Description

The Organization of American Historians is seeking an Assistant Director and External Affairs Officer to join its team at the OAH National Office in Bloomington, Indiana. This is a senior position that will work closely with the Executive Director to advance OAH’s strategic priorities and strengthen the organization’s engagement with members, donors, partner institutions, policymakers, and the broader public.

Alongside the Executive Director, the Assistant Director and External Affairs Officer will provide leadership across several of OAH’s core external-facing functions, including communications, advocacy, membership, philanthropy, and institutional engagement. The Assistant Director will translate organizational priorities into coordinated initiatives and help advance OAH’s strategic goals across its programs and activities.

The ideal candidate will bring a strong understanding of the historical profession and the institutions and communities OAH serves. OAH particularly welcomes candidates with an advanced degree in history or a closely related field; leadership experience in scholarly, historical, humanities, or higher-education membership organizations; experience working with volunteer boards or elected leadership; and experience in staff management, nonprofit governance, and policy or higher-education environments. Strong candidates will bring to the role excellent written and oral communication skills, strategic and organizational planning abilities, sound judgment, and the ability to cultivate and build productive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

The full position summary and link to apply are available through the Indiana University careers portal.

About the OAH

The OAH is the largest professional organization dedicated to the history of the United States. The mission of the organization is to promote excellence in the scholarship, teaching, and presentation of American history, and to encourage wide discussion of historical questions. The OAH believes that history is essential for knowing and understanding the world and stands for the ethical and accurate use of history in civic discourse.

The OAH represents more than 5,500 historians working in the United States and abroad. Members include college and university professors, pre-collegiate history teachers, public historians, museum professionals, librarians and archivists, students, and a variety of historians working in government and the private sector. The OAH supports original, peer-reviewed, and rigorous scholarship, as well as the presentation of historical scholarship and knowledge in non-scholarly formats including a magazine, blog, and podcast. The OAH publishes the Journal of American History which is a journal of record in the field, undertakes a wide range of public history projects with the National Park Service and private partners, convenes an annual conference, and maintains a robust schedule of academic and public programming. OAH is an External Agency of Indiana University.