In 2024, the Fort Monroe Authority will hire its next Chief Executive Officer. Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the Chief Executive Officer will be charged with the strategic leadership, management, and direction of Fort Monroe Authority. The Chief Executive Officer will define and implement strategic initiatives so that both internal and external stakeholders can galvanize around unified priorities and goals.

The Fort Monroe Authority (FMA) is a pivotal organization dedicated to the preservation, management, and redevelopment of Fort Monroe, a national historic landmark district located in Hampton, Virginia. The FMA's mission involves promoting the site's historical significance while ensuring its adaptive reuse and economic redevelopment in line with the Fort Monroe Master Plan. By advocating for legislative and financial support, the FMA works closely with federal, state, and local governing bodies to secure the necessary resources to sustain and enhance the site's infrastructure and utilities. Additionally, the FMA nurtures strategic partnerships with entities like the National Park Service and the City of Hampton to deliver a coordinated visitor experience that reflects the united vision for Fort Monroe's history, preservation, and operation.

The FMA also plays a crucial role in preserving the cultural and historical integrity of Fort Monroe. This includes compliance with the Commonwealth of Virginia's preservation responsibilities and the implementation of educational and interpretive programs, such as the African Landing Memorial. FMA has been designated as a Site of Memory associated with the UNESCO Slave Route project. The Authority emphasizes the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion within its operations and community interactions. As a result, the FMA is not only a steward of the past but also a champion for future reuse and development, ensuring that Fort Monroe remains a vibrant, inclusive, and economically viable community. Through strategic leadership, effective communication, and robust fundraising efforts, the FMA continuously works towards enhancing the site's recognition and fostering a strong, supportive community around Fort Monroe.

The Fort Monroe Authority is a public body corporate and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia with the powers and duties as set forth in VA Code § 2.2-2336 et seq. The powers and duties of the CEO are established in VA Code § 2.2-2345.

It is the policy of the Commonwealth to protect the nationally significant historic resources at Fort Monroe, provide public access to the Fort’s historic resources and recreational opportunities, exercise exemplary stewardship of the Fort’s natural resources, and maintain Fort Monroe in perpetuity as a place that is a desirable one in which to reside, do business, and visit, all in a way that is economically sustainable.

Fort Monroe Authority has a staff of 40 and an annual budget of $12.6M.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) reports to the 14-member FMA Board of Trustees and provides leadership, vision, and motivation towards the implementation of the Fort Monroe Reuse Plan to accomplish the legislative requirements to preserve the property, provide exemplary visitor services based on the historic and cultural history of Fort Monroe, remain open to the public, and seek to achieve economic sustainability. To accomplish this goal, the CEO will work to engage and improve strategic partnerships with the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Hampton, and the National Park Service.

The CEO will communicate the direction of the FMA to elected leaders, governing bodies, stakeholders, partners, philanthropic sources, staff, and members of the public to promote support for the vision of “One Fort Monroe.” The CEO will provide strict adherence to FMA governing documents, oversight of the Master Plan, the Strategic Action Plan and historic preservation agreements and provide executive leadership to the six core departments of the FMA: Communications; Cultural and Historic Resources; Museums, Education, and Interpretation; Operations and Finance; Real Estate; and Venues, Events, and Media Productions; by managing these departmental functions through the FMA Chief of Operations and the FMA Chief of Visitor Services.

The CEO will be a visionary and implementer with a demonstrated passion for FMA’s mission. A successful candidate will inspire a team-oriented culture and bring an ability to build relationships across a variety of stakeholders. The successful candidate will bring government knowledge, people skills, business acumen, as well as an innovative problem-solving approach.

Additionally, it is expected that the Chief Executive Officer will:

• Provide strategic leadership and champion economic redevelopment through the adaptive reuse of historic and appropriate non-historic structures and implementation of utility and infrastructure improvements as identified in the FMA Master Plan and Utility Master Plan.

• Nurture and improve strategic partnerships with the National Park Service and the City of Hampton that foster collaborative services, operations, and programs and create a superior coordinated visitor experience and operation that demonstrates a united vision for the history, preservation, and operation of Fort Monroe, known as One Fort Monroe.

• Provide oversight for the education and historic interpretation provided by the FMA and in concert with the National Park Service. of Fort Monroe and leadership for the design, installation, and promotion of the African Landing Memorial at Fort Monroe.

• Provide the necessary vision, leadership, and fundraising skills which will enable the FMA to improve philanthropic donations and grants from statutory sources, foundations, trusts, major donors, and individual donor programs.

• Promote the mission and vision of the FMA to federal, state, and local governing bodies and elected officials by advocating for and obtaining both legislative and financial support for the strategic direction of the FMA.

• Serve as the FMA’s most public advocate for expanding the recognition of Fort Monroe locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

• Communicate effectively and establish credibility throughout the FMA and with the FMA Board of Trustees as an effective developer of solutions to business, operations, and visitor services challenges.

• Support the preservation responsibilities of the FMA to ensure compliance with the Commonwealth’s preservation responsibilities including the Programmatic Agreement, Design Standards, and Statewide Memorandum of Understanding.

• Partner with the Fort Monroe Foundation on philanthropic initiatives.

• Coordinate and consolidate reports from departments and partners that effectively communicate the status, progress, and challenges of programs, projects, and budgets for the FMA Board of Trustees to review and approve on all current strategic, operational, and programmatic matters.

• Establish goals and objectives for the Chief of Operations, Chief of Visitor Services, and other direct support personnel and evaluate performance during the annual review process.

• Inspire and lead by example with an achievement-oriented focus demonstrating uncompromising accountability, courage, and self-confidence, even in the face of adversity.

• Serve as a results-oriented leader setting performance-related expectations and goals while empowering FMA employees with appropriate authority and accountability.

• Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion across all facets of the FMA and its prioritization into the organizational structures, culture, programs, and processes of the FMA.

• 10+ years of experience in senior-level strategic or leadership roles from the private, public, or nonprofit sectors.

• Strong inspiring communicator and partnership builder.

• Significant experience engaging public, private, or nonprofit Board of Directors and individual Board members that draws upon the diverse talents of a dynamic and engaged volunteer Board to provide strategic guidance and leadership to the FMA.

• Ability to analyze legislative and government affairs issues to identify business opportunities as well as risk mitigation for the FMA.

• Demonstrated skills and capacity to mobilize fundraising efforts with corporate, non-profit, and individual philanthropic partners.

• Working knowledge of tourism, real estate development, economic development, and redevelopment of historical projects or other projects of comparable complexity and expectations.

• Knowledge of cultural asset management and historic properties.

• Strong desire to educate the public on accurate, authentic, and complete historic narratives of history relevant to Fort Monroe.

• Personal energy and a dynamic style that engenders confidence and support for the Fort Monroe Master Plan, Strategic Action Plan, and other legislative mandates.

• A strong team leader and consensus builder that understands the role of diversity, inclusion, and equity in the marketplace.

• Ability to retain and recruit high quality teams.

• Unquestionable ethics and person of integrity.

The Fort Monroe Authority has retained Korn Ferry to assist the Board in this search. Screening will begin in June 2024 and continue until an appointment is made. Applications (including resume or CV and a cover letter addressing interest) should be submitted to fortmonroe@kornferry.com

Nominations and inquiries should be directed electronically to Charles.Ingersoll@KornFerry.com

At the Fort Monroe Authority, we are committed to creating and sustaining an agency culture affirming and respecting diversity. We aim to recruit, develop and retain talented people from a diverse candidate pool. The Fort Monroe Authority is committed to employing inclusive practices in our daily operations and is proud to be an EEO workplace and employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, protected veteran status, national origin and religion or any other characteristic protected by law.