Executive Director

Company Overview

The Centre In The Square Inc. (CITS Inc.) is a not-for-profit corporation, and registered charity, established in 1981 to maintain, operate and manage the 2,000 seat state-of-the art performing arts theatre situated in the Civic District of Downtown Kitchener. The theatre building, owned by the City of Kitchener, is also known as the Centre In The Square (CITS).

CITS Inc. works in the public interest as a presenter and arts enabler, playing a leading role in showcasing the best in local, national and international performers, with over 140 shows and concerts a year for the benefit of the entire region and beyond. Concerts, plays, lectures and comedy are but a few of the genres featured regularly throughout the year. Family programming is a priority, providing wonderful opportunities to introduce children to their first experiences with the performing arts.

Housed in the CITS building is also the independently operated Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery. Local cultural groups such as the Grand Philharmonic Choir, who present their own programs at CITS, are valued partners.

CITS Inc. also values opportunities for non-traditional partnerships and is committed to providing access in and around the theatre, and expert technical support, for rehearsals, workshops, displays, exhibits, and special events, in order to empower and enable artists of all ages and experience levels.

As a charitable organization, CITS Inc. receives an annual operating grant from the City of Kitchener that covers a portion of its expenses. Other revenue is self-generated through ticket sales, rentals, concessions, sponsorships, fundraising and grants from foundations and other levels of government. It is the vision of this organization to engage the community and bridge the space between artist and audience in a dynamic and sustainable way. The Centre In The Square has a committed and active Board of Directors of 14, led by Chair, Dan Carli.

Job Description

CENTRE IN THE SQUARE (CITS) is seeking a creative and energetic individual to serve as its next Executive Director. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will be responsible for developing and implementing the strategic direction for all annual programming, rentals and management of the Centre In The Square. The Executive Director will be a leader in the Kitchener community and throughout the region, with a strong desire to engage with the local community and with other performing arts centres 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 Centre In The Square team to maximize earned and contributed revenue.

As the leader of the Centre In The Square, the Executive Director will play an active role in planning the organization’s overall advancement. Supporting and partnering with presenters, arts organizations, artists, staff, board and volunteers, the Executive Director will build a thriving, creative and diverse culture serving Kitchener and Waterloo Region. The Executive Director will conceptualize and implement a plan to continue to grow Centre In The Square’s artistic and programming objectives while leading and motivating a highly effective team in devising and realizing successful strategies as the company moves into the post pandemic environment. The Executive Director will embrace their role in collaborating with the City of Kitchener in the development and implementation of the Centralized Services Model.

Working with a team of employees and volunteers, the Executive Director will set the collaborative tone in the organization, empowering the team to contribute to its overall success. A visionary programmer, the Executive Director will ensure a diversity of artistic offerings that will engage with the broadest cross-section of the population and their interests. A community builder, the Executive Director will be equally comfortable working with community organizations and government officials, ensuring a thriving local arts sector. A philanthropic professional, the Executive Director will lead the organization to grow a strong base of financial support from donors, sponsors and granting organizations. The successful candidate will display a passion for arts and culture, and will show a commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the arts. Providing the public face for CITS, the Executive Director will be active in the community, both responding to its needs andproviding it with challenging and interesting opportunities to experience all art forms.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for a creative professional who can bring together their vision, experience, and passion for a wide range of artistic and community endeavors. The Executive Director will want to invest themselves in the success and growth of the Centre In The Square and will find personal fulfillment in being part of the future.

Executive Director Roles and Responsibilities
Reporting to the Centre in the Square’s Board of Directors, the Executive Director is responsible for the overall vision and operations of the organization. and is responsible for:

Leadership

•  Articulate and portray a clear vision for CITS, in partnership with the City of Kitchener and in accordance with the mandate provided to CITS by the City of Kitchener.
• With the Board and other key stakeholders develop the and execute the strategic plan, while managing tactical initiatives to realize strategic goals.
• Maintaining a visible leadership role in the community.
• Developing and implementing a programming strategy consistent with the CITS strategic plan, balancing community, national and international performances, while maximizing audiences and performance dates.
• Managing and developing key external relationships with granting organizations, touring agents, government and agency officials, donors, and senior representatives in KW's community.
• Collaborating with local arts organizations (dance schools, dance competitions, KW Glee, Grand Philharmonic Choir and any other local group) and local renters (high schools, etc.).
•  Leading and directing all administrative and operational functions of CITS, through effective communication and excellent staffing.
• Ensuring effective communication with key stakeholders: volunteer groups, other arts organizations, resident companies, public agencies, government agencies, and the public, to achieve the objectives of CITS.

Fundraising/Development

•  Driving all municipal, provincial, federal government, as well as foundation and corporate grant applications while building close working relationships with key individuals in these organizations. May participate in grant writing.
•  Actively leading and participating in the development strategy and key activities including donor development, donor engagement and fundraising events and activities, in partnership with the Board and staff.
•  Participating in the relationships with various funding bodies, including ongoing and proactive communications, receipting and stewardship.
•  Ensuring the identification of new funding opportunities.
•  Building close relationships with key donors to increase their engagement with CITS.
•  Ensuring fundraising targets are met, campaigns are successful, and teams are delivering on the funding goals.

Human Resource Management

• Creating a culture of engagement and teamwork, encouraging open, respectful, communications and collaborative working relationships.
• Building a high performance, community driven team to fulfill the mandate and execute on the strategic plan.
• Recruitment, selection, supervision and oversight of both management and administrative staff in accordance with policies and applicable legislation.
• Ensuring positive relations with local unions,
• participating in their recruitment efforts as needed as well as leading negotiations for contracts. 

Financial Management

•  Preparing an annual plan, capital and operating budget for approval by the Board, and ensures the annual plan meets both short term and long-term objectives, is consistent with the strategic plan and advances CITS’ strategic objectives.
• Targeting operating surpluses that can enhance CITS’ financial position and allows for re- investment in different long term, strategic initiatives.
•  Ensuring the Board is aware of funding criteria associated with major grants from provincial, federal, and civic agencies; and that grants are spent in accordance with grant guidelines and that reporting requirements are met.
•  Directing the financial and business operations of the organization, including financial planning, control and reporting, annual capital and operating budget, long-range planning and financial projections.

Marketing & Communications

•  Providing a vision for the public face of CITS, collaborating with the Marketing Manager to build awareness, attendance, and revenue through the creation of a Strategic Marketing plan.
•  Building a solid marketing team, leveraging City of Kitchener and other resources where applicable, to build awareness and grow the audience and revenue of CITS.

Education and Community Engagement

• Creating and communicating the vision to develop and grow audiences which reflect the diversity of its Kitchener Waterloo base and works to ensure the wide reach of its community initiatives.
• Building a team to execute on and support community initiatives within and around CITS.

Board Relations

•  Establishing a strong and collaborative working relationship with the Chair and Board and participates as a non-voting member of the Board and its committees as required.
•  Meeting regularly with the Chair and reports to the Board as required on strategic initiatives, finance, operations, audience development and fundraising and other areas as appropriate or required.
• With the Board, develop and implement governance policies, and ensures the Board is made aware immediately of any concerns which could affect the operations or reputation of CITS.

Traits and Characteristics

Collaborative, proactive, dynamic, self-motivated, detail and people-oriented, the Executive Director will have exceptional artistic, management, social and verbal communication 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 the Centre in the Square’s goals with creativity and determination and 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 strategic 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 a passion for the Centre in the Square’s vision, mission, and values, with the ability to bring those to reality, and a commitment to positively impact the organization’s long-term success.
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.

Diplomacy - Effectively and tactfully handling difficult or sensitive issues.

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.

Futuristic Thinking - Imagining, envisioning, projecting and/or creating what has not yet been actualized.

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 and exceed stakeholder expectations.

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.

Goal Orientation - Setting, pursuing, and attaining goals, regardless of obstacles or circumstances.

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

Qualifications and Compensation 
Qualified candidates should have at least 7 years of progressive experience at a leadership level, including a strong understanding of programming genres and fundraising experience, with increasing responsibility in leadership roles in a performing arts center, arts and culture organization, 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. The Centre In the Square offers an annual salary of $165,000. - $175,000. commensurate with experience. Additional benefits include; annual vacation, participation in an extended health plan and retirement benefits.