Executive and Administrative Assistant

Company Overview

ABOUT THE GRAND THEATRE

The Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwest Ontario’s premiere producing theatre and one of the most beautiful theatre spaces in Canada, the company has deep ties to the community and to its artists, artisans, and technicians. 

As a vibrant cultural hub and not-for-profit professional theatre, the Grand serves to gather, inspire, and entertain audiences in London and beyond. At our home in downtown London, we create productions on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Developments Stage (144 seats). The Grand season of theatrical offerings runs from September to May, and we collaborate with companies and artists across the country through our co-productions that see London-made artistic and creative work travel to audiences nation-wide. Through our successful COMPASS New Play Development Program, the Grand is committed to developing and premiering new, original works and supporting the growth and reach of theatre writers and creators. Our recently renovated venue offers a contemporary and welcoming environment that is also home to several successful music series’, community arts rentals, cultural and special events. 

A cornerstone of the organization is our place as a teaching theatre, exemplified in our many mentorship programs and highlighted in our annual Grand Theatre High School Project. As the only program of its kind in the country and currently in its twenty-sixth year, the High School Project involves as many as one hundred high school participants annually from schools across the region. These students participate at no cost and take on roles both on stage and off, in a fully realized mainstage production under the direction of a professional creative team. 

The Grand Theatre is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lnaapéewak and Attawandaron Peoples. We acknowledge with gratitude the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional Indigenous Peoples and of all the Original Peoples of Turtle Island (also known as North America). We are honoured to live, work, and tell stories together on this land. 

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY, INCLUSION & RECONCILIATION

The Grand Theatre is committed to creating and practicing a company culture that ensures an accessible, equitable, inclusive, and welcoming space for all.  We encourage applicants to review the Grand’s commitments to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation on our website to confirm that your personal and professional values are aligned with this vision, and we invite you to reflect on these commitments in your submission.

The Grand Theatre is committed to creating and practicing a company culture that ensures an accessible, equitable, inclusive, and welcoming space for all.  We encourage applicants to review the Grand’s commitments to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation on our website to confirm that your personal and professional values are aligned with this vision, and we invite you to reflect on these commitments in your submission.

Job Description

The Grand Theatre is seeking a full-time Executive & Administrative Assistant to support the administrative operations of the theatre through:

·        Coordinating and implementation of The Grand Theatre’s strategic plan;

·        Providing direct support to the Executive Director; 

·        Office management & general administrative assistance; 

·        Grant and foundation application writing & administration; 

·        Support to the Grand’s boards, committees and meetings.

The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal & communications skills, administrative skills, has some professional/grant-writing experience, and is able to provide excellent project & task coordination to the larger Grand Theatre organization.

Qualifications and Competencies 

·        2+ years in an administrative capacity

·        Strong communication skills, both written and verbal;

·        Professional writing experience, and excellent proof reading skills

·        Creative perspective, a disciplined work-ethic and a calm attention to detail;

·        Highly organized, able to manage tight deadlines, competing priorities and overlapping timelines;

·        Good humoured, tactful and collegial in every interaction, whether with a leader, a staff member, a volunteer or a member of the public, while maintaining a high degree of confidentiality;

·        Interest in and passion for Canadian theatre & the non-profit performing arts world, and are keen to learn more;

·        Adept at working with a variety of technology tools including:

o   Microsoft Office: Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams – required;

o   Virtual meeting software: Zoom, Teams – required;

o   Sharepoint – an asset;

o   Tessitura – an asset.

·        Other experience that is considered an asset to this role:

o   Grant and/or policy writing – able to articulately communicate with a variety of stakeholders, through both verbal and written medium

o   Organization and office management

 Key Responsibilities

 Direct Support to the Executive Director:

·        Act as a key coordinator for the implementation of the Grand’s next Strategic Plan;

·        Assist the Executive Director with day-to-day tasks as delegated;

·        Support the ED in effective policy development, including the writing, proofing, roll-out and evaluation of policies;

·        Provide support to HR advisory services of the theatre to ensure projects advance;

·        Attend meetings and provide administrative support to the ED;

Grant and Foundation Applications & Administration:

·        Collaborating with the ED and senior leadership team, coordinate the writing, collating, editing and submission of core operating, project and foundation grants;

·        In collaboration with the Fund Development team, research foundations, grant & other funding opportunities and programs;

·        In collaboration with the Fund Development team, lead on charitable foundation research, applications, relationship management, and delivering any recognition or related reporting as required; 

·        Assist the Senior Manager of Finance with regular CADAC statistics reporting;

Support to Boards, Committees & Meetings:

·        Attend and support all meetings of the Grand Theatre staff & board, including being the primary board liaison for all boards, committees and AGM; Tasks may vary greatly and include the arranging of meetings, tracking attendance, meeting minute-taking, proofing and distribution of approved minutes, meeting room setup, catering support, etc.;

·        Support to special events of the board, including managing event attendance, information distribution, special event invitations, etc.;

·        Maintaining and updating the board work plan and calendar;

·        Provide support to meetings of the Grand staff and senior leadership team, through effective preparation for meetings, note-taking, distribution of meeting notes, minutes and paperwork, etc;

Office Management & General Administration:

·        Accountable for the organization of the Grand’s administrative offices, storage areas, supplies and files;

·        Order and manage the office supplies budget, storage and distribution;

·        Liaise with the Grand’s IT Director to support IT deployment, backups;

·        Assist the building operations team with the signing in and out of keys, codes and fobs;

·        Organize the Annual Report plan, establish timelines and gather materials to be included in the report;

·        Maintain an ongoing schedule of administrative, granting and regulatory deadlines, events & commitments, and track adherence;

·        Support the onboarding of all new hires, through collaboration with hiring managers throughout the organization;

·        Assist with mailing and shipping throughout the organization;

·        Other duties as assigned.