Michigan History Day Manager - Historical Society of Michigan

Posted on 6/17/25

The Historical Society of Michigan is seeking a Michigan History Day® Manager. The Michigan History Day Manager supports HSM’s mission by executing our K-12 educational programs and curriculum, the largest of which is Michigan History Day®. A successful candidate will work closely with the Director of Education to oversee and execute operations and logistics for the Michigan History Day program (National History Day in Michigan) and perform outreach to K-12 classrooms, teachers, and administrators.

About the Historical Society of Michigan

The Historical Society of Michigan, the state’s oldest cultural organization, helps to connect the stories of all Michigan’s peoples to students, educators, historical organizations and the public through education programs, conferences, publications, awards, workshops, referral services, networking opportunities, and support for local history organizations. HSM is the publisher of Michigan History and Chronicle magazine, the Historic Michigan Travel Guide, the Michigan Historical Review, and other publications. HSM is a member-supported educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Michigan History Day, a project-based learning program of the Historical Society of Michigan, is a yearlong educational program that encourages students to explore local, state, national, and world history. After selecting a historical topic that relates to the annual theme, students conduct extensive research by using libraries, archives, museums, and oral history interviews. They analyze and interpret their findings, draw conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, and create final projects in one of five categories: paper, exhibit, documentary, website, or performance.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Build and maintain relationships with individual schools and school districts in selected areas across the state to increase participation in the Michigan History Day (MHD) program.
• Create an outreach strategy/plan to reach schools not participating in the program with an emphasis on increasing diversity in the program.
• Lead in-person and virtual outreach to recruit new schools, teachers, and students to the program. This includes identifying venues and presenting the MHD program to teacher groups, in-service events, ISDs, etc.
• This position will be “boots on the ground,” working with teachers and administrators to grow the program and will require traveling to different schools, administrative offices, and historical organizations across the state.
• Assemble and distribute program and contest materials to teachers and students to ensure the success of the MHD program.
• Provide assistance and guidance to schools, teachers, and students already participating in the program.
• Oversee and manage district coordinators and other volunteers; assist with logistical planning for several district-level events.
• Establish strategic partnerships with historical organizations, universities, and schools to recruit volunteers and judges.
• Plan and execute the State Finals and district contests with assistance of other HSM staff
• Lead Michigan’s delegation to the National History Day competition in College Park, MD.
• Maintain professional correspondence with teachers, students, judges, and others via email, phone, and personal contacts.
• Assist the Director of Development in identifying potential sponsors and sources of support.
• Coordinate administrative and communication functions to increase program efficiency, including online registration, informational mailings, and online postings using social media.
• Produce or coordinate with the marketing department to produce graphic needs, such as the program booklet, buttons, T-shirts, banners, and other artwork material.
• Manage occasional interns, volunteers, and potential assistants working with the program.
• Support promotion of HSM’s educational curriculum including Michigan History for Kids curriculum sets and support teachers with implementation in their classroom and Michigan’s Story, an overview of the state’s history designed for educators.

Qualifications

The following qualifications are required for this position:

• Bachelor’s degree in education, history, or other humanities discipline
• Minimum of 2-3 years professional experience in a classroom or educational environment
• Knowledge of the teaching profession and effective teaching strategies including familiarity with Michigan Department of Education Grade Level Content Expectations for social studies and the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework
• Strong event planning and organizational skills with attention to detail for coordinating multiple programs concurrently, including preparing materials, communication, and logistics
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including multi-level sorting, mail merges, delimited and fixed-width data separation, text manipulation, and removing duplicates and reformatting.
• Experience designing and creating flyers, educational materials, informational signs, and more for a variety of audiences. Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite is a plus.
• Ability to communicate effectively, and in a timely manner, with diverse audiences having differing levels of knowledge
• Experience in presenting programs and training sessions
• Ability to travel
• Creative thinking, strong problem-solving skills, and resourcefulness
• Meticulous attention to detail, with a focus on the production of quality work
• Understanding diversity and inclusivity as well as the ability to work effectively with a broad cross-section of individuals
• Passion for the work of the organization, including serving youth in at-risk communities, outreach and training for local historical organizations, and education in Michigan history
• Ability to work independently in a changing environment but also as part of a team with internal and external participants and stakeholders
• Flexibility and the ability to anticipate problems and handle ambiguous and unexpected situations
• Ability to manage complex tasks and delegate effectively
• Availability for occasional evening and weekend events throughout the year as required
• Interest in Michigan history is a plus

Reports to: Director of Education, Historical Society of Michigan

Compensation: $36-38,000, commensurate with experience and skills. Competitive benefits including paid time off, health, retirement, and other benefits.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with interviews likely to begin the end of June and will continue until the position is filled. This position is full-time and requires work in HSM’s Lansing office. It is not a remote position.

The Historical Society of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We actively seek applications from candidates of color and people with disabilities.

For more information about the Historical Society of Michigan, please visit https://hsmichigan.org/

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume to resume@hsmichigan.org.