Open Positions at the Gilder Lehrman Institute

Internship Program

Read more about our Internship Program.

Adjunct Section Professor

The Organization

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) is the nation’s leading American history organization dedicated to K–12 education. The Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. Since its founding in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has created powerful and meaningful ways to teach and learn history. Focusing on primary sources, the Institute offers teacher seminars, online courses, exhibitions, digital materials, and print publications that enable students of all ages and backgrounds to study the nation’s past.

The Institute brings the work of today’s leading historians into classrooms and homes around the globe. Through public events, publications, posters, videos, exhibitions, essays, and a dedicated website rich in primary sources, the Institute brings every period of American history to life. The Institute’s diverse education programs, including the acclaimed Hamilton Education Program, provide opportunities to explore five centuries of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School network comprises twelve million students and 90,500 teachers from more than 34,000 schools worldwide.

The Position

In partnership with Gettysburg College, the Gilder Lehrman Institute is currently seeking a historian who can advise and grade students enrolled in online graduate courses in American history. Courses are part of the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History, a fully online master’s degree program for K–12 educators that averages over 800 enrollments per semester. The Adjunct Section Professor will be asked to work with one or two sections of students (each section capped at 25 students) enrolled in a course designed by a lead Professor who has developed the syllabus and recorded course lectures.

The right candidate will have a PhD in American history, experience working with online learners, and a passion for K–12 education.

This role reports to the Assistant Director of the MA Program and the Director of Academic Strategy. The position is remote. Some weekend and evening hours are required. Employment starts on May 30, 2024, and ends on August 31, 2024. Candidates with a record of excellent work in this program will be considered for reappointment in future semesters. 

Roles and Responsibilities

  • Moderate student discussion boards
  • Create writing prompts and grade student writing
  • Communicate regularly with enrolled students through email, the learning management system, and Zoom
  • Support students with other tasks as required

Requirements

  • PhD in American history
  • Knowledge of a variety of American history eras and subfields
  • Experience with Moodle OpenLMS or a similar Learning Management System
  • Experience working with online learners
  • Experience grading student work and delivering targeted feedback in a timely fashion
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • A passion for K–12 education and supporting K–12 educators

To Apply

Interested candidates must submit a cover letter, resume, and statement of teaching philosophy in a single file to hr@gilderlehrman.org. Please include “Adjunct Section Professor” in the subject line of your email. Please also let us know how you heard about the role.

GLI will request an official copy of the candidate’s graduate transcript before hiring.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, sex, gender identity, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, height, weight, or any other legally protected status. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, GLI encourages you to apply.

Contact Information: hr@gilderlehrman.org

Development Manager

The Organization

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) is the nation’s leading American history organization dedicated to K–12 education. The Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. Since its founding in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has created powerful and meaningful ways to teach and learn history. Focusing on primary sources, the Institute offers teacher seminars, online courses, exhibitions, digital materials, and print publications that enable students of all ages and backgrounds to study the nation’s past.

The Institute brings the work of today’s leading historians into classrooms and homes around the globe. Through public events, publications, posters, videos, exhibitions, essays, and a dedicated website rich in primary sources, the Institute brings every period of American history to life. The Institute’s diverse education programs, including the acclaimed Hamilton Education Program, provide opportunities to explore five centuries of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School network comprises twelve million students and more than 90,500 teachers from more than 34,000 schools worldwide.

The Role

Are you passionate about the field of education? Excited by the idea of helping to inspire rising generations to be civically engaged at this critical moment for American democracy? Looking for an entrepreneurial fundraising role that allows you to be creative, hands-on, and part of recruiting the next generation of engaged supporters? The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Development team is looking for you!

The Institute’s annual operating budget is approximately $10M, more than $4M of which comes from philanthropy. We are currently seeking a Development Manager, reporting to the Director of Development. The successful candidate will truly love to write and be excited about being a leader in rethinking how the Institute pairs words, images, and video to articulate the urgency of our mission and the impact of our programs on educators, students, and society as a whole. While writing will be an important component of this job, the Development Manager will also have the opportunity to engage directly with donors. This is an ideal position for someone who is interested in the donor relationship-building aspects of fundraising, while relishing the idea of spending a significant portion of your time immersed in creating the materials that are so essential to effective fundraising. The writing that the Development Manager oversees will range from shorter to longer formats depending on the donor-related need, but with an overall emphasis on distilling our work into highly concise pieces that use graphic design and visual elements as useful to our storytelling.

The Development Manager will play a key role in

  • Creating compelling marketing materials that help staff, Trustees, and other stakeholders fundraise for priority programs and our annual fund  
  • Strengthening our donor stewardship by regularly producing compelling communications pieces 
  • Helping to sustain and grow our portfolio of donors by writing impact reports, proposals, and other materials to secure funds
  • Cultivating donors in meetings, with opportunities to engage directly with donors aligned to the candidate’s level of experience

The Development Manager will be joining the Institute at a dynamic time, as we celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2024 and continue to enhance and expand our nonpartisan K–12 and public programming at a critical time for our nation.

This role will be based in New York City, and currently requires working in person at least one day per week in GLI’s midtown office.

Position Overview

The Development Manager will play a crucial role in bringing our stories to life across donor audiences and mediums, helping us sustain our current donor base and significantly expand and diversify this base. Specific responsibilities will include

  • Creating a toolkit of essential fundraising collateral for staff, Trustees, and President’s Council members to use in reaching out to donors, developing materials in both deck and document-based formats
  • Producing donor newsletters and other key donor communications pieces that capture highlights of the Institute’s work, taking these projects from start to finish by proposing the most compelling content, writing copy, and executing all relevant graphic design elements
  • Supporting the success of donor cultivation events by writing event-related collateral including e-blasts to advertise event opportunities, written program materials distributed to event guests, and post-event publicity pieces
  • Developing and executing a plan for Trustee communications to inspire their giving and outreach by sharing impact stories
  • Managing a calendar of direct mail appeals, identifying compelling opportunities to solicit giving to our annual fund, and developing aligned appeal pieces (which could take the form of letters, videos, or any other creative approach to fundraising)
  • Managing communications with donors who give to specific initiatives and/or programs in specific states, developing a calendar of outreach opportunities, and writing compelling updates to provide regular touchpoints throughout the year
  • Writing donor reports and proposals supporting at least $1M worth of gifts, working with the Institute’s Education team to develop compelling updates on our impact and cases for support
  • Supporting or leading annual meetings with a portfolio of donors to renew critical funds

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • An excellent writer, who also enjoys writing in multiple different formats and finding the right balance between telling stories through words, images, and videos
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite applications
  • Basic graphic design skills strongly preferred (i.e., you feel comfortable using Canva or equivalent tools to design a 1-page marketing document or design an e-blast)
  • Prior experience in non-profit fundraising and/or communications strongly preferred, or demonstrated experience in another professional role that requires writing for external audiences. Candidates with significant professional experience may be considered at the Senior Manager level.

Other Qualifications

  • Commitment to GLI’s mission and enthusiasm about communicating the mission to external audiences
  • Exceptional project management skills, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment that involves juggling multiple projects at once and being detail-oriented about each task
  • Strong relationship management skills and intuitive understanding of how to handle sensitive communications with care
  • Team-oriented with a desire to participate in creating a strong team culture

Compensation

Compensation range: $60,000–$70,000 annually; compensation will be commensurate with candidate’s experience and other qualifications, and only candidates with significant professional experience will be considered for the position as a Senior Manager with compensation up to $80,000 annually.  

The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers a generous and inclusive benefits package, including employer-paid health, dental, disability, and life insurance, 401(k) and FSA plans, and paid time off in the first year of hire including a paid winter recess from December 26 to 31.

To Apply

Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume in a single file to hr@gilderlehrman.org.

Candidates must also submit as separate attachments two work samples that highlight relevant skills for this position. One sample should be a narrative piece of writing (a short piece of two or three pages is ideal, with the maximum submission length being five pages). The second sample should integrate graphic design and narrative elements. Pieces written for donors or other marketing purposes are ideal. Candidates applying without a background in fundraising or communications may choose samples at their discretion that demonstrate relevant skills.

Please include “Development Manager” in the subject line of your email. Please also let us know how you heard about the role.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, sex, gender identity, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, height, weight, or any other legally protected status. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, GLI encourages you to apply.