Under the general supervision of the Chief Creative Officer and State Historian, The Director of Community Engagement provides strategic leadership, direction, and execution of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s (WHS) statewide engagement strategy. Leading the Community Engagement Department, this role is responsible for advancing mission effectiveness by deepening relationships, expanding audience reach, and strengthening partnerships that connect people across Wisconsin to history through meaningful, relevant, and accessible experiences.

The Director leads the development and delivery of community engagement programs, services, and initiatives that align with WHS’s strategic priorities, including increasing history literacy, growing and diversifying audiences, and delivering a modern, audience-centered approach to public history. For example, this position leads a team to collaborate on new media development (such as digital shorts and documentaries), community gallery exhibits, historical markers, support affiliate organizations, and other agency initiatives. The Director ensures that engagement efforts are coordinated across divisions, grounded in community needs, and designed to create sustained impact across urban, rural, and tribal communities, as well as historically underserved populations.

The Director works closely with WHS leadership colleagues to coordinate engagement efforts, align priorities, and ensure a consistent approach to how the Society connects with communities statewide. This includes collaborating with experience design, education, programming, marketing, collections, historic sites and attractions, and operational teams to integrate community engagement into broader agency initiatives and experiences.

The Director of Community Engagement oversees a geographically distributed team responsible for key statewide programs and serves as a connector across the organization, aligning engagement strategies with program development and agency priorities.

This role also plays a critical part in shaping engagement strategies for major initiatives, including the Wisconsin History Center, and future new experiences at the agency’s Museums and Historic Sites, ensuring strong community integration and long-term audience development.

The position is headquartered in Madison, but a remote location in the State of Wisconsin may be possible.

This position is in pay schedule 81, range 01. The classification for this position is Historical Society Manager.  A 2-year Career Executive trial period will be required. 

For existing Wisconsin state employees: Pay on appointment for current or former state employees may vary according to the applicable pay provisions found in the Wisconsin State Compensation Plan. 

How to Apply:

Visit wisc.jobs and log in as an External Applicant, find the job by title or Job ID 22570, click Apply for Job in the upper left.

This position will close on November 20th, 2026 at 11:59pm.