Cultural Heritage Lead

Sheladia Associates, Inc•Washington, DC

7h•$105,000 - $150,000•Hybrid

About The Position

This position is contingent upon IDIQ contract award and subsequent task-order award(s) and requirements. It is intended to support SHELADIA's pursuit of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), 2026 Worldwide A/E Support Services IDIQ. Employment, assignments, travel, and project responsibilities will be based on the awarded contract and applicable task orders. The program may support planning, design, construction, facility rehabilitation, system replacement, security upgrades, communications facilities, and building maintenance at Foreign Service posts worldwide and OBO offices in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Services may include professional support services, constructability reviews, critical-path schedule and risk analyses, and project-budget analyses. The OBO Core Team Cultural Heritage Lead will direct historic-building, cultural-resource, and heritage-landscape assessments and preservation assignments. The successful candidate will balance preservation and stewardship with diplomatic mission requirements, modernization, security, resilience, accessibility, sustainability, and host-country cultural considerations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in historic preservation, architecture, architectural history, archaeology, landscape architecture, conservation, or a closely related field.
Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in historic preservation, cultural-heritage management, conservation, or related professional services.
Demonstrated leadership of at least two major historic-preservation, cultural-resource, heritage-landscape, or adaptive-reuse assignments, including experience with historic structures, cultural landscapes, materials conservation, facility-condition assessments, or heritage-impact assessments.
Professional registration, certification, or demonstrated professional qualification appropriate to the discipline.
Working knowledge of U.S. historic-preservation standards and Government facility requirements, including coordination with host-country heritage laws, permitting processes, and cultural practices.
Strong preservation planning, stakeholder engagement, technical writing, communication, and multidisciplinary coordination skills.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government personnel security clearance when required by the assigned work.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in historic preservation, architecture, architectural history, conservation, archaeology, landscape architecture, or related field preferred.
Proficiency with GIS, CADD/BIM, documentation, survey, photography, data-visualization, and presentation tools preferred.
Experience with diplomatic, federal, defense, institutional, campus, mission-critical, or high-security facilities preferred.
International experience coordinating with host-country cultural authorities, local consultants, preservation professionals, permitting agencies, and/or community stakeholders preferred.
Experience integrating security, infrastructure, accessibility, sustainability, resilience, and modernization upgrades into historic properties while preserving character-defining features preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead historic-structure reports, cultural-resource assessments, heritage-impact studies, archival research, and preservation-planning assignments.
Assess historic buildings, cultural landscapes, materials, archaeological considerations, character-defining features, and culturally significant sites.
Develop preservation, rehabilitation, adaptive-reuse, maintenance, conservation, and treatment recommendations.
Integrate cultural-heritage requirements with modernization, infrastructure upgrades, physical security, accessibility, sustainability, and mission continuity.
Coordinate architecture, structural engineering, landscape architecture, materials conservation, building envelope, MEP, security, cost, and scheduling disciplines.
Conduct field documentation, conditions assessments, stakeholder consultations, and evaluations of proposed project impacts.
Coordinate with host-country cultural authorities, preservation organizations, local consultants, facility managers, and Government stakeholders.
Apply applicable U.S. historic-preservation standards while addressing host-country heritage laws, cultural protocols, review processes, and technical practices.
Prepare and review technical reports, treatment plans, scopes of work, design criteria, cost inputs, schedules, and decision documents.
Provide quality-control reviews and mentor preservation staff; support proposals, interviews, and client presentations as needed.
Perform other duties as assigned.