As the ambassador for the arts in Newark, the Executive Director serves as the primary community convener to develop consensus and articulate a vision for the role of the arts in this thriving and dynamic city. Celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2016, Newark Arts Council (NAC) was created to advance and expand the artistic and cultural resources of the City of Newark, New Jersey. NAC supports over 45 arts organizations and serves as a cultural anchor by providing leadership, direction, and energy to the arts community. Along with business savvy and an ability to manage time and multiple priorities, the Executive Director will bring knowledge and passion for various artistic endeavors and industries as well as diverse cultures. A planner and convener, with the ability to work nimbly while multi-tasking, the Executive Director will understand the factors that contribute to organizational success, artistic excellence, and community impact for a service organization operating in a competitive, diverse market. Minimum 5 – 7 years’ experience in senior management at an organization serving a variety of constituent groups with a demonstrated track record of cultural planning and fundraising success required.
ORGANIZATION
Celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2016, The Newark Arts Council (NAC) was created to advance and expand the artistic and cultural resources of the City of Newark, New Jersey. Its mission is to bring the transformative power of the arts into the lives of those who live in, work in, and visit Newark through programs, advocacy, promotion, education, and coordination.
NAC supports over 45 arts organizations and serves as a cultural anchor of Newark by providing leadership, direction, and energy to the arts community. The organization offers assistance through partnerships with Newark’s many artists, arts administrators, community organizations, educational institutions, community development corporations, planning groups, economic development agencies, and the general public.
The ArtStart Grants Program (a re-granting program) has made 123 grant awards totaling over $350,000 supporting projects that stimulate arts and cultural activity in the city’s neighborhoods, local schools, and provide direct funding to individual artists.
The NAC has partnered with Americans for the Arts in producing economic impact studies for the city in 2001, 2006, and 2011 with the latest showing the arts are a major industry with total expenditures of $127M, supporting 3,580 full time equivalent jobs and returning more than $11M in state and local taxes.
The Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival continues to create awareness of Newark’s burgeoning visual and performing artists’ communities. The Tour began 14 years ago as a means for artists who had been working in isolation to open their studios to the public and to show the tremendous depth and diversity of art being created in this community.
The NAC houses the Newark Arts Education Roundtable (NAER), a strategic alliance including public, charter, and private schools; arts and cultural organizations; youth and community development entities; businesses; funders; and state and local government agencies.
The NAC presents a series of Professional Development workshops and lectures for artists to help hone their entrepreneurial as well as their respective arts discipline skills. The series includes in-depth training designed to assist them in earning a living as an artist and in developing attitudes, skills, and behaviors needed in the 21st century workforce.
The NAC provides website & information services with links and access to arts focused events, while also showcasing the work of individual artists. NAC has over 2,500 followers on Facebook and Twitter.
The Council’s current operating budget is approximately $500,000 with the majority of annual revenues coming from contributions. The NAC Board consists of 18 community, business, and arts leaders and there is currently a staff of full-time employees (Executive Director, Program Director, and a Marketing/Development Manager), several part-time administrative positions, and a close working relationship with the Director of the Arts Education Roundtable. Source: http://www.newarkarts.org
COMMUNITY
One of the America’s oldest and most historically important cities, Newark, New Jersey will celebrate the 350th Anniversary of its founding in 2016. As an early outpost in the New World, it served to bring together cultures and commerce as a melting pot brimming with indigenous and imported foods, arts, music, and entertainments. In the centuries since, Newark has continued to blossom as the heart of one of the nation’s most diverse metropolitan areas, continually renewing and reworking itself, always becoming something richer and more varied with each new arrival of people and promise. Each phase in its growth has given rise to a different facet of its overall character so that today’s Newark is multi-faceted – an endless parade of offerings, adventures, and opportunities. Newark has given birth or been home to many titans and celebrities of our nation’s history, including Washington Irving, Stephen Crane, Philip Roth, Sarah Vaughan, Queen Latifah, Whitney Houston, and Shaquille O’Neal. (source: NewarkHappening.com)
71% of Newark’s population is African American with a large History community that has given voice to famed writers such as Amiri Baraka. There is also a growing Latino community that has spawned popular festivals and celebrations throughout the year.
The city is ideally located with easy access to Manhattan (just 8 miles to the east) and Philadelphia, and thanks to exceptional transportation options (including access to major air, rail, bus, and highway systems), is among the most conveniently located metropolises in the country. Newark is the state’s largest city with more than 280,000 residents and is the hub of New Jersey’s Gateway Region, encompassing some 4 million residents. More than 50 Fortune 500 companies have operations in the city employing a large and skilled labor force. Newark has long been an important center of higher education; more than 50,000 students, faculty and staff fill the six colleges and universities located in its downtown business district.
There is a palpable excitement in the city generated by numerous development efforts underway in all five of the city wards, a rapidly expanding arts community, and numerous community events as diverse as the city’s growing population. Newark’s lively arts and culture scene includes a half dozen anchor institutions, numerous independent established visual arts galleries, along with many nascent and pop up events, spaces and efforts.
Newark is home also to:
One of the largest Portuguese-speaking populations in the country and the vibrant Ironbound neighborhood;
The oldest county park in America with the country’s largest and most diverse display of cherry blossoms;
The 5th largest cathedral in North America; and
World-class arts, entertainment and sporting venues, a diverse culinary scene, and numerous historic sites.
POSITION SUMMARY
As the ambassador for the arts in Newark, the Executive Director will serve as the primary community convener to develop consensus and articulate a vision for the role of the arts in this thriving and dynamic city. S/he will be responsible for publicizing NAC’s mission to the greater community. S/he will collaborate with the Board to create a new multi-year strategic plan to build organizational capacity and expand the Council’s impact by strengthening community-wide relationships with both artists, non-profit, and for-profit partners. Working closely with municipal leadership, the Executive Director will lead the implementation of both a new city-wide cultural development plan and coordinate reporting for the city’s participation in the 2016 Arts & Economic Impact Report by the Americans for the Arts. The Executive Director will also guide grant-making activities, fundraising, partnership development, arts education initiatives, and the overall administrative management of the organization. He/she will enthusiastically embrace the opportunities and challenges of cultivating the arts and artists from broadly diverse backgrounds, leveraging the pivotal role that the arts play in identity development for individuals and groups, as well as in capacity building within and across the neighborhoods of Newark.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership & Advocacy
Assure that NAC is recognized as the thought leader in the city’s arts and culture scene, effectively positioning its work at the forefront of efforts to increase access to and appreciation of the arts as a vital quality-of-life ingredient.
Take a leadership role in local, regional and national advocacy initiatives that bring greater awareness and recognition to the city’s arts and culture resources.
Serve as a member of the NAER’s Executive Committee working to encourage increased access to high quality arts learning experiences both in school and out of school, throughout the city.
Collaborate with artists and arts organizations of all sizes to communicate the positive impact of the arts for both the city’s residents and visitors.
Provide professional development opportunities for artists and arts organizations.
Serve as the face of the organization, representing NAC at meetings, conventions, and public forums in the business, philanthropic, and civic sectors.
Support municipal, county and statewide initiatives to expand public support for the arts and culture sector while working with partners to promote the value of the arts as a catalyst for economic development.
Strategy & Branding
Lead the development of Newark’s cultural plan and create a long-term strategic plan for NAC, in conjunction with the Board of Directors.
Strengthen public relations and institutional branding programs (including the use of significant social media activity) to illuminate the role of NAC and its value and impact in the community.
Initiate formal and informal conversations and gatherings with artists and arts organizations to better understand their needs and expectations of NAC in a greater cultural context.
Collaborate with arts creators and providers to expand high-quality programming to diverse communities throughout the city and expand NAC’s reach and impact by curating programs and activities that serve new and existing audiences.
Develop messaging and marketing initiatives to reinforce the positive economic and community impact of the full range of arts and cultural activities being offered in the city.
Financial Oversight & Resource Development
Identify, cultivate and secure the necessary financial resources to implement the Council’s key strategic and programmatic initiatives with an eye toward developing organizational sustainability.
Oversee all financial reporting to ensure transparency and accuracy; work with outsourced finance personnel and Board Finance Committee on all reporting.
Lead fundraising efforts and special events that secure philanthropic contributions from foundations, corporate supporters, individuals and governmental agencies; working closely with the newly engaged Development and Marketing Manager, as well as the Council’s Board.
Cultivate relationships with existing and potential partners to enhance collaborative capabilities and attract contributions.
Governance
Assess organizational programs and initiatives to ensure alignment with NAC’s mission and effective advancement of its stated goals to the greater community.
Support efforts to identify and engage committed Board members, with specific attention paid to orientation and on-going training to maximize their efforts on behalf of the organization.
Meet with Board Committees on a regular basis to establish goals, processes and implement Board objectives.
Prepare written and oral reports for presentation to the Board at regular meetings.
Provide motivation to the Board to encourage participation in Council activities and their contribution toward its growth.
Craft Board evaluation protocols, as well as opportunities to recognize and celebrate Board successes.
Administrative & Human Resources
Assess current staffing resources to assure proper alignment and distribution of operational tasks according to existing strengths and experience.
Hire and train as necessary to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives.
Provide guidance to all administrative staff to maximize effectiveness and productivity, administering fiscal and organizational leadership.
Develop human resource policies, practices, and procedures as appropriate, ensuring compliance with state and federal employment laws and regulations.
Establish an administrative presence and internal relations that promote a professional and inclusive work environment and attainment of mutually established goals.
Oversee all grant-making activities, working with the staff to develop more opportunities for grant seekers, and manage the grant-making process.
TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS
The selected individual will be a thoughtful, persuasive, collaborative leader, and a pragmatic visionary who will pursue goals for the NAC with optimism and determination, tempered by diplomacy and tact. He/she will embrace Newark in all its complexity and be energized by the prospect of cultivating breathtakingly diverse voices within a city whose story has been told more often than not by those looking in from the outside and in which there are vast pools of untapped artistic talent. Along with business savvy and an ability to manage time and multiple priorities, the Executive Director brings a passion for and knowledge of various artistic endeavors and industries, as well as diverse cultures. He/she should demonstrate a strong constituent-focused approach, placing a high value on building relationships, and possess superior interpersonal and communication skills. The Executive Director will have an understanding of cultural planning, institutional and community image building, marketing, and fund development, coupled with the presence and capacity to move initiatives forward in these areas. A planner and convener, with the ability to work nimbly while multi-tasking, the Executive Director will possess a solid understanding of the factors that contribute to organizational success, artistic excellence, and community impact for a service organization operating in a competitive and diverse arts and cultural market. He/she will maintain an atmosphere where open communication and stakeholder participation encourage creativity, flexibility, stability, and the achievement of the NAC’s overall cultural, social, community and institutional impact.
QUALIFICATIONS
A Bachelor’s degree is required and a Master’s degree in business, arts administration or related field is highly desirable. At least 5 – 7 years’ experience in a senior management position at an organization serving a variety of constituent groups with a demonstrated track record of cultural planning and fundraising success is required. The chosen candidate will also need to have a keen sense of online and social media marketing to advance the goals of the organization.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
Competitive compensation and benefits package including health, disability and life insurance, paid time off and retirement plan, a convenient downtown location, and the quality of life derived from living in the country’s most vibrant and diverse arts and culture region.
APPLICATIONS AND INQUIRIES
Cover letter and resume, electronic submissions required, with demonstrable accomplishments to:
Mr. Daniel J. Zanella, Senior Consultant
Arts Consulting Group, Inc.
1040 First Avenue, Suite 352
New York, NY 10022-2991
Tel (888) 234.4236
Cell (201) 306.3201
Fax (888) 284.6651
Email NAC@ArtsConsulting.com