Director of Content Strategy

About ONE Archives Foundation

The ONE Archives Foundation, Inc., (OAF) is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) leader in the preservation, development, interpretation, and presentation of historical, literary, and artistic content related to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) community both in the United States and globally. Founded on November 15, 1952, OAF remains the oldest, active LGBTQ organization in the United States, with its name derived from an aphorism by 19th century philosopher Thomas Carlyle: "A mystic bond of brotherhood makes all men one."

From its beginning nearly 70 years ago, OAF’s bold actions made the experiences of gay and lesbian life in American society visible and in the process made history through its struggles for civil rights, ultimately winning a decisive U.S Supreme Court victory in 1958 related to the ONE Magazine, the first widely-distributed LGBTQ magazine in the country. Across decades of social justice activism, OAF evolved into many various roles, first as a publisher of pro-gay content, an academic institute, and a historical archive. And throughout its history, OAF collected and built the oldest and largest archive of LGBTQ related materials in the world, a dynamic collection preserving the history, art, and culture of the queer community’s struggle for identity and equality.

In 2000, a new era of leadership at the ONE Archives Foundation faced the challenge of consolidating the massive archive of books, serials, photographs, audio and video recordings, posters, signs, ephemera, and objects and finding a new home for its vast holdings. In 2010, the ONE Archives Foundation selected the University of Southern California as the new home of the Archives. The collection was transferred to the university and renamed ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries. While USC now retains ownership of the Archives, the Foundation continues to actively and officially advises on all matters concerning the holdings. Within the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, one will find a diverse array of materials in 46 different languages, including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and Japanese, reflecting a global perspective.

The ONE Archives Foundation is dedicated to telling the accurate and authentic stories of LGBTQ people, history, and culture through storytelling, content creation, public exhibitions, educational projects and trainings, and community outreach programs.

OAF collaborates not only with the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, but also with other archives, institutions, organizations, and constituencies to make this unique content accessible to scholars, writers, journalists, historians, educators, and a diverse, global audience.

For example, the ONE Archives Foundation, in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, is exploring the development of an open source digital platform connecting LGBTQ archives and community collections from across the nation, with the ultimate goal of developing a collaborative digital framework for documenting and sharing LGBTQ history for all.  

The Position

With interest in the history of LGBTQ people exploding worldwide, ONE Archives Foundation seeks to find an innovative content strategist to serve as the organization’s first Director of Content Strategy in order to bring these once invisible stories to the widest, most diverse communities possible.

The Director of Content Strategy, a gifted storyteller, part-historian, and part-media-savvy strategist, provides overall leadership, tone, appearance, and direction for OAF’s high quality content strategy and development that will help drive all of the organization’s work, including educational programs, symposia, exhibitions, community outreach, publishing, multimedia communications, and public experiences. This position reports to the OAF’s Executive Director and serves as an essential member of the senior management team. A dynamic, creative leader, the Director of Content Strategy leads, develops, and implements strategies to create diverse narratives, messaging, editorial points of view, exhibitions, and experiences to support OAF’s mission: To be a key voice in addressing social justice and other issues impacting the LGBTQ community by presenting the accurate and authentic stories, history, contemporary experiences, and humanity of LGBTQ people.

As a new department at OAF, the ideal leader will bring an entrepreneurial, innovative, and contemporary approach to the work of developing and leading content strategy that disseminates the history of the LGBTQ community and their courageous struggles for equality. The Director of Content Strategy will oversee two staff: an Exhibitions and Gallery Administrator and eventually a Marketing Manager who is expected to be hired in 2020. In order to be successful, the Director of Content Strategy must demonstrate a powerful ability to organize, gather, and interpret archival materials into compelling stories and experiences that provide historical context to contemporary issues and reach a diverse, global audience.

Responsibilities

The Director of Content Strategy will have the following primary responsibilities:

• Manage the demands and needs of an emerging department while working collaboratively with the Executive Director and OAF’s staff to help build the voice and brand of the ONE Archives Foundation.
• Develop standards and best practices for OAF’s content creation, including a functional calendar that integrates all of ONE’s content work in youth education, public education, exhibitions, symposia, and collection development.
• Leverage contemporary issues to develop content themes, topics, and stories that resonate widely with diverse audiences, including underrepresented communities and youth.
• Develop and implement content strategies through a multi-platform approach that utilizes archival materials in an easily accessible way to share the universal stories of the LGBTQ community.
• Work effectively with the staff and leadership at the USC Libraries and at the ONE Archives at the USC.
• Work closely with the Director of Development on messaging that aligns well and helps to strengthen OAF’s fundraising efforts.
• Work closely with OAF’s Executive Director on all creative content initiatives that ensures a consistent message across all channels.
• Ensure diversity of content and exhibitions for authentic representation of LGBTQ history.
• Serve as staff liaison to the Archives and Content Committee.
• Conduct other duties and tasks as assigned by the Executive Director.
• Build and liaise with a network of content related partners and service providers.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess most of the following qualifications:

• A passionate commitment to the mission of the ONE Archives Foundation with a strong familiarity and enthusiastic interest in LGBTQ history, issues, and topics, both past and current.
• A minimum of five to seven years of professional experience in leading and developing content at a cultural institution or media organization, ideally with a track record of experience in either publications, editorial, design, or exhibitions.
• Experience working with the LGBTQ community.
• An independent, energetic, self-starter with a proven ability to develop compelling stories for diverse audiences.
• A visionary, innovative thinker with a track record for translating strategic thinking into concrete action plans and results.
• Familiarity with a variety of content types and media, including an understanding of digital and/or print communications, design, social media, and content effectiveness measurements.
• Deep interest in understanding cultural differences and works effectively with people from a range of social and cultural backgrounds
• Confident, collaborative, and politically savvy.
• Strong project management skills with supervisory experience that leverages strengths of others to accomplish a shared goal.
• Excellent historical research, analysis, and communication skills, including strong writing, editing, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work on evenings and weekends as required, and travel regionally and nationally as necessary.
• Bachelor’s degree in communications, history, journalism, gender studies, LGBTQ studies, museum studies, or related fields. An advanced degree would be an advantage.
• Provide a high level of support to board members to help them cultivate and build high-impact relationships that support current and future organizational goals.
• Competency in Spanish would be an advantage.

Application

The ONE Archives Foundation, Inc., has retained Campbell & Company to conduct this search. The team for this project includes Dan Nevez, Senior Consultant, and Alexandra Catuara, Associate Consultant. The ONE Archives Foundation offers a highly generous compensation and benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision benefits. Employees of OAF are not employees of USC and are not eligible for USC benefits.

To be considered for this opportunity, please send a letter of interest and resume to:

Alexandra Catuara, Associate Consultant, Executive Search

anc@campbellcompany.com

(312) 506-0060 direct