and collaborate on practical improvements. Enthusiasm for diverse histories and cultures, preservation, sustainability, and lifelong learning.
    A college degree in management or a related field is helpful; equivalent professional or lived experience is also valued.
    Experience and/or interest in one or more of the following areas is strongly desired: historic preservation, architecture, city planning, building trades, community and/or economic development, and retail sales.

  • How to Apply:

    ·       Prepare a brief cover letter, resume, and writing sample (e.g., fundraising letter, advocacy position paper, press release).

    ·       Submit by email (PDFs) to info@historicithaca.org with subject “Executive Director,” or by mail to Human Resources, Historic Ithaca, 210 Center Street, Ithaca, NY 14680.

    ·       No phone calls, please. Qualified candidates will be contacted within five business days for an initial interview.

  • Job benefits: 10 paid holidays and 3 paid floating holidays per year; paid vacation and sick/personal days; health insurance (paid via a stipend); and the opportunity to participate in a non-matched 401(k) plan.
  • Physical Demands / Work Environment: Work is performed primarily onsite at 210 Center Street, Ithaca, New York. Typical hours are 9 am-5 pm, Monday-Friday with occasional weekend or evening work to support special programming. Work is primarily office-based with occasional lifting/moving up to 30 pounds (and heavier with assistance) and local travel.
  • Application Email: info@historicithaca.org
  • Application URL: https://www.historicithaca.org/careers
  • Application Address: Historic Ithaca, 210 Center Street, Ithaca, NY 14850

Website Historic Ithaca

Historic Ithaca is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1966 and the leading voice for historic preservation in Tompkins County and the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. We advance the value, vitality, and sustainability of our built heritage through education, advocacy, and action. With headquarters in Ithaca’s Southside, we operate a community hub consisting of two historic buildings. What was once a neighborhood grocery store now houses staff offices, meeting space, and an accessible Library of the Built Environment. The other, an industrial building constructed in 1887, is home to Significant Elements—a 10,000-square-foot nonprofit architectural salvage store that keeps donated historic building materials in circulation. Adjacent to the store, a purpose-modified workshop space supports Work Preserve, providing valuable hands-on preservation skills training and retail experience for marginalized youth.

Advocating for the built environment, the Executive Director is responsible for fundraising and revenue development, cultivating and sustaining key stakeholder relationships, supervising and supporting staff, ensuring the organization’s fiscal sustainability, and overseeing day‑to‑day operations.