Are you excited about building educational programs and resources on topics related to maps, geography, and history? Do you imagine yourself working at the intersection of libraries, museums, research, public education, and the public humanities? Are you a collaborative leader eager to work with a team to build creative and transformative new teaching and learning opportunities for the public?

The Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library seeks to hire for the position of Director of Education & Educational Programs. The Director of Education & Educational Programs plays the key role in designing, implementing, and advancing the Center’s portfolio of educational activities, and in developing resources and partnerships that support these activities. The new Director will be responsible for coordinating educational work across multiple audience groups, including K-12 teachers and students, university-level partnerships, and adult educational programs. Together with the President & Head Curator and the Assistant Director, the Director of Education sits on the Center’s senior leadership team.

About this role

The Leventhal Center, an independent research and education institution housed within the Boston Public Library, is a national leader on educational topics related to historical geography. In recent years, the Center has advanced particular focus areas in place-based education, active learning in primary source collections, civic data literacy, and the digital geohumanities. The Center’s existing programs and partnerships focus on Boston and the New England region, but include curricular and resource development work that reaches national and international audiences. Existing partnerships with the Boston Public Library and Boston Public Schools offer further opportunities for growth. The Center seeks a Director of Education who is excited to build additional institutional partnerships that connect students, educators, and members of the public in a shared enterprise of civically-engaged study regarding the past, present, and future of people and places as seen through the lens of maps and geography.

The new Director of Education & Educational Programs will enjoy the opportunity to continue building out the Center’s existing portfolio of teaching programs, curricular materials, and teacher professional development workshops, while also working to integrate these activities with educational programs beyond the classroom, including the creation of new digital platforms, high school to college pathways, and public history/public humanities initiatives. The new Director will also hold the responsibility for evaluating and expanding the Center’s existing suite of public programs for adult learners. They will also take on a crucial visioning role as the Center works with the BPL broadly to identify opportunities to advance teaching and learning at the Central Library and throughout the branch libraries. While the Director of Education & Educational Programs is not primarily responsible for overseeing the Center’s exhibitions, collections, curatorial, and research programs, they will work closely with staff on such programs to ensure that educational goals play a central role in shaping all of the Center’s activities.

The Director will begin supervising an existing staff member, the K-12 Education Lead, immediately upon hire, and will have the opportunity to hire 1–2 new staff members in the Education Department (with the input of other senior staff and pending budgetary approval) within 6–12 months of their start date. The Director’s work will also be supported by curatorial, library, and administrative staff across the Center.

­­­Skills and qualifications

• Required: Bachelor’s degree
• Preferred (not required): Any one of the following graduate degrees:
  • A master’s degree in education, public history, library and information sciences, museum studies, digital humanities, or a closely related field
  • A PhD in an academic field related to the history and/or geography of the United States, with a demonstrated record in translating scholarly work for non-academic audiences
  • An EdD with a focus on museums and/or library practice
• Required: Supervisory experience
• Preferred: A topical and institutional familiarity with the Boston and New England region
• Required: Demonstrated knowledge, experience, and expertise with some aspect of the Center’s broad portfolio of topic areas, including (for example) historical geography; urban, regional, and environmental studies; civics; science and technology studies; place-based inquiry; museum and library collections; and/or community history.
• Required: Demonstrated ability to create educational program material to meet the needs of diverse audience groups
• Required: A track record of professional engagement in the field at relevant forums such as conferences and workshops
• Required: A track record of involvement with successful grant and/or philanthropic development

Compensation and position details

This is a salaried position, with an expected salary range of $70,000–100,000 annually according to experience and qualifications. The position is eligible for a full set of fringe benefits, including medical and dental insurance, employer contributions to a 401(k) retirement plan, life and disability insurance, and commuter benefits.

The Director of Education will be expected to work primarily in-person at the Central Library in Copley Square, at 700 Boylston St. in Boston. After an initial transitional period, the Director will be entitled to at least one day of work from a remote location per week, in accordance with Leventhal Center HR policy for salaried employees, as well as additional flexibility by approval where appropriate.

There is no residency requirement for this position. Leventhal Map & Education Center employees report to the independent Leventhal Map & Education Center and are not covered directly by human resource policies pertaining to the Boston Public Library or City of Boston municipal employees.

This position is subject to a CORI background check.

Start date

Ideally no later than January 1, 2024, though exceptions may be made for a later start date for particularly excellent candidates.

About the Leventhal Center

The Leventhal Map & Education Center is an independent, self-governing nonprofit organization in a long-term strategic relationship with the Boston Public Library. The Center stewards a quarter million geographic objects in the Library’s collections, and works to make them freely available to the public for research, interpretation, and engagement. Our collections range from fifteenth-century atlases to modern-day geospatial data sets. The Center creates original exhibitions hosted in its gallery space at the Central Library in Copley Square and promotes education on topics that explore the relationship between people and places.

As a mission-driven organization, the Center endorses the following values:

• Commit to integrity, excellence, respect in all our relationships, and professional library ethics (including the ALA’s Code of Ethics and the ACRL Code of Ethics for Special Collections Librarians)
• Listen to and include community voices, especially those who have been less represented
• Increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in our organization and our work with others
• Work to advance a more just and equitable society
• Keep our spaces and community services open, welcoming, and “free to all”

The Center places great value on an organizational culture in which staff members have the flexibility and openness to work with a diverse group of audiences, constituencies, and colleagues. Our work is committed to public service and to innovation that fosters positive change in the world.

To apply

Please submit the following.

• A cover letter of no more than two pages (PDF, DOCX, or MD format)
• A CV or résumé
• One portfolio example of an educational resource which the candidate has either sole authored or taken a lead role in producing, such as: a curriculum, lesson plan, teaching resource guide, exhibition materials aimed at educational audiences, public history or public humanities project, course exercise or similar (PDF or Web link)
• A list of 3 professional references, including telephone numbers and email. We will inform candidates before contacting references.
• Additional material will be requested from semifinalist candidates.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the position will remain open until filled. For full consideration, please submit application materials by October 23, 2023 by 12:00 pm ET.

Apply online now

For more information

Contact info@leventhalmap.org for more questions about this job vacancy, or visit leventhalmap.org for more information about the Leventhal Center.