Director of Programs

About Weeksville Heritage Center

Weeksville Heritage Center (WHC) is a historic site and cultural institution located in Central Brooklyn that uses education, arts, and a social justice lens to preserve, document and inspire engagement with the history of Weeksville. Founded in 1838, Historic Weeksville was the second largest of approximately 100 independent African-American communities established before the Civil War.

Today, Weeksville preserves the landmarked Historic Hunterfly Road Houses while activating its campus as a living site of Black history, culture, and community through education, contemporary arts, and public programming. The organization serves tens of thousands of visitors annually through school tours, exhibitions, performances, festivals, and free and low cost public programs. Delivering this work requires dependable infrastructure that supports staff capacity, safeguards institutional data, and ensures high quality experiences for the public.

Position Overview

Weeksville Heritage Center seeks a dynamic and visionary Director of Programs to lead the development and execution of multidisciplinary arts and culture programs that activate Weeksville’s mission and historic site. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience bringing bold, forward-thinking ideas to fruition. They will create a vibrant year-round calendar of programs that speak to the past, present, and future of Weeksville and Black culture more broadly. 

This role is strategic and hands-on, blending creative vision with program development and management acumen. The Director of Programs will be a key member of the executive leadership team, working collaboratively across the institution to build alignment and shape how Weeksville engages artists, partners, stakeholders, and audiences. The position reports directly to the President & CEO.

Primary Responsibilities

Program Leadership

  • Design and oversee a robust calendar of public programs including but not limited to: lectures, panel discussions, performances, film screenings, workshops, and artist talks. 
  • Cultivate programming that engages diverse audiences across generations. 
  • Ensure work reflects inclusive multiple perspectives within African American and African Diaspora history and culture. 
  • Align department’s work with the institution’s mission and five year strategic plan.
  • Execute strategic projects related to the Office of the President. 

Audience & Community Engagement

  • Build and maintain meaningful relationships with local communities, artists, scholars, educators, and cultural leaders. 
  • Activate the site’s history by developing programs that engage with the legacy of Weeksville and connect it to current social and cultural issues at the local, national, and international level.
  • Create programs with partners that maintain an active presence in Brooklyn and New York City’s creative ecosystems.

Leadership & Administration

  •  Supervise program staff, event contractors, interns, fellows, and consultants.
  • Develop project timelines, budgets, and schedules. 
  • Collaborate with education, collections, marketing, development, and operations teams.
  • Contribute to grant writing, fundraising initiatives, and donor cultivation by providing program expertise.

Evaluation & Strategy

  • Evaluate program effectiveness related to quality, audience engagement, participation, and impact.
  • Manage all aspects of program development from ideation to execution, including timelines, budgets, contracts, and logistics.
  • Participate in long-term institutional planning and public-facing representation of Weeksville’s programmatic vision.
  • Ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and according to institutional standards.

Required Qualifications 

  • Master’s degree in Museum Studies, Public History, African American Studies, Art History, History, Cultural Studies, or a related field or equivalent experience. 
  • Seven to ten years of progressive and innovative programming experience in a museum, historic site, cultural institution, or related organization. 
  • Strong research, writing, and interpretive planning skills. 
  • Experience in simultaneously managing complex projects and supervising staff.
  • Excellent public speaking, relationship-building, and communication skills. 
  • Availability to work on weekends and evenings for work required for programs and other institutional events. 

Preferred Qualifications 

  • Experience working at a museum or cultural institution.
  • Experience securing grants and managing funded projects.
  • Presence in an established network of scholars, artists, and cultural practitioners.
  • Familiarity with multimedia storytelling, and emerging interpretive technologies.
  • Stellar reputation and work output in artistic fields.

Salary and Benefits 

Salary is $100,000 – $120,000 per year based on experience. Weeksville Heritage Center offers a benefits package that is competitive with the market, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; a retirement plan that employees can contribute to after the eligibility period, and paid vacation, paid sick leave, and personal days.

How to Apply 

Submit a resume and cover letter to: inquiries@weeksvillesociety.org. Please include, Director of Programs in the subject line. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Thank you for your interest in the position. 

Weeksville Heritage Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All candidates for employment are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, physical disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.