Executive Director

Company Overview

ATP creates world-class contemporary theatre from their home in the Martha Cohen Theatre. ATP is a national leader in new play development. Programming is driven by the collision of diverging ideas, points of view, class, gender, or cultural perspectives and is selected from the finest Canadian and international plays and new works commissioned and developed in-house. ATP productions radically explore their space, blurring the line between the audience and the artist through multiple seating configurations each season.

Founded in Calgary in 1972 Alberta Theatre Projects envisioned bussing school children to see plays about Canadian history at a historic site. ATP was the first Canadian theatre for young audiences to have its own home – the Canmore Opera House in Heritage Park.

Few existing plays celebrated Canada’s history, so ATP commissioned new works, with 30 scripts produced in the first four years. When ATP’s mandate expanded to include an adult season, commissions for new plays continued. Local playwrights whose careers were advanced by writing for ATP in its early years include Campbell, W.O. Mitchell, Sharon Pollock, and John Murrell.

As ATP grew, the limitations of the Canmore Opera House began to outweigh its charms. Few theatres have experienced a more dramatic change than did ATP in 1985 when it moved from a 165-seat log cabin to an approximately 400-seat playhouse in the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts (now Arts Commons). The new Martha Cohen Theatre was named for one of Calgary’s outstanding philanthropists. The Martha Cohen Theatre is one of the most unique theatres in North America, using an intimate Georgian courtyard design. The well-equipped performance space fosters a dynamic and intimate relationship between the performers and the audience and allows for flexibility. The theatre has often been converted from a proscenium configuration into a thrust configuration. Other configurations such as cabaret and even theatre in the round have also been used.

The program for children did not survive the move, although in 1999 ATP revived its youth programming in the form of an annual Family Holiday Show that continues to this day.

What most distinguishes ATP is its commitment to contemporary theatre and to creating and producing new Canadian plays. ATP now produces an annual season of shows, including plays from the national and international repertoire, world premieres, presentations, and a Family Holiday Show.

Job Description

ALBERTA THEATRE PROJECTS (ATP) is seeking a creative, and energetic individual to serve as its next Executive Director. Reporting to the Board of Directors, and working in partnership with the Artistic Director, the Executive Director will be responsible for developing and implementing the strategic direction for all management and financial aspects of ATP. The Executive Director will be a leader in the Calgary arts community with a strong desire to engage with theatres and artists across Canada and Internationally. The ideal candidate will have a drive to build public and private sector support to deliver on strategic priorities and embrace collaboration with the ATP team to maximize earned and contributed revenue.

As the management leader of ATP, the Executive Director will play an active role as a thought-partner in planning for the organization’s overall advancement. Supporting and partnering with artists, staff, board and volunteers, the Executive Director will operationalize the strategic plan while building a thriving, creative and diverse culture serving audiences, artists, and the Calgary community. The Executive Director will conceptualize and implement a plan to continue to grow ATPs strategic objectives while leading and motivating a highly effective team in devising and realizing successful strategies.

The Executive Director is a collaborator who is motivated to lead and empower a high performance administration team, including marketing, development, finance, production, and operations and will enjoy building relationships with Arts Commons, their fellow resident companies, Calgary arts organizations and colleagues across the country.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for a skilled management professional who can bring together their vision, experience, and passion for theatre in Calgary. The Executive Director will want to invest in the success and growth of ATP and will find personal fulfillment in being part of the future of this dynamic organization.

Executive Director Roles and Responsibilities

Reporting to Alberta Theatre Projects’ Board of Directors, the Executive Director is ATP’s guiding management leader and co-equal partner with the Artistic Director and is responsible to:

ATP Leadership and Strategy

•  Together with the Artistic Director develop a positive workplace culture, leading by example and collaboration to align with the brand, vision, mission, and values of ATP.

• Together with the Artistic Director work collaboratively with the Senior Management Team and Board of Directors to lead and implement a strategic planning cycle for the organization that identifies short and long term artistic and business goals, budgets. and operational plans.

• Together with the Artistic Director act as the primary liaisons to the Board of Directors, accountable for timely, accurate and transparent communication and reporting to the Board.

• Together with the Artistic Director, build and maintain positive working relationships with external industry partners, stakeholders (public and private funders) and producing partners (venue partners, co-producers, and presenters).

• Together with the Artistic Director lead and act as an ambassador and spokesperson for ATP with a visible presence in the local, regional, and national theatre and arts scene.

•  Utilize a transparent leadership approach in collaboration with the board of directors, committees, community partners, donors, staff, and other stakeholders.

• With the Artistic Director, implement a strategy to broaden the programmatic model to grow the organization, increase engagement with community members and stakeholders, and capture the attention and participation of new residents given the changing demographic profile in Calgary.

• Identify opportunities, plan, and implement collaborations and events which advance ATP.

Board Relations

• Develop and communicate key matters to be addressed with the Board of Directors at regular Board meetings.

• Recommend benchmarks based on the strategic plan to measure the performance of the company.

• Nurture the involvement of the Board in donor development and skillfully harness and direct that support. 

• Ensure accurate and timely reporting on finances, financial and operational performance, and related administrative matters between ATP Theatre’s administration and the Board.

• Collaborate in the identification and recruitment of prospects for Board membership and partners with Board committees to develop and implement their respective goals and objectives.

• Collaborate in the ongoing development and implementation of inclusion, diversity, equity, access activities and initiatives.

Financial Management

•  Provide day-to-day financial management and accounting, ensuring transparency, integrity, and accuracy in all financial reporting.
• Manages the preparation of quarterly and annual deliverables for internal financial reporting to the Board of Directors.

   

•  Calculate variances from the budget and report significant issues to the Board of Directors.

• Coordinate the provision of information to external auditors for the annual audit.

• Oversees the administration and operations including the design of an organization structure to achieve ATIP’s goals and objectives.

•  Review and document business and reporting processes, develop and implement modifications to improve efficiency and accuracy of internal controls.

•  Oversee budgeting, accounting, and payroll, as well as manage investments, and cash flow, to ensure sufficient funds to meet operating needs.

•  Review all business contracts and agreements, ensuring accurate preparation and execution.

Marketing and Audience Development

• Develop, in collaboration with the Director of Marketing and Communications, a comprehensive, integrated, and strategic marketing plan that aligns with the artistic vision and communicates the organization’s brand and programs to a wide range of audience members, donors, students, partners, and other stakeholders.

• Expand the use of digital content and contemporary outreach strategies to increase customer and stakeholder engagement and market reach while developing strategies to connect with the changing demographics of Calgary.

• Develop, expand, and fortify the existing relationships to advance educational and connectivity initiatives.

Fundraising and Inclusion

• Develop fundraising strategies and provide organizational leadership in all aspects of development.
• Inspire and engage stakeholders and the community to support positive fundraising efforts for ATP. 
•  Collaborate with the board and staff to develop short- and long-term goals and strategies around all areas of contributed revenue.
• Maintain and increase strong ties with community decision-makers, government leaders, and the arts community in achieving mutually beneficial outcomes.

People Leadership and Empowerment

• Lead in partnership with the Artistic Director, a diverse staff, including creative, technical, administrative, front of house, operations, maintenance, and volunteer workers, to ensure patrons, artists, students, and community members have a welcoming and high-quality experience.

• Develop and implement business and operational plans based on the strategic direction of ATP

•  Engage employees in setting their work goals in alignment with ATP priorities and assist them in modifying them as priorities evolve and change.

•  Cultivate an organizational climate and culture that attracts, retains, and motivates a diverse top- quality staff while supporting their growth, development, and education.

•   Empower all staff members to work at their highest potential to realize success with organizational priorities

• Ensure the psychological safety of the team to ensure everyone can bring their best selves to work each day and empower them to have a voice in their future, while providing mentorship to build and secure a sustainable team. 

•  Establish accountability measures while actively ensuring a safe and healthy work environment.

•  Support team ingenuity and professional development with appropriate human resources, structures, systems, and technological platforms in alignment with current and future trends.

•  Support continuous improvement and team building that encourages an effective and rewarding organizational culture for the staff ensuring they have the tools and skills necessary for the development and implementation of their respective goals and objectives.

•  Keep the office team updated with emerging priorities and assist them in modifying plans and practices as required.

•  Develop and implement human resource policies including performance management, performance reviews, coaching, and mentoring plus all other policies relevant to personnel employed or contracted by ATP.

Traits and Characteristics

Proactive, dynamic, independent, self-motivated, detailed, and people-oriented, the Executive Director will have exceptional management skills and value frequent interaction and collaboration with others. The Executive Director will be an experienced and entrepreneurial professional with the vision to actively pursue ATP’s goals with creativity and determination. The Executive Director will have a high degree of personal accountability - with a commitment to exceeding expectations. This individual will balance tasks and projects with a sense of urgency and possess superlative interpersonal and communication skills that articulate compelling verbal and written messages for support. A self-sufficient and self-managed professional with a highly organized approach, the Executive Director will have the ability to achieve organizational objectives with artists, staff, board members, volunteers, donors, and prospective supporters. This individual will bring an affinity for ATP’s mission and vision and a passion for positively impacting the organization’s long-term success.

Other key Traits and Characteristics of the role include:

 Leadership – Organizing and influencing people to believe in a vision while creating a sense of purpose and direction.

 Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills – Cooperating with others to meet objectives and the ability to effectively communicate to build rapport while relating to many different people.

 Decision Making & Resiliency – Analyzing all aspects of a situation to make consistently sound and timely decisions with the ability to quickly recover from adversity.

 External Stakeholder Focus – The dexterity to anticipate, meet, and exceed stakeholder needs andexpectations.

 Creativity & Innovation – Creating innovative approaches, programming, process, technologies, and/or systems to achieve the desired result.

 Flexibility, Time, and Priority Management – The acuity to prioritize and complete tasks to deliver desired outcomes within allotted time frames while readily modifying, responding, and adapting to change with minimal resistance.

 Employee Development/Coaching – Facilitating, supporting, and contributing to the professional growth of others.

Qualifications and Experience

A bachelor’s degree is required, and a higher education level is an asset. Qualified candidates will have at least 7 years of progressive experience with increasing responsibility in a management leadership role, in theatre, performing arts, education, or the non-profit sector. Superior written/verbal communication skills and experience collaborating with high-level, respected volunteers are required. Candidates must possess expertise in and willingness to mentor and develop team members to create a high performing team.