Location: Toronto, ON
Type: Full-time contract
Reports to: Board of Directors
Salary range: $55,000 – $60,000 based on experience
Start Date: November 1, 2021
End Date: January 23, 2023
We’re looking for a driven, organized Executive Director for a one-year parental leave contract!
Tapestry Opera is an award-winning independent opera producer known for innovative and progressive practices in developing and producing opera. We value collaboration and rigour in developing and producing new works as much as we do collaboration in our administrative work. The company culture onstage and off is one that welcomes new ideas, strives to evolve, and cultivates new practices. As North America’s most prolific commissioner and producer of new operatic work, we see vital and relevant stories and diverse musical traditions as part of our mandate and opera’s natural evolution. We are the leading opera company in Canada in performing works by women and artists from diverse backgrounds and believe strongly in progressively reflecting and engaging the world we live in through our works and throughout all of our organizational activities. As of 2020, Tapestry is a deficit-free company with a healthy operational cash reserve, operating in the range of $1.4-$1.5M annual budget.
For the purposes of Parental Leave, this contract position reports to General Director Michael Mori, working collaboratively to determine strategic priorities. Primary responsibilities include managing full- and part-time staff (5FT, 1PT, & Bookkeeper) and deadlines, overseeing staged and digital productions and special programs, managing annual and day-to-day finances, working with the board of directors including participation on various committees and preparing board of director meetings, and in general managing the heck out of the organization. The Executive Director position includes hands-on work, with concentrated activity in finance, government grants, and events. This position will require working from the Tapestry Opera office and Ernest Balmer Studio, located in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District as well as being onsite for our productions, with some flexibility for working from home.
We are committed to equity and justice in hiring and we particularly encourage applications from people from communities of colour, LGBTQ2S, Indigenous, disabled, and other equity-seeking communities
Things that matter:
- We make art that is socially engaged – you have an understanding or lived experience of principles of equity and anti-oppression, and/or are interested in and open to the process of learning
- You have relevant experience in organizational management (minimum 3 years professional experience preferred), with a track record of success.
- You have exceptional writing and communication skills.
- You are analytical and tuned in to new marketing trends.
- Familiarity with one or more of the following preferred: Government granting portals, Google Suite, Quickbooks, PatronManager
- You have a keen understanding of how to support staff, prioritizing people while achieving outcomes
- You are a multitasker! There is a lot going on here.
- You have an interest in, and understanding of, the arts – knowledge of opera an asset.
- You see challenge as an opportunity
- You are looking for work you’ll love. We do this because we love the work, and we like each other.
What we offer:
- Comprehensive health benefits
- Flexibility with hours, work-from-home days
- Casual working environment in a beautiful historic district
- Unlimited vacation and paid time off
- Open, transparent, and communicative office culture
- Professional development opportunities
- Your expertise is valued and trusted, and you will have real input into decision-making
- Tickets to all Tapestry productions.
What you will do:
This is a comprehensive but not exhaustive list, in which there is room for growth in particular areas of interest to the applicant. As with any small organization, additional duties as required, within reason and subject to discussion.
Of great importance to the organization is the role of Culture Carrier: the successful candidate will care deeply about a healthy working environment, holding space for staff, thoughtfully navigating the difficult terrain of Covid recovery, and in general creating an atmosphere of trust, accountability, transparency, and autonomy.
Board relations
- Development of meeting processes, agendas, and schedule
- Management of Finance Committee; participation in Development Committee
- Activating board members to achieve organizational goals
Finance & Budget
- Budgeting:
- Management of 21-22 Budget
- Development and management of 22-23 Budget
- Development of all production, HR, and administrative budgets
- Management and execution of FY21 Audit
- Management of payroll, all invoices and expenses
- Overall financial management on a year-by-year basis
Development
- Overall responsibility for budgetary & financial health
- Management of all government grant applications, with the Advancement Associate
- Strategic direction for each grant
- Budget development
- Grant writing and final editing eye
- Overall management of deliverable timelines
- Ongoing monitoring of funding sector, identifying opportunities, building strategic relationships
Partnership Management
- Development and management of agreements, budgets, and timelines for partnership productions
- Ongoing communication with partners and partner organizations
Program Management
- Development of structure of new programs
- Ensuring program structure reflects strategic goals of the program
- Development of budget, timelines, staff needs
- Oversee all elements of project deliverables
- Ongoing monitoring of project direction and implementation
Human Resources
- Staff management
- First point of contact for all staff members
- Weekly one-on-one meetings with all staff
- Monitoring capacity, priorities, and strategic alignment
- Creating an environment of trust and respect
- With the General Director, managing all hiring and recruiting
Driving timelines and execution
- For all activities, day-to-day and over the course of the year
Performance Production
- Development of all timelines and workbacks
- Creation of workshop, rehearsal, and production schedules
- Creation and management of budgets
- Overseeing execution of artistic vision
- Managing partnerships, community outreach, and special events related to performances
Women in Musical Leadership
- Management of contract staff
- Management of partnerships
- Development of selection and conducting committees
- Overseeing strategic direction
- Developing secondary opportunities and relationships
- Budgetary oversight
Canadian Opera Resource
- All project management
- Management of contract staff
- Management of partnerships
- Final deliverable: Launch of Database June 30, 2022
If this sounds like something that you could love, we’d like to hear from you.
Checklist: Please include as one complete pdf file, in this order:
- Cover letter (hint, research the company) on why you’d like to work for Tapestry and why you think you’d make an excellent candidate for this role.
- Up-to-date resume.
If you are invited for an interview, please bring two references that we can contact by phone and/or email.
Email jmartino@tapestryopera.com with your pdf attachment and include ED Parental Leave in the subject line.
Application Deadline: September 19th, 11:59pm
We look forward to meeting you!