About Our Organization

Opening Act, a premiere New York City organization offering accessible and transformative theater education experiences to youth throughout the city, is seeking its next Executive Director to guide the vision and resource development of the organization into the future. The Executive Director will steward the organization with a love for theater and arts education combined with a talent for strategic leadership. Opening Act has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/executive-director-opening-act

Organizational Profile 
Founded in 2000 by an intrepid collection of artists, activists, and educators, Opening Act was created for a simple purpose: to use theater to give young people living in NYC something to look forward to after school. Committed to closing the arts education access gap in NYC, Opening Act centers the voices of students of color through free, high-quality theater programming. Opening Act puts young artists and leaders center stage, using inclusive theater education at under-resourced public schools to set students up for success regardless of their ultimate career path, by developing confidence, fostering community, teaching collaboration, and inspiring creativity. More information about Opening Act can be found at https://openingact.org/

Job Summary

 

OPPORTUNITY 
Opening Act, a premiere New York City organization offering accessible and transformative theater education experiences to youth throughout the city, is seeking its next Executive Director to guide the vision and resource development of the organization into the future. The Executive Director will steward the organization with a love for theater and arts education combined with a talent for strategic leadership. In New York City’s crowded cultural and arts education community, the Executive Director will find new ways to ensure that Opening Act can continue to grow and provide schools and young people with increased access to programming experiences through its superb team of staff and teaching artists. The Executive Director will take the time and care to understand the special character and culture that has been defined over Opening Act’s rich history and collaboratively work with Board and Staff to ensure a strong base of operations, increased philanthropic support, and new opportunities for the organization to take a more prominent place in the greater New York City cultural community.

 

Responsibilities

POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
The Executive Director will serve as Opening Act’s top Staff leader and report directly to the Board of Directors. The Executive Director will lead with inspiration, clarity, and a collaborative spirit, promoting an atmosphere of inclusion, passion for theater and arts education, and support for young people. Expanding Opening Act’s base of financial resources and ensuring that the organization is appropriately organized and prepared for further growth will be leading priorities for the next Executive Director. The top priorities for the role will include:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and communicate Opening Act’s vision in a manner that honors the organization’s rich history, takes input from multiple sources, and keeps an eye towards an even brighter future.
• Constantly challenge assumptions and monitor programmatic successes and failures to improve upon all activities.
• Work closely with Opening Act’s Director of Programs on program development and growth.
• Continue to energize Board engagement, development, and participation in governance and oversight.

Resource Development

• Serve as Opening Act’s primary fundraiser, build out a strong development team and expand our fundraising capacity.
• Find new resources for traditional, contributed, and earned revenue.
• Inspire Opening Act’s Board of Directors to take a significant role in the development and expansion of funding opportunities and to continue to build a diverse network of supporters.
• Activate Opening Act’s Artistic Advisory Board and alumni network and find ways for their participation in philanthropic efforts as ambassadors and storytellers.

Teams and Operations Management

• Lead a tightly connected staff with support, clear direction, and a collaborative sense of purpose.
• Develop budgets and lead all operational planning.
• Establish structures and systems to more nimbly report and track all expenses and revenue and forecast Opening Act’s financial position.
• Ensure compliance in all legally binding contracts and financial matters of the organization.

Promoting Belonging and Community

• Excite the community-at-large about all of Opening Act’s offerings.
• Strategize on new ways to engage with schools, students, and families for a richer, mutually beneficial experience.
• Serve as a spokesperson and advocate on the local and regional scene.
• Ensure that Opening Act has a clearly defined set of values around inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and belonging and that there are clear and attainable goals implemented around those areas in all organizational activities.

 

Job Qualifications & Requirements

Ideally, the successful candidate will possess these skills and experience:

• Proven talent as a dynamic and talented fundraiser who can build and lead a development team focused on long-term growth.
• A fundamentally strategic thinker with strong attention to detail.
• Senior management experience with a track-record of progressive responsibility in an environment of creativity and innovation.
• A skill for collaboration, putting the good of the organization first and foremost in all discussions of programs, staffing, and new initiatives.
• Demonstrated skills in budgeting and administration of budgets.
• An ability and desire to do forensic evaluation of all operations to gauge effectiveness and impact of programs, and how sustainable models can be fostered that support Opening Act’s' mission.
• Ability to interact effectively with and inspire a voluntary Board of Directors and talented Staff.
• Clear and effective communication skills.
• Creative problem solver.
• Knowledge of and passion for theater and arts education in particular.
• Experience in the not-for-profit arts sector preferred.

How to Apply

Shruti Adhar and Jonathan West make up the team from Management Consultants for the Arts leading this important search. To be considered for this position, you must submit pertinent information including name, contact information, and salary requirement and attach a current résumé, a cover letter (no more than 1½ pages describing why this post and organization is attractive to you and what about you and your work makes you a potentially strong candidate for Opening Act’s Executive Director), and four professional references (name, work relationship, email, phone) using the online application system. Once all materials have been submitted online, the applicant will receive a confirmation of their submission via the email address provided in the application. For clarification on any of this information, please contact Christy Wall at cwall@mcaonline.com.