US Regional Arts Organizations Seek National Director
Fully Remote • Remote Worker in the United States
Job Type
Full-time
Description
Reports to: Co-Chairs of the RAOs
Status: Exempt, Full Time
Location: Remote Worker in the United States
About
The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) are a collective of six nonprofit arts service organizations committed to strengthening America’s infrastructure by increasing access to creativity for all Americans. We serve the nation’s artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative communities with programs that reflect and celebrate the diversity of the field in which we work. We partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity.
Together, the USRAOs work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage, and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs. In Fiscal Year 2021, they invested over $28.3 Million across the United States and Jurisdictions, through more than 3,000 grants that reached more than 1,600 communities.
Equity Values
The USRAOs value an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world. We seek to cultivate a more equitable arts landscape with all people having fair access to the tools and resources they need to realize creative endeavors and benefit from the arts. We acknowledge long standing structural inequities, systems, and practices that have led to significant barriers to equitable access and investment for individuals and across communities. We are committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion through our work and action.
The USRAO collective includes:
Arts Midwest
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
Mid-America Arts Alliance
Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas
Mid Atlantic Arts
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, The District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia
New England Foundation for the Arts
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
South Arts
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee
Western States Arts Federation
Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming
In 2021, the USRAOs began a series of conversations to explore the adoption of a shared service model to strengthen and deepen their impact regionally and nationally. During the summer of 2022, the staff and board executive leadership of each USRAO drafted a related Memo of Understanding to begin functioning as a united national collective in key, strategic areas of mutual interest and benefit. The MOU was ratified in September 2022.
To learn more about the USRAO’s visit https://usregionalarts.reverie.site/ .
Position Summary
Reporting directly to the collective’s two co-chairs while focusing on a set of priorities established in close collaboration with the whole RAO leadership, the full time National Director will play a critical role in developing and coordinating the shared national programmatic and fundraising vision of the USRAOs as a united national collective. Serving as the lead coordinator and fundraiser for the collective, the National Director organizes and participates in the design and development of shared plans and programs; provides guidance to the executive leaders of each USRAO and supervises the day-to-day operations of the shared service hub including budgeting, internal and external communications and managing contracted support.
Collaborating with the collective executive leadership of the USRAOs, the National Director will ground the foundational development of the USRAOs shared service hub in an action-focused, measurable, and reportable commitment to equity, inclusion, and access. This position works remotely without restrictions on location within the United States and will require travel. The starting annual operational budget is $300,000.
Roles and Responsibilities
· Hire and supervise a part-time administrative assistant.
· Provide leadership in developing and executing the USRAOs shared programmatic vision, values, and strategies as a united national collective.
· Create, support, and execute shared values-based programmatic strategies that identify and support increasingly diverse pools of service and funding recipients.
· Represent the USRAOs in national conversations while promoting its programs and services by identifying and connecting to public and private opportunities that strengthen and expand the USRAO collective brand.
· Identify and promote innovative best practices that support infrastructure growth and builds sustainability for the USRAOs.
· Build a multiyear fundraising plan that leverages the and impact of the USRAOs to cultivate, solicit, and steward public and private donors.
· Expand the USRAOs existing networks utilizing their executive leadership, as well as effective marketing and technology strategies to generate greater awareness of and investment in USRAO programming.
· Develop and manage clear and transparent annual and multiyear budgets.
· Demonstrate exceptional collaboration, empathy, and communication skills with the USRAO executive leadership, their boards, and the arts and creativity sectors in general.
· Identify and embrace partnerships, strategies and activities that emphasize the USRAOs commitment to equity and inclusion.
· As needed and approved, hire, and manage contracted support for grant writing, communications and other projects.
Requirements
Traits and Characteristics
The National Director will be a visionary, entrepreneurial, diplomatic, and exceptionally organized arts leader. A highly accountable individual with a growth mindset, this leader will be an initiative-taking, independent, and enthusiastic high-achiever. The National Director will be a strong collaborator, highly focused on solutions, with a down-to-earth mindset who thrives in an environment of limitless possibility.
Qualifications
The National Director need not have academic credentials to be successful in this role but must possess demonstrable leadership and planning experience gained in successively complex professional environments. Strong candidates will have experience related to the arts and creativity, outstanding relationship management and storytelling skills, and have a history of closing significant philanthropic gifts ($25k +). They must also possess a strong history of championing equity, inclusion, and access. Exceptional communication skills are expected for this role. Successful candidates will have a demonstrable history of leading or participating in shared service models.
Compensation and Benefits
The position offers an annual starting base salary of $150,000. There is a benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life, and voluntary benefits for a 401k plan. This is currently a fully remote position with in-person meetings several times a year.
Applications and Inquiries
To submit a letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments in leadership (electronic submissions preferred), please click here. Applications will be accepted through February 28, 2023. For questions or general inquiries regarding this opportunity, please contact: Angelette Sevart (hr@maaa.org).
We are committed to creating a diverse environment and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
Salary Description
Starting salary $150,000 per year
