About the Museum:

Opened in the fall of 2015, Cascadia Art Museum (Cascadia) is one of the nation’s newest art museums, serving the Pacific Northwest as a voice and showcase for the region’s art history. The museum is dedicated to Northwest art during the period of 1860-1970, and maintains an active program of temporary exhibitions and public outreach to carry out that mission. The museum provides enriching experiences for the community and visitors alike through original exhibitions, public programs, publications and educational outreach. With five galleries, a multi-purpose education room and a gift shop, the 11,000 square foot museum is part of the adaptive reuse of one of Edmonds’ most iconic, mid-century modern buildings.

 

The museum is an active leader in the burgeoning creative arts district of downtown Edmonds, which in late 2018 was designated Washington State’s first Certified Creative District through a legislative initiative designed to support the state’s creative economy. Cascadia seeks to present a holistic view of Northwest art history by including the work of women and minority artists who, although sometimes historically overlooked, made substantial contributions to the region’s cultural identity.

 

Cascadia is strengthened by an impressive board of 14 highly engaged local leaders who share a deep passion for Northwest art and making it accessible to the community.  Additionally, there are over 50 committed community volunteers who staff the gift shop and exhibition spaces.  The museum runs on a calendar fiscal year and currently has a budget of around $800K.  The museum benefits from a co-leadership model in which both the Executive Director and Curator serve as equals, each independently reporting to the Board of Directors.  The Executive Director is responsible for managing a staff of three and oversight of the volunteers.

 

Though young in its tenure, Cascadia has already received impressive accolades from local and national press:

https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-cascadia-20151103-story.html

 

The Opportunity for Cascadia Art Museum:

Cascadia is a regional museum servicing Edmonds, Snohomish County and larger Seattle metropolitan communities.  With approximately 13,000 annual visitors, a membership base of 1,300+ and incredible community support and participation, Cascadia has enjoyed a very successful first three years but is still very much in start-up mode.  There is great opportunity to grow the museum’s scope and influence, increase membership, attendance and further diversify programming and education. The Board of Directors recently approved an initiative to become a collecting institution and is excited to work in partnership with the Executive Director and the Curator to implement this new initiative.

 

About the Position:

We seek an experienced leader to create and implement strategies to grow and evolve Cascadia in terms of membership, community influence and fundraising.  The successful candidate will build relationships, connections and partnership opportunities to advance growth strategies and to promote Cascadia as a best in class museum with a reputation for expertise in Northwest art.  S/he will work closely with a deeply engaged Founder and Board of Directors. The Executive Director does not hold curatorial responsibilities but will work closely with the museum’s Curator to develop programs and exhibition budgets, and will work collaboratively with the Board on strategic planning.  Although an expertise in the art of the Northwest is not required, a general knowledge of art history is important as is as a willingness to learn the unique story of the visual arts in the Northwest.

 

Responsibilities:
The Executive Director has responsibility for managing operations, administration, financial affairs (including development activities, such as donor cultivation and grant writing), business development/marketing programs, long term strategic planning and oversight of all Board-directed initiatives and staff leadership. Specific areas of responsibility include:

 

Financial/Operational Management:

·       Create and implement a viable and diversified operational plan that includes membership and program revenues, special events, sponsorships and both public and private grants.

·       Drive new and creative strategies to insure the targeted growth of Cascadia memberships.

·       Oversee annual budget preparation and ongoing financial management and reporting to the Board.

·       Carry out all business functions necessary to maintain the reputation of Cascadia as a well-run, 501(c) 3 organization with high integrity.

 

Fund Raising and Grant Writing:

• Develop a comprehensive fundraising plan in collaboration with Board of Directors, staff and volunteers and any future Development Director to expand revenue-generating programs.

·       Pursue foundation grants for operational needs and capital improvements including museum maintenance and improvements.

·       Seek funding opportunities and grants for education and outreach programs through state, federal and private funding organizations and agencies.

·       Manage consultant assisting in grant writing.

 

Community Outreach and Education:

·       Consistently and professionally represent Cascadia as principal spokesperson with members of the media, governmental agencies, local civic groups, other non-profit and social service agencies and the larger Pacific Northwest/State of Washington community.

·       Build collaborative partnerships with local and regional stakeholders, which includes local and regional arts organizations, local schools, governments, etc.

·       Develop contacts with local and regional K-12 schools to offer programs appropriate for their students and teachers.

·       Actively plan new and grow current museum programs—lectures, music series, and other appropriate programs for all ages.

 

Exhibition Planning and Programming:

·       Work closely with Curator to realize the organization and presentation of art exhibitions that the Curator selects and to support visual, oral and audio materials that are effective in relaying the museum’s mission. 

·       Work closely with the Curator and Board to establish a collections initiative.

 

Human Resources:

·       Build a dynamic office culture focused on equity and inclusion that attracts, retains, and motivates a staff and diverse group of volunteers.

·       Responsible for the hiring, training and development of the staff including mentoring, feedback, and performance reviews.

·       Establish clear expectations and goals for direct reports, and hold employees accountable for results.

·       Assure compliance with standard Human Resources procedures. Coordinate staff management with the Cascadia Board of Directors.

 

Board Interaction:

·       Provide effective guidance in understanding opportunities where Board can further the museum’s mission and impact in the community.

·       Clearly communicate ideas and recommendations at Board and/or committee meetings.

·       Keep the Board adequately informed of activities and affairs of the organization.

·       Prepare and provide materials and reports essential for the effective functioning of the Board.

·       Work with the Board to identify and cultivate potential Directors.

 

Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate will be highly curious, insist on high standards to best service our members and have a passion for building community through the arts.  S/he will have strength in relationship building and community engagement, a demonstrated track record of fundraising success and experience working in partnership with deeply engaged volunteers. The successful candidate will have significant experience managing operations and staff, administration, financial affairs, business development/marketing programs, long term strategic planning and oversight of all Board-directed initiatives and staff leadership.

 

Based on our strategic goals and knowledge gained since opening three years ago, we are seeking a candidate with a proven, successful track record in the following competencies:

·       Focus on achieving the right results. Highly resourceful and focused ability to set priorities and produce measurable results within time and resource constraints. Ability to build processes and systems that support efficiency and enable successful growth of museum programs and financial support. 

·       Leadership and willingness to roll up sleeves.  Fosters teamwork among staff and volunteers to meet the museum’s needs. Develops workable plans, sets expectations, monitors delegated activities and provides recognition for results.

·       Strong communication skills.  Communicates to improve understanding, decision making and performance. Demonstrated ability to forge productive alliances across private, public and governmental sectors and create new and sometimes unlikely partnerships toward a greater goal.

·       Collaborative in working with multiple teams and resources. Understand business implications of decisions, align work with strategic goals, complete administrative tasks and develop strategies to achieve organizational goals.

·       Works through ambiguity: Work well in a rapidly changing environment; able to multitask in a changing work environment. Innovatively lead solutions to challenging demands and unexpected events. Willing to change approach to best fit the situation.

 

 

Preferred Qualifications: 

·       A Bachelor’s degree

·       Experience supporting a Board of Directors

·       Proven success with fundraising strategies and membership relations unique to the nonprofit sector

·       Technical proficiency in CRM/donor management relational database software and Microsoft Office (experience with Little Green Light or a similar CRM and Mail Chimp a plus)

·       Management experience in a museum environment

·       A general knowledge of art history and a demonstrated interest and willingness to learn the unique story of the visual arts in the Northwest

·       Strong organizational abilities including planning, delegating, program development and task facilitation

·       Event planning and implementation experience a plus

·       Good follow-through and the ability to work independently and with limited oversight and direction

 

Compensation and Benefits:

Annual salary range is $95-115,000K, DOE. Medical benefits included.

 

Recruitment Process:

The deadline to submit application materials is February 22, 2019. Initial screening interviews will take place through 2/26. Panel interviews with the search committee will take place 3/11-3/22 and final interviews with the board will take place the week of 3/25. A hiring decision will be made by the end of March. Start date TBD.

 

To Apply:

Please upload your resume and a cover letter in one document by February 22, 2019 to the following URL: https://valtasgroup.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0j2pq/

In your cover letter please describe how your professional experience and passion aligns with the Executive Director position and the mission of Cascadia Art Museum.

 

Cascadia Art Museum provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Cascadia Art Museum complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.