Employment

Job Description for General Manager at Fruitlands, Old Manse and FarandNear

Year-round, Full-time in Harvard, MA & Concord, MA

About The Trustees of Reservations

Founded in 1891 by a group of visionary volunteers, The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees) is one of Massachusetts’ largest nonprofits and the nation’s first conservation and preservation organization. The Trustees preserve and protect places of natural, scenic, and historic beauty and hold these “reservations” in “trust” for public use and enjoyment. The organization’s passion is to improve the quality of life in the Commonwealth, using their properties and their many programs as a powerful and compelling platform to engage more residents and visitors in their mission-driven work. The Trustees believe in protecting the irreplaceable forever, for everyone. Today, the organization cares for 116 special reservations – from beaches to farms, gardens, and historic sites – within minutes of every resident. Funded and supported entirely by nearly two million visitors and supporters, and more than 100,000 members, The Trustees invite you to find your place.

The General Manager position has been established by The Trustees at its iconic properties to help create a holistic, strategic, and multi-disciplinary approach to leading, operating, caring for, and promoting Massachusetts’ most popular and iconic destinations.

This is a full-time position located in Harvard, MA. For more information on The Trustees of the Reservation, please visit www.thetrustees.org.

Candidate Profile

The General Manager (GM) reports to the Vice President Western Region and serves as a member of the Regional Leadership Team. The GM is accountable for the day-to-day management of three or more of The Trustees’ significant cultural and natural places, Fruitlands Museum, the Old Manse, and Farandnear, performing the role as an entrepreneurial senior leader and manager of a diverse team.

The General Manager will enable an excellent visitor experience where all guests feel welcome and have outstanding experiences with The Trustees’ conservation and preservation work. The GM is part of a broader regional and statewide team focused on business planning, financial performance, talent management of staff and volunteers, membership and engagement growth, and excellent stewardship for the Museum collections, landscapes, and buildings within the portfolio of properties. Working alongside The Trustees’ partners in local communities, the GM serves as an ambassador to build relationships with their communities to promote and protect The Trustees’ properties as iconic cultural and natural destinations.

Essential Functions

Leadership and Management

• Establish the vision and direction to drive property performance forward and deliver results aligned with statewide, regional, and local strategies and key performance indicators. Ensure property objectives are balanced with regard to engagement, stewardship, enterprise, and conservation objectives
• Create and implement property business plans identifying the resources needed for delivery (both financial and human). Communicate the opportunities and challenges to key staff, volunteers, and internal and external stakeholders
• Lead, inspire, and mentor a diverse team, including the local, regional, and statewide staff, by creating a team environment which fosters individual commitment, enthusiasm, and confidence and ensures effective teamwork and communication
• Model and set a culture of implementing the core values of The Trustees and how we work

Engagement, Volunteers, Membership, and the Public

• Create an engaging visitor experience and audience engagement plans that grow the involvement of members and visitors, including programs, events, and tours
• Actively champion volunteerism at the portfolio of properties
• Ensure excellent recruitment, training, management, and recognition of staff and volunteers
• Develop and implement a culture that strives to engage people and grow membership and sales by nurturing a high performing and knowledgeable team of staff and volunteers focused on the sustainability of the properties
• Engage with the local community to promote a forward-looking culture that contributes to increasing visibility and affinity with The Trustees

Business and Financial Performance Management

• Create, implement, and deliver the property business plans
• Ensure deliver of $1.6M in property revenue for FY17
• Set and achieve financial targets, including stretch goals, and ensure their delivery in future fiscal years
• Ensure that operational plans are developed, approved, and implemented in a timely fashion and reflect cost effective deployment of resources. Monitor and deploy these resources in line with the plan
• Realize existing and create new opportunities for generating income, ensuring the optimum use of all assets
• Actively collaborate with the Region, Program Leadership, Central Teams, Marketing, Development, and Finance departments to realize plans
• Develop property policies and contracts as appropriate

Stewardship of Cultural, Natural, and Agricultural Resources

• Create a stewardship plans that ensure The Trustees’ resources are conserved, preserved, and stewarded (collections, landscape, gardens and agricultural lands, buildings) for the future, in line with the statewide land stewardship, cultural resources, and collections standards
• Promote and develop a working culture with staff and volunteers, which incorporates sound sustainable practices in all areas of The Trustees’ stewardship work
• Focus on long-term stewardship planning for the buildings, collections, gardens, and landscapes

Ensure Risk Compliance

• Understand and continually monitor all enterprises and programs with the goal of minimizing risk
• Manage operational risk by working with the regional management team and statewide staff
  
  

Accountability of the Role

• Accountable for management of operations, budgets, and projects
• Responsible for the performance management and development of staff and volunteers
• Other duties as assigned, with or without accommodations

Qualifications

Knowledge and Experience

• A minimum of five+ years of leadership and management experience
• Demonstrated experience with business strategy and planning
• Budgeting and financial management experience
• Versed in the operational management of complex cultural, natural, and agricultural resources
• Background in hospitality, audience development, customer service, and volunteer development preferred
• Familiarity with Museum management and large landscape management a plus
• Positive team player with ability to collaborate with professional and volunteer leaders internally and externally
• Entrepreneurial spirit and flexibility a must
• A passionate commitment to the values and mission of The Trustees
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Skills

• Strong inspirational leadership and management skills, preferably with experience managing multi-disciplinary teams, including volunteers and staff who are not direct reports
• Financial and budget management
• Evidence of creativity and collaboration across departments and in a large organization
• Sound computer skills in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Excellent communication and writing skills, including public presentations

Other

• Travel across the region and occasional travel across the state is required
• The work schedule of the GM requires flexibility in terms of evening and weekend commitments
• A satisfactory criminal background check (CORI)
  
  

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

CONTACT

The Trustees of Reservations has engaged Koya Leadership Partners to help in this hire. Please submit a compelling cover letter and resume to Liz Lombard here.

The Trustees of the Reservation is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBT applicants.

About Koya Leadership Partners

Koya Leadership Partners is a national retained executive search and human capital consulting firm that works exclusively with nonprofits and social enterprises. We deliver measurable results, finding exceptionally talented people who truly fit the unique culture of our client organizations and ensuring that organizations have the resources and strategies to support them. For more information about Koya Leadership Partners, visit www.koyapartners.com.

Click here to see all job opportunities at The Trustees of Reservations

No phone calls please.

In addition to being an Equal Opportunity Employer, The Trustees of Reservations aims to create a thriving, inclusive workplace that values each member of our team.  We aspire to reflect and effectively serve the residents and communities of Massachusetts who are at the core of our mission.