We invite suggestions and applications for the position of Director for the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, opening September 2014.
The Position:
Reporting to the Provost/Vice-Principal (Academic), the Director is responsible for the operations and management of the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.
This new facility, located on Lake Ontario immediately west of the Queen’s University campus, l contains a 560-seat Concert Hall, a flexible Studio Theatre seating up to 100, a 90-seat film screening room, an arts media lab, as well as rehearsal and teaching spaces, offices, and event areas.
The Director is charged with the operation of this centre through excellent management and business accountability while serving the university and community through creative and imaginative collaborations, the programming and marketing of a concert series, and rentals. He/she will supervise facility scheduling, ticketing, external engagement, special events, and regional outreach.
The new centre has an initial staffing complement of a director, an administrator, a technical director, box office and front of house staff, and many student interns, as well as shared services through the university for IT, human resources, maintenance, security, and so forth.
The Vision:
On the shores of Lake Ontario, at one of Ontario’s oldest heritage sites, the Isabel Bader Centre is a bold vision of an arts campus where student and community performance, education, creativity, and training blend to give rise to an inspirational cultural presence. Not only providing urgently needed recital, theatre, screening, and rehearsal spaces to arts faculties at Queen’s, this project, through its location next to the newly renovated Tett Centre for Creativity, will also promote interaction and collaboration with artists and audiences in the Kingston region.
Community partners include the Kingston Symphony Orchestra, New Music Kingston, and Theatre Kingston, all of whom will present performances during the 2014/15 season.
Designed by Snohetta/ema Architects (who designed the prize-winning Oslo Opera House) with Arup Acoustics and Theatre Projects Consultants, the Isabel Bader Centre has been funded by the Canadian Government, the Province of Ontario, the City of Kingston, and Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader, as well as other generous donors.
The City of Kingston and Queen’s University collaborated on a Cultural Arts Facilities Plan with AMS Planning and Research in 2011.
Queen’s University:
With close to 24,000 students and more than 7,000 faculty and staff, Queen’s is a place where passion, innovation, and imagination are nurtured and prized.
One of Canada’s leading universities, Queen’s has a long-standing reputation for academic excellence, research and a diverse and vibrant learning environment. With its strong tradition of public service, the University has helped to shape Canadian values and policies, educating notable political and cultural figures.
Queen’s University is located in the heart of the community in historic Kingston, midpoint between Montreal and Toronto, and Ottawa and the national capital region. Queen’s is an integral part of the Kingston community, with the campus nestled in the core of the city, only a 10-minute walk to downtown.
Qualifications:
A minimum of seven (7) years with senior cultural leadership experience. Knowledge of performing arts facility management and a track record in programming. The ideal candidate should demonstrate a passion for the cultural sector and a vision of how an arts facility can play a role within the life of a university and its community. This vision of the arts should include music, theatre, film, and the visual arts.
A graduate degree in arts, arts management, or not for profit administration, as well as experience in opening a facility and establishing initial protocols, systems, policies and procedures, is preferred.
Comprehensive knowledge of many performing arts forms and all aspects of arts venue management. An industry professional with existing networks within the cultural sector who will serve as a mentor/teacher of students and as a facilitator and collaborator with the university departments.
A successful track record in managing a complex institution and the ability to lead a senior leadership team to meet strategic, financial, and operational goals.
An articulate champion for the arts with advanced oral and written communications skills with the ability to represent the Isabel Bader Centre to a variety of audiences and in a myriad of settings.
The ability to build and maintain relationships with a broad range of stakeholders, both inside and outside the university.
In partnership with the University’s Advancement team, the new director will help to cultivate, solicit and steward major gifts from high level individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundation/government funders. Experience in grantsmanship, endowment campaigns, and annual fund drives would be helpful.
Hiring Policies:
As an employer of choice, Queen’s offers a supportive community of learning and rewarding work through which people can fully realize their professional and academic aspirations. The University invites applications from all qualified individuals.
Queen’s offers competitive salaries and a full range of benefits and pension coverage.
Queen’s is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, visible minorities, aboriginal people, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity.
Interested candidates are invited to submit a cover letter and résumé with a list of references and salary requirements in confidence to:
Margaret Genovese
Genovese, Vanderhoof & Associates
77 Carlton Street, Suite 1103
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5B 2J7
Deadline for applications: Friday, August 1, 2014.