What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr Manager, Historical Clothing & Dress position at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation?
Who We Are
Founded in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private, not-for-profit educational, historic, and cultural institution that owns and operates one of the largest and best-known museum complexes in the world. Our mission is “that the future may learn from the past” through preserving and restoring 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia’s colonial capital. We engage, inform, and inspire people to learn about this historic capital, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape a new nation.
Today, Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the U.S. The Historic Area is the 301-acre restored colonial capital with 88 original buildings and 525 buildings reconstructed to how they appeared in the 18th century through extensive archaeological, architectural, and documentary research. The Historic Area is staffed by highly trained, historically dressed interpreters and expert tradespeople who bring the 18th century to life. The Foundation also owns and operates two world-class museums, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute, and a renowned research library, the John D Rockefeller Jr Library.
Additionally, Colonial Williamsburg is home to five world class accommodations at the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge Autograph Collection, the Griffin Hotel, the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotels and Suites and the unique Colonial Houses in the Historical Area. Visitors may also indulge in food and drink at our many on site restaurants and taverns that blend a historically inspired dining experience with today’s evolved tastes. Each year over 5 million people visit Williamsburg and another 20 million engage with us digitally.
About The Position
Sr Manager, Historical Clothing & Dress (HC&D) delivers accurately designed historical dress for interpretive staff to create a memorable visual interpretation of revolutionary-era life, and is responsible for realizing Colonial Williamsburg’s visual interpretive goals through the use of reproduced historical dress. This role includes managing the daily operations of the department, overseeing clothing production, inventory, and maintenance, and setting standards of appearance for historical dress. The Director works closely with the Curator of Historic Clothing and Textiles and the Fashion Trades Committee to ensure historical accuracy. Additionally, the Director prepares and manages the department's annual budget, creates and maintains efficient workflows to meet production demands, and manages staff to foster a supportive and inclusive environment.
Essential Functions:
Direct: 5 direct reports: Head Cutter/Draper Supervisor of Issuance and inventory, Head Accessories Craftsperson, HC&D Admin, and Staff Cobbler
Indirect: 14 indirect reports
Required and Preferred Education and Experience:
Required:
Qualifications:
Founded in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private, not-for-profit educational, historic, and cultural institution that owns and operates one of the largest and best-known museum complexes in the world. Our mission is “that the future may learn from the past” through preserving and restoring 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia’s colonial capital. We engage, inform, and inspire people to learn about this historic capital, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape a new nation.
Today, Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the U.S. The Historic Area is the 301-acre restored colonial capital with 88 original buildings and 525 buildings reconstructed to how they appeared in the 18th century through extensive archaeological, architectural, and documentary research. The Historic Area is staffed by highly trained, historically dressed interpreters and expert tradespeople who bring the 18th century to life. The Foundation also owns and operates two world-class museums, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute, and a renowned research library, the John D Rockefeller Jr Library.
Additionally, Colonial Williamsburg is home to five world class accommodations at the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge Autograph Collection, the Griffin Hotel, the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotels and Suites and the unique Colonial Houses in the Historical Area. Visitors may also indulge in food and drink at our many on site restaurants and taverns that blend a historically inspired dining experience with today’s evolved tastes. Each year over 5 million people visit Williamsburg and another 20 million engage with us digitally.
About The Position
Sr Manager, Historical Clothing & Dress (HC&D) delivers accurately designed historical dress for interpretive staff to create a memorable visual interpretation of revolutionary-era life, and is responsible for realizing Colonial Williamsburg’s visual interpretive goals through the use of reproduced historical dress. This role includes managing the daily operations of the department, overseeing clothing production, inventory, and maintenance, and setting standards of appearance for historical dress. The Director works closely with the Curator of Historic Clothing and Textiles and the Fashion Trades Committee to ensure historical accuracy. Additionally, the Director prepares and manages the department's annual budget, creates and maintains efficient workflows to meet production demands, and manages staff to foster a supportive and inclusive environment.
Essential Functions:
- Directs the daily operation of HC&D and its staff of c. 20 employees and volunteers. Determines the needs for historic clothing production for interpretation and special events throughout the Foundation. The director coordinates the production and distribution of historic clothing, shoes, and accessories in conjunction with department leadership, and ensures that staff assignments are made according to established priorities and that schedules are maintained. Oversees and modifies production systems to ensure the most efficient use of materials and time.
- Oversees the management of stock levels of raw materials in the warehouse, dispensing of raw materials for garment production, inventory and storage of finished goods, issuance and accounting of clothing assigned to employees, and management of costume return. Responsible for maintenance of computerized inventory system and for conducting periodic physical inventory. Responsible for an inventory exceeding 60,000 costume items.
- Manages garment production, ensuring stringent standards of quality, accuracy, and efficiency. Cultivates design and variety of clothing in conjunction with subject matter experts.
- Provides leadership and support to the employees who work at the Department of Historical Clothing & Dress. Responsibilities include interviewing candidates for positions, examining the candidates’ skill levels, hiring the right candidates for new positions, ensuring new employees receive appropriate training, ensuring that appropriate work schedules are developed, observing the performance levels of the employees, providing constructive feedback and accountability by conducting performance appraisals and reviewing performance appraisals produced by supervisors, counseling employees for improved performance and, when necessary, disciplining and terminating employees. Leads HC&D employees through hiring, training, scheduling, performance appraisals and disciplinary actions.
- Collaborates with the Historical Clothing & Dress Committee to actively engage in historical clothing research conducted by staff. The research conducted by members of the HC&D Committee is used by the Department of Historical Clothing & Dress to heighten the accuracy and relevance of visual interpretation goals of The Foundation.
- In cooperation with the Committee, establishes standards for both the garments produced by the Department of Historical Clothing & Dress and the way they are worn by the interpretive staff.
- Prepares and manages the annual operating budget for the Department of Historical Clothing & Dress. Controls and analyzes expenditure of funds. Maintains expenditures within budget.
- Develops programs for guests describing the function of the Department of Historical Clothing & Dress including tours of the center and lectures on the application of historical dress to the interpretive staff and guests when needed
- Works with leaders through the Foundation and Historic Area management to promote effective communication, plan for future production and allotment needs, and ensures that interpreters have appropriate allotments of clothing for their work assignments and conditions.
- Serves as liaison between the Department of Historical Clothing & Dress and other departments and divisions to facilitate development of clothing allotments and guidelines for garment acquisition and care, acquisition of materials and supplies, prompt payment and accurate recording of accounts, monitoring of physical plant, and employee safety.
Direct: 5 direct reports: Head Cutter/Draper Supervisor of Issuance and inventory, Head Accessories Craftsperson, HC&D Admin, and Staff Cobbler
Indirect: 14 indirect reports
Required and Preferred Education and Experience:
Required:
- Graduate level studies in theatrical costume, historical dress, material culture, or equivalent professional experience. The right candidate will have 10-15 years of progressive experience in costume/clothing production, including three to five years costume/clothing production management experience.
- Candidate should have 5-10 years of personnel management experience
- The candidate must have experience in a mentoring/teaching role
- The candidate must have excellent computer skills including standard office software, digital pattern making and database applications.
- The candidate must have excellent pattern making skills
Qualifications:
- Advanced knowledge of the methodologies of historical and modern clothing production including excellent sewing skills, Costume & Apparel design and pattern making.
- Ability to develop short and long-range work plans, work procedures and standards.
- Excellent financial skills, including budget and resource/inventory management.
- Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to effectively lead work teams and to train, develop and manage employees so that they meet the division’s expectations of the Department of Historical Clothing & Dress and provide exceptional customer service to the historically dressed employees of the foundation.
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and to respond to urgent needs effectively and efficiently.
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, including the ability to produce reports, guide tours and present workshops and lectures.
- Ability to build constructive relationships and work well with employees at all levels in the Foundation.
- Knowledge and experience with Office 365 applications including Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, and OneDrive.
- Strong knowledge of 18th century clothing and a sense of color and design.
- A strong grounding in a variety of hand crafts in a professional/production capacity will be required as mentorship of staff involved with knitting, millinery, weaving, sewing, pattern cutting, embroidery, inventory management as well as related crafts and technology will be needed.