Guelph’s signature performing arts venue, River Run Centre, is beautifully situated overlooking the picturesque Speed River in the City’s historic downtown core. The City of Guelph is seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to join our team as the Manager of River Run Centre. Reporting to the General Manager of Culture and Recreation, the successful candidate will be responsible for the comprehensive oversight of the River Run Centre’s programming, promotions, sponsorship, and operations. This role requires a visionary leader with a passion for the arts and a commitment to fostering a vibrant cultural community.
Why Guelph?
When you join the City of Guelph, you join a team of over 2000 employees who deliver services the community relies on every day. Together, we are bringing to life Guelph’s vision of an inclusive, connected, and prosperous city where we look after each other and our environment. As a single tier municipality, we offer a variety of occupations and career specialities within our organization. Guided by the goals and objectives of the Future Guelph: Strategic Plan and committed to the Corporate Values of integrity, service, inclusion, wellness and learning, the candidate will aid in the achievement of the Community Vision for an inclusive, connected, prosperous city.
What we offer
We offer competitive wages and comprehensive benefits to meet the needs of our diverse employees. Many of our positions offer:
- Paid vacation days, increasing with years of service
- Paid personal days;
- Defined benefit pension plan with OMERS, including 100-per-cent employer matching;
- Extended health and dental benefits, including Health Care Spending Account;
- Employee and Family Assistance Program;
- Parental leave top up program;
- Learning and development opportunities including tuition assistance
- Employee recognition programs.
Key duties and responsibilities
- Provide visible and positive leadership to staff, fostering an inclusive, respectful, and motivating work environment.
- Recruit, train, and lead staff and volunteers, establishing and managing performance standards.
- Actively program and market the River Run Centre professional arts season and school series. Make both artistic and financial decisions, balancing community needs and promoting the season to maximize ticket sales and growth.
- Negotiate contracts, work with presenting networks, and monitor individual show budgets.
- Lead sponsorship and development programs, cultivating relationships with donors and sponsors to support the Centre.
- Support the pursuit of grant funding for programming, projects, and events, ensuring compliance with reporting deadlines.
- Manage the facility operations of the River Run Centre, overseeing repair and maintenance schedules.
- Identify efficiencies, respond to and approve changes, and ensure work is within budgets while maintaining high-quality operations and service.
- Liaise with current and prospective clients to increase use of the River Run Centre.
- Develop goals and objectives for the area, setting action plans to achieve them in alignment with the Corporate Strategic Plan and departmental business plan.
- Develop and monitor capital and operating budgets, track budget performance, provide financial forecasts, and report on variances and mitigating strategies.
- Lead with a focus on Health and Safety within the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
- Support local Joint Health and Safety Committees and lead monthly inspections.
- Ensure compliance with Collective Agreements, City policies, Council resolutions/by-laws and other applicable federal and provincial legislation; support all legislated inspection and safety programs.
- Other duties as assigned.
Post Date
Closing Date
Salary
Company/Organization
Requirements
Qualifications and requirements
- Considerable knowledge and experience related to the duties listed above, normally acquired through a post-secondary diploma or degree in arts administration and facility management or a related discipline, and progressive responsible experience within the performing arts/entertainment sector including experience in cultural facilities, programming, marketing and development. Candidates with an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
- Considerable experience managing, leading and training staff in a unionized, customer-focused environment.
- Understand the needs of the performing arts/entertainment sector, corporations, community groups, educational institutions and other potential clients.
- Considerable experience programming a professional arts season.
- Considerable experience in event marketing and promotion related to professional arts programming.
- Experience with donations, sponsorship and development campaigns, initiatives and packaging.
- Experience in the preparation and execution of grant applications as well as report writing.
- Detailed experience with financial systems, budget forecasting, variances and financial reporting.
- Excellent customer service skills, commitment to continuous improvement and quality service.
- Excellent communications skills with the ability to communicate with all levels of staff, stakeholders and the general public.
- Knowledge and understanding of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
- Advanced computer skills in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
Hours of work
35 hours a week, including evenings and weekends.
Send Submissions To
Qualified applicants are invited to apply using our online application system by Sunday, March 30, 2025. Please note all applicants must complete the online questionnaire specific to this position at the time they submit their resume and cover letter in order to be considered.
Please visit the job posting listed on our City of Guelph careers page and click on the “Apply for this job” button. Instructions will follow.
The City of Guelph is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where employees feel welcome, valued and engaged. Our employment policies strictly prohibit all forms of discrimination on any of the grounds in relevant laws. All employment practices are solely based on individual merit, qualifications, and organization's needs at the time. In keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, we are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals in our job application procedures. If you need an accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process, you may contact us to make your needs known in advance.
Personal information collected through the recruitment process will be used solely to determine eligibility for employment. We thank all candidates in advance; however, only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.
Location
35 Woolwich St
Guelph, ON
N1H 3V1
Canada