Executive Director
The Executive Director is the key management leader of DREAMS Center for Arts Education and reports directly to the organization’s Board of Directors while supporting the various constituents of DREAMS - students, parents, teaching artists, staff, donors, government officials, schools, and other members of the community. This position directly supervises the Director of Operations and Program Manager and is responsible for overseeing the strategic plan, fundraising, administration, development, and programming of the organization. This position’s efforts will be led by the mission of DREAMS, with a vigilant focus on what is best for DREAMS’ students.
Major Areas of Responsibility:
- Organization Mission, Strategy, and Success
- Multidisciplinary Arts Education and Youth Development Leader
- Board Collaboration
- Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency
- Fundraising and Donor Cultivation
- Management and Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
- Marketing and Communications
- Community Engagement
Primary Objectives:
Board Governance and Collaboration
- Execute the Board’s directives
- Communicate effectively and transparently with the Board
- Engage in Board development in collaboration with the Board
- Set DREAMS goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) in collaboration with Board of Directors, Staff, and other key people
Organization Mission and Strategy
- Works with the Board and Staff to ensure the mission is fulfilled through programs, strategic planning, and community outreach
- Work with the Board and Staff to develop and execute strategic plans to ensure long-term sustainability for DREAMS
- Be active and visible in the community by working closely with other professional, civic, and private organizations
- Cultivate community partnerships to maximize impact of programming dollars and in-kind support
- Strong Organizational Management
Management and Leadership
- Supervise all employees and ensure all employees receive at least one formal performance review each year
- Provide continuous feedback and at least one formal performance review each year to the Director of Operations and Program Manager
- Consider key feedback in order to do what is best for students and DREAMS
- Effectively recruit, manage and retain excellent staff and teaching artists in collaboration with Director of Operations and Program Manager
- Works closely with Program Manager to ensure teaching artists present distinct artistic perspectives and are included in program development
- Identify human resources needs (staff development/artist orientation, etc.) and implement a development plan to address those needs
- Set DREAMS research priorities and system for evaluating progress with Director of Operations and Program Manager
- Actively engage and energize DREAMS board members, event committees, alumni, partnering organizations, and funders/donors
Fundraising and Communications
- Lead resource development sufficient to ensure the financial health of DREAMS, to include fundraising, event planning, and publicity
- Serve as a primary grant writer for DREAMS
- Forge successful long-term relationships with corporations, foundations, and individual supporters.
- Manage staff to effectively refine all aspects of communications — from web presence to print collateral for optimal impact with the goal of expanding a stronger brand identity for DREAMS
Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency
- Develop and track budget with Director of Operations
- Maintain the fiscal integrity of DREAMS with Director of Operations
- Manage and operate within the approved budget, ensuring maximum utilization of resources resulting in positive cash flow and in a strong, long-term financial position.
Professional Qualifications and Characteristics
The Executive Director will be thoroughly committed to DREAMS’ Organization Mission. All candidates should have proven leadership, coaching, and relationship management experience.
Specific requirements include:
- Bachelor’s degree with at least 10 years of senior management experience; track record of effectively leading and regionally and/or nationally scaling a performance- and outcomes-based organization and staff; ability to point to specific examples of having developed and operationalized strategies that have taken an organization to the next stage of impact.
- Unwavering commitment to quality positive youth development through the arts and data-driven program evaluation.
- Demonstrated knowledge of positive youth development/youth development model
- Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage, and develop high-performance teams, set and achieve strategic objectives, and manage a budget.
- Past success working with a Board of Directors with the ability to cultivate existing board member relationships.
- Strong marketing, public relations, and fundraising experience with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders and cultures.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; a persuasive and passionate communicator with excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project skills.
- Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative approach to non-profit business planning.
- Ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people.
- Passion, idealism, integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven, and self-directed.