Chief Executive Officer

The History Trust of SA is looking for its next CEO who will be a creative advocate for our vision to ensure we give the past a future now!

• The History Trust of South Australia’s vision is to give the past a future – now!
• We encourage South Australians to discover that this state’s past is rich, relevant and fascinating.
• Opportunity to lead an organisation with a diverse program, multiple sites and a statewide brief.

The History Trust of South Australia was created as a statutory corporation by the History Trust of South Australia Act 1981 to safeguard South Australia’s moveable cultural heritage and to encourage research and public presentations of South Australian social history.

We are the only Australian agency guided by an Act of Parliament with a broad charter to promote history. As a statutory body responsible to the Minister for Education, our Act is our starting place, and our critical ten-year goals flow from it. 

South Australia’s unique history is rich, relevant and fascinating. Our aim is to make it an essential part of what all South Australians and our visitors can experience. It explains our society and the way it works, and how this feeds into the story of human endeavour across our world.

Our three public museums: Migration Museum, National Motor Museum and the South Australian Maritime Museum, along with the Centre of Democracy are welcoming and adaptable – social places where visitors of all ages, backgrounds, purposes and abilities can find connection. Our State History Collection is a major source for museum displays and documents everything from fashion to manufacturing.

Public learning and education are focus areas for The History Trust, aided by digital access pathways. We bring SA history-related content for primary and secondary students into classrooms across our vast State.  We offer everything from a public program of talks, to grant programs, to research and publication of South Australia’s unique stories, to support for regional, local and niche history across a network of community museums. Our services enhance both the local tourist experience and community well-being. We collaborate with many organisations – from the performing arts to historic car clubs.

The History Trust’s job is to encourage current and future generations of South Australians to appreciate their unique history. Alongside our museum and education programs we do this with our high-profile events such as the Bay to Birdwood in October – one of the world’s great historic motoring events with over 100,000 spectators – and the increasingly popular state History Festival with 540+ events every May.

We currently have two ambitious projects underway: the Migration Museum site renewal, and the Save the Queen – Priscilla Queen of the Desert Bus – restoration and exhibition fundraising campaign.

We are looking for a Chief Executive Officer with significant leadership, management, strategic, fundraising and collaborative experience. This will be the person who activates the linkages between history, culture, social cohesion and education that underpin all that the History Trust stands for. Above all, this leader will be a creative advocate for our vision to keep giving the past a future – now!

Please contact the consultant assisting the Trustees to obtain the link to the Information for Candidates site that has full details of the role and the application requirements:

Tony Grierson

AEGEUS Executive Search    

P: +61 8 7160 2383

E: historytrust@aegeus.asia