Artistic Director
Job Type: Full-TimeJob Start Date: 01/05/2024
Location: 20 Dundas St West Suite 921
City: Toronto
Hiring Organization Name: Fall for Dance North
Hiring Organization Description:
Fall For Dance North is Toronto’s premier professional international dance festival modelled on the New York Festival. FFDN is commencing a search for a highly accomplished Artistic Director with outstanding credentials and experience as a performing arts curator, a fundraiser, and an administrator with a love of the arts and a passion for dance.
Job Description:
Reporting to and collaborating with the Board of Directors, the Artistic Director will have accountabilities for all Fall For Dance North’s artistic programs and be the primary face of the fundraising efforts of the organizations. The ideal candidate will articulate a clear artistic vision, promote the strategic direction of FFDN, and have general oversight of programming, administration, production, and marketing. The Artistic Director, working closely with the Advancement Department, will lead the fundraising efforts to achieve annual fundraising goals of $850,000 – $1,000,000. Leading a dedicated and creative staff, the Artistic Director will possess an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong interpretive vision to successfully create and execute strategic initiatives, operational objectives, and financial and artistic growth.
Fall For Dance North’s Artistic Director is the public representative of the organization, engaging with its audiences, donors, sponsors, artists, funders, and its regional, national, and international colleagues. The Artistic Director works closely with a small and accomplished professional staff in the collaborative delivery of all the organization’s programs.
As a team builder who values collaboration, the Artistic Director will attract, retain, and inspire Fall For Dance North’s staff within an organizational culture that prioritizes inclusivity, kindness, respect, equity, communication, accountability, integrity, empathy, and mutual care.
The Board of FFDN welcomes joint applications for a co-Artistic Director Team. Candidates will be expected to make the case for shared leadership and decision making.
This is an exciting and unique opportunity for a forward-thinking leader who can bring together their vision, experience, and passion for dance to support the realization of unique, innovative, diverse, and internationally recognized projects and programming. The ideal candidate will be a creative and energetic individual who will build on the past, while leading Fall For Dance North into the future.
Artistic Programming
• Curate a season of live and streamed performances for Fall For Dance North that is innovative, inclusive, inspiring, and engaging.
• Produce programming that balances artistic excellence with cultural diversity and marketability.
• Support the development of new work.
• Develop a hybrid festival model: Find the balance between in-person and digital delivery.
• Attend performances and festivals to see new work for possible presentation.
• Stay abreast of artistic developments and cultivate relationships with regional and national presenter colleagues to assist in the routing of companies for presentation.
Advancement and Finance
• Advance the organization’s profile and financial stability.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with sponsors, donors, and audiences.
Marketing, Communications and Community Outreach
• Collaborate in the development and execution of an annual marketing strategy
• Contribute to the company’s print and marketing materials
• Establish strong working relationships and cooperative arrangements with community groups and regional, national, and international dance artists, companies, and organizations
• Represent the organization to agencies, organizations, media, and the public
• Ensure the maintenance of exceptional customer relations
Human Resources
• Facilitate effective communication among and with staff to identify priorities and articulate expectations
• Ongoing review and development of workplace policies and procedures
• Ensure consistent implementation and adherence to approved policies and procedures
• Review and approve all job descriptions and employment contracts offered to staff/management
• Conduct annual reviews for each team member
• Monitor the professional development and performance of all team members
• Continue to build organizational capacity, including information technology.
• Collaborate with Board and Staff to raise annual fundraising goals of $850,000 – $1,000,000.
• Advance the values of the organization, particularly in regard to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
• Expand national reach and place by investing in a robust associate artist/residency program and a national showcase platform.
• Work within the organization’s Strategic Roadmap to support a disciplined budget and conservative growth.
Interaction with the Board of Directors
• The Artistic Director will report to and collaborate with the Board Chair and will meet regularly with the Chair
• Lead the organization in a manner that supports the 2022 – 2024 Strategic Roadmap and actively participate in the creation of new strategic plans developed in collaboration (consultation) with the Board
• Attend and contribute to committee and Board meetings in an ex officio capacity whenever possible
• Continually identify, evaluate, and communicate organizational risks and opportunities to the Board
• Develop and submit an annual operating plan that aligns with the organization’s Strategic Roadmap
• Support the Board with succession planning
Experience
The Artistic Director will have a demonstrated track record of effective and visionary leadership in the arts and culture sector, and a comprehensive understanding of programming, management, audience development, fundraising, and Canadian government funding opportunities in the dance
sector. The successful candidate will have exceptional skills in relationship management, fundraising, and collaboration with the ability to effectively engage diverse stakeholders in the Toronto community, regionally, nationally, and internationally. They should have an expansive network within the dance sector at the national and international levels. Fall For Dance North welcomes candidates with a variety of educational credentials. Potential candidates are required to have the legal ability to work in Canada.
Qualifications and Characteristics
The successful candidate will have outstanding leadership experience and a passion for dance. With strong interpersonal skills and a proactive approach to fundraising, the Artistic Director will build on the past success of FFDN, while being creative and innovative with future strategic and programming opportunities.
A natural collaborator with excellent interpersonal skills, the Artistic Director will be a futuristic thinker with a visionary approach, the successful candidate will understand how to maximize Fall For Dance North’s nimble organizational model. The Artistic Director will place a high value on communication. They will have the proven capacity to cultivate effective relationships with multiple stakeholders, lead a high-performance team, and produce results within the programmatic, financial, strategic, and operational realities of an arts organization, particularly as Fall For Dance North rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A personable self-starter with high emotional intelligence who values teamwork and collaboration, the Artistic Director of Fall For Dance North will understand the importance of external stakeholder focus and will be a motivated ambassador and advocate for an organization in a vibrant and increasingly diverse community. The ideal candidate will be comfortable engaging in conversations that generate revenue, build effective partnerships, deepen engagement, and advance innovative approaches to programs, presentations, educational, and community opportunities.
A natural decision maker, negotiator, and mediator who is creative and resilient, the Artistic Director will embrace a healthy organizational culture based in strategic, artistic, and operational partnerships. With insight and experience in leveraging financial, human, and technological resources, the Artistic Director will be a highly evolved communicator who is also adept at planning and organizing.
Fall For Dance North offers a competitive salary in the range of $75,000 to $90,000
commensurate with experience and will include a comprehensive extended benefit package.
Fall For Dance North’s Artistic Director Search is led by Martin Bragg and Nicola Dawes of Martin Bragg & Associates. To apply in confidence, please email your letter of interest and resume in Word or PDF format to Martin Bragg & Associates at fallfordancenorth@mbassociates.ca. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply, and all applicants will receive an acknowledgement of their application. The review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. No phone calls please.
Fall For Dance North and Martin Bragg & Associates are committed to an open and transparent hiring process and encourage applications from diverse communities. As such, we promote policies, practices, and programs that create a dialogue toward mutual understanding.
We welcome all applications from persons of colour, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the further diversification and advancement of the arts in our community.
Application contact Information:
To apply in confidence, please email your letter of interest and resume in Word or PDF format to Martin Bragg & Associates at fallfordancenorth@mbassociates.ca