Description

Position Summary

The President & CEO will be a visionary who guides the strategy, planning, and implementation of the unique Symphony-Schermerhorn business model in an iconic music, arts, and entertainment destination. Reporting to the Board of Directors and responsible for overall revenue generation, capital and artistic initiatives campaign, community engagement, musician relations, and managerial direction, the President & CEO will align the Symphony’s mission, vision, and values with its artistic, educational, strategic, and financial goals in and for a rapidly evolving community. The President & CEO will ensure fiscal resiliency and facility vibrancy in leading significant programmatic and revenue initiatives that promote artistic excellence and impacts locally and nationally while distinguishing the Symphony’s artistic caliber and the Schermerhorn as an international destination. 

An external networker and public advocate for the importance of the arts and culture sector, the President & CEO will actively engage in the cultivation and stewardship of donors to sustain the Symphony’s significant infrastructure and ensure its legacy. Enthusiastically representing the Symphony and promoting its role as a leading community asset that drives artistic, educational, social, and economic vitality, they will continue to foster authentic and deeply collaborative relationships with other arts, social, educational, and business organizations. The President & CEO will guide and inspire artistic and managerial team members to explore new opportunities that expand access, increase audiences, and ensure the Symphony’s long-term success. They will foster a welcoming culture consciously designed to promote teamwork, unity, collaboration, innovation, adaptability, equity, and inclusion throughout and across the Symphony.

Roles and Responsibilities

Visionary Leadership and Business Model Innovation

      Lead the innovative application of a strategic plan that ensures the resilient growth, sustainability, and relevance of the Symphony in the dynamic community in which it exists and serves.

      Partner with the Board, artistic leadership, executive team, and community to define and achieve long-term artistic, educational, and financial goals.

      Collaborate with and support artistic leadership to design programs that highlight symphony musicians, guest conductors, and guest artists, where they can achieve the highest quality programs and performances.

      Leverage artistic, educational, community, and programmatic objectives by empowering innovative program concepts, audience engagement activities, revenue diversification opportunities, and special events that are in alignment with financial capacity.

      Guide artistic planning, programming, and production strategies while ensuring alignment with human, financial, and technological resources capabilities and community relevance.

      Expand and support impactful education and outreach programs that address and reflect community needs and promote music literacy and appreciation.

      Champion the Symphony’s role in education, development, access, and inclusion, especially through programs like Accelerando and other community engagement initiatives.

      Oversee labor relations, including negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements.

      Embrace other visionary leadership and business model innovation responsibilities as needed.

Revenue Enhancement and Financial Resiliency

      Serve as the Symphony's primary ambassador in partnership with the Board, artistic leadership, and staff to advocate for institutional investment and advancement.

      Energetically and creatively identify, cultivate, and solicit major individual gifts, endowment contributions, corporate sponsorships, foundation support, and government grants.

      Strategize and implement effective capital, endowment, and planned giving campaign efforts with the Development team.

      Drive innovative and proactive marketing designed to elevate the financial success of both revenue generating programs and donor programs. 

      Prioritize revenue diversification streams that align with the brand and impact of the organization and its venue.

      Proactively guide and support the Development and Marketing teams in meeting and exceeding annual and long-term contributed and earned revenue goals.

      Oversee all aspects of the Symphony's financial health, including budget development, cash flow, and compliance.

      Ensure transparent financial reporting and strong internal controls.

      Embrace other revenue enhancement and financial resiliency responsibilities as needed.

Board Relations and Community Engagement

      Be a visible and active presence as an ambassador and political advocate for the Symphony throughout the region.

      Establish, build, deepen, and broaden relationships with donors, civic and business leaders, the press, music industry executives, public agencies, community partners, and potential volunteers, among many others locally and nationally.

      Act as the primary liaison to the Board of Directors, partnering on policy, governance, community ambassadorship, and financial resiliency. 

      Identify, cultivate, recruit, and onboard qualified, diverse, and actively engaged Board members in collaboration with the Board Governance Committee.

      Prepare reports and presentations for all Board and Executive Committee meetings in collaboration with the senior leadership team and the Board Officers.

      Serve as a voting member of the Board and all Board committees with staff liaisons that support each committee's goals and activities.

      Leverage digital technologies, partnerships, and innovative practices to extend the Symphony’s reach and impact.

      Foster partnerships with schools, arts organizations, and nonprofits to extend the Symphony's impact.

      Embrace other board relations and community engagement responsibilities as needed.

Team Empowerment and Organizational Leadership

      Ensure strong, respectful relationships among musicians, artistic staff, guest artists, production, and administrative staff.

      Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing senior artistic and managerial leadership team, creating positive workplace environments, fostering inclusion, and ensuring accountability for best practices.

      Inspire internal staff teamwork and esprit de corps, which promotes a one-team ethos of collaboration across all internal staff administrative departments. 

      Design effective recruitment, retention, and professional development practices for musicians, production, executive, and administrative staff.

      Embody and cultivate a positive and healthy organizational culture that prioritizes effective communication, team performance, cross-team collaboration, and mutual respect.

      Ensure the Symphony’s physical infrastructure is well-maintained, safe, and actively utilized.

      Embrace other team empowerment and organizational leadership responsibilities as needed.

Traits and Characteristics

The President & CEO will be an inspirational leader with excellent communication skills and a strong ability to lead, motivate, and collaborate across artistic, administrative, and community spheres. They will be passionate about the mission and core focus of the Symphony, whose core repertoire is classical music. An individual with high emotional intelligence, this enthusiastic force will bring a strong aptitude to engage with various stakeholders on a regional, national, and international level. The President & CEO will model integrity, collaboration, empathy, and transparency while being accessible to the Board, staff, musicians, and community members. They will be active listeners who know how to encourage and embrace ideas, questions, and concerns from a wide array of stakeholders and stakeholder groups, and then translate those into actionable reality. A unifying and aspirational leader, the President & CEO will elevate the importance and impacts of the Symphony that reverberate broadly and deeply. 

Other key competencies include:

      Futuristic Thinking – The ingenuity to envision, project, and/or create aspirational initiatives that are based on realistic strategies as a champion for initiatives that have specific, measurable, attainable, reviewable, and time-sensitive outcomes based on audience and market needs.

      Leadership and Professional Accountability – The ability to inspire and organize others, demonstrate appropriate levels of responsibility, embrace empathy, create a sense of purpose, be accountable for and hold others accountable to changing organizational needs and stakeholder expectations.

      Decision Making, Time and Priority Management – The dexterity to make decisions in a timely manner to balance and deliver desired outcomes within allotted time frames that are aligned with realistic human, financial, and technological resource investments and capabilities.

      Influencing Others and Diplomacy – The capacity to build trust, alliances, and networks of influence through active listening while seeking and appreciating multiple perspectives; developing and nurturing positive relationships with people across cultural, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds; and demonstrating sensitivity and creativity in addressing challenging issues.

Requirements

A minimum of 10 years of relevant senior management experience in maximizing philanthropic support, increasing earned revenues, designing resilient business models, and engaging deeply with a variety of constituencies and communities. Demonstrated strong results in individual and institutional donor cultivation, as well as overall financial and facility stewardship, are expected. Experience in effective strategic partnerships and active community participation is needed. Exceptional writing and verbal communication skills are required, as is the capacity and enthusiasm to attend evening and weekend performances and events. A master’s degree or equivalent experience in business, arts administration, nonprofit governance, or a related field is preferred. A deep understanding of producing, presenting, or touring in the performing arts sector or related creative industries is valued but not necessarily required. A candidate who does not meet all the qualifications but possesses transferable or equivalent skills, experience, or education is encouraged to inquire or apply while highlighting those relevant areas.