Our Mission: Mid Atlantic Arts nurtures and funds the creation and presentation of diverse artistic expression and connects people to meaningful arts experiences within our region and beyond.
What We Are Looking for in Our New Executive Director
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Our next Executive Director will first and foremost have an equity-driven vision for the national arts funding ecosystem and for how the current system can more effectively invest in and support artists and organizations at the local, state, regional, and national levels.
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They will be someone who believes deeply in listening first, holding space to talk through challenges, options and ideas in an ongoing manner. They will be both harmonious and decisive; someone who is willing and ready to take actions, and will carry a deep commitment to clarity, transparency, and collaboration.
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The next Executive Director at Mid Atlantic Arts will be a truly exceptional communicator and strategist, who has a masterful ability to set clear strategic pathways for the organization. They will provide intentional leadership on activating the vision and telling the story of Mid Atlantic Arts’ impact.
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They will directly handle: Internal Communications, Strategy and Vision Setting, Capacity and Priority Management, Centering and Activating Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access, Staff Management, and Board Engagement.
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They will be prepared to support and have an understanding of: Fundraising for a Service Organization, Evolving Hybrid and Remote Work Models, Partnership Relationship Development, and Navigating Complex Rules and Obligations.
What Our Executive Director Will Handle Directly
The Mid Atlantic Arts team brings many capabilities to the table, but there are specific tasks and responsibilities that our Executive Director will handle personally. In these areas, established expertise and the ability to self-motivate will allow our Executive Director to excel without significant support from others.
These include:
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Internal Communications. Clear, comprehensive, and intentional sharing of information throughout the organization will be a great strength. They will be responsive and appreciate that there are different ways to communicate with different people, and are adept at facilitating dialogue between a variety people simultaneously. They can anticipate concerns or needs in order to communicate proactively. They will be clear with their expectations along with specifics around delegation of specific tasks.
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Strategy and Vision Setting. Mid Atlantic Arts is ready for a new Strategic Planning process, including setting a clear new vision for the purpose and impact of the organization in the region. The Executive Director will lead and support the creation process, including working with the Staff to have a clear implementation plan to ensure follow-through of decision making and meeting broader goals year to year. This includes imagining new ways to accomplish Mid Atlantic Arts’ purpose and developing and making a clear case for support - Why should people or organizations invest resources in and partner with Mid Atlantic Arts?
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Capacity and Priority Management. The Executive Director will collaborate with the team to maintain a clear understanding of the balance between capacity (expertise, time, money, people) and the needs of healthy and productive programming mix and infrastructure. This includes effective role-setting and delegation to avoid bottlenecks or wasted efforts. This also includes creating and supporting clear processes for considering and activating new initiatives in ways that are healthy, measurable, and well considered.
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Centering and Activating Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access. Mid Atlantic Arts is actively working to uplift and center EDIA within all aspects of the organization. The Executive Director will provide leadership and an engaged, continually growing perspective on how to enhance equity in all decision making and how to create thoughtful, intentional, long-term plans to expand diversity of identity and viewpoints throughout the organization. They will appreciate the importance of how these priorities impact day-to-day decisions and relate to the long-term viability of the organization. They will also have sensitivity to position-based, tenure-based, and identity-based power dynamics and will know how to lead in EDIA areas and how to step back and empower others to adjust in their day-to-day work that deepen an equity-oriented culture.
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Staff Management. The Executive Director will work to ensure equity is at the center of policies and responsibilities, capacity management, defining roles and responsibilities, bringing people into or out of the organization, and maintaining open and honest dialogue with all team members for continual refinements of focus and operational improvements.
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Board Engagement. The Mid Atlantic Arts Board is active and engaged but is geographically dispersed. To be effective, they need the Executive Director’s recommendations for clear direction and goals for achievement that link Board member efforts to successes for the organization, and clear communication structures to build trust and relationships while operating remotely in different geographies.
What Our Executive Director Needs to Support and Understand
Working with and alongside the rest of the team, there are important areas where we do not expect our Executive Director to be more knowledgeable and capable than other people in Mid Atlantic Arts, but where we do need them to have enough expertise to collaborate with us effectively.
These include:
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Fundraising for a Service Organization. The Executive Director needs to understand how to make a specific case for support to both individual and institutional funders for a service organization. Working with a networked Staff team, they need to be able to thoughtfully support the development of funding, donor, and Board relationships throughout the team to maximize connection, stability, and enthusiasm for Mid Atlantic Arts’ work. In addition, they need to know when to manage a key relationship themselves and to confidently make appropriate major asks that can only come from the Executive Director.
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Evolving Hybrid and Remote Work Models. Mid Atlantic Arts traditionally operated with a 9 to 5 in person office culture, but since the pandemic this is shifting to a hybrid/remote work model instead with Staff living in various geographic locations. This transition is still underway, and the new Executive Director will support the Operations and Human Resources teams in setting the policies, expectations, and structures for a healthy and engaged remote work environment, given changing cultural and generational shifts in workplace expectations that uplift the needs and realities of individuals.
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Partner Relationship Development. Mid Atlantic Arts functions within a variety of systems and collectives, including those of the served states, commonwealths, territories, State Arts Agencies (SAAs) and the Regional Arts Organization (RAO) network. The Executive Director’s role includes building relationships and support for partners outside the organization so that those networks can continue to be healthy and dynamic over time. The objectives of Mid Atlantic Arts extend beyond the organization’s direct programming and funding to include accomplishments that serve the region overall with the partner network’s collective capacity.
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Navigating Complex Rules and Obligations. Due to the network of government funding that Mid Atlantic Arts engages with throughout the region, there are state and federal rules regarding use of funds, language, communications, and legal obligations which can be complicated, and can create hurdles to accomplishing Mid Atlantic Arts’ goals or representing the organization’s values. The Executive Director needs to have or quickly gain an understanding of these complexities and bring a detailed, positive, and creative approach to how programs are implemented in that environment.
How We Will Support Our New Executive Director
The arrival of a new leader at Mid Atlantic Arts means everyone, including the new Executive Director, the Staff, and the Board, will need to adapt to new ways of working and a different collaborative partnership. As we discover that new dynamic together, it is important that our new Executive Director feels supported and engaged from all sides of the company.
To that end, Mid Atlantic Arts commits to providing:
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Annual salary beginning between $215,000 and $235,000.
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Benefits including:
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Medical, dental, and vision insurance provided by Carefirst. Employees can choose between three different plans, including HMO and PPO options, and Mid Atlantic Arts covers the deductible and 85% of the employee’s personal premium.
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Retirement 403B plan, including an employer 6% contribution after the employee has worked 1,000 hours or 6 months.
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Short- and long-term disability insurance.
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Up to 12 weeks of parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child. Full time employees are eligible for this leave after working for one year.
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Life and accidental death policy covering up to two times the employee’s salary up to a maximum of $400,000.
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Flexible hybrid schedule, which currently includes one day per week in a physical office with the entire staff, participation at all Saturday program days, and regular in-person presence at other events and locations through the week.
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An onboarding and transition plan, developed by the team and ready to adapt to the needs of the Executive Director.
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Mentorship or Advisory support during the first year with Creative Evolutions and three industry peers (see the Search Process that follows).
How to Express Your Interest
Email [email protected]. This email comes to Kim Davis, Calida Jones and Doug Clayton, who will respond to you to confirm receipt and who will stay in communication with you consistently throughout the process.
With your email, please include:
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Your resume. The resume can be of any length and style, though we encourage you to adjust it as appropriate to help us see how your history and experience connect to the current circumstances, intentions, and needs of Mid Atlantic Arts.
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Instead of providing a standard cover letter, please provide a written response of approximately two pages that includes answers to the following questions. (Please write out these questions and answer each individually.)
1. Who are you and what is most exciting for us to know about you as a human being?
2. Why are you interested specifically in working with Mid Atlantic Arts at this particular moment in your career? How would this role build on what you have done before and where you see yourself heading in the future?
3. Mid Atlantic Arts has committed to a particular set of Guiding Principles. Which of these speaks most directly to you, and how have you realized it in concrete ways in your past positions or collaborations?
4. Making clear decisions and communicating clearly about why strategies are being followed or decisions are being made is essential for the Mid Atlantic Arts Executive Director. How have you made sure in the past that clear communication is occurring to all the other people involved or impacted by your decisions?
5. Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs) face particular challenges that are different from local, state, or national service organizations or agencies. What appeals to you about leading an RAO, and how would you approach that differently than leading a local or national organization or agency?
Please also share how you self-identify on any and all lenses so we can honor your preferences and perspectives specifically in our communications with you!
If possible, please have any attachments be included in pdf format.
If you have any questions about the position or your submission, please feel free to e-mail and we will be happy to discuss with you at any time!
How this Search will Operate – Values, Communication, and Compensation
Overall Estimated Timeline:
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Application Period: June 20 to August 1, 2023
After the end of the application period, please reach out if you are still interested and we will let
you know if there is still an opportunity for consideration.-
Initial Screening Meetings & Semi-Finalist Meetings: June 20 to August 25, 2023
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Finalist Interviews On-Site in Baltimore, MD: September 10 - 13, 2023
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Employment Begins: Fall 2023
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After an initial submission of interest, selected candidates will be invited for a virtual Candidate Meeting with Kim Davis, Calida Jones and/or Doug Clayton from Creative Evolutions. Following the initial meetings, a group of candidates will be advanced to virtual Semi-Finalist interviews with an Industry Panel of experts in the nonprofit leadership sector. Semi-finalist candidates will all be compensated $250 for their participation. Candidates who advance as Finalists will be invited to come to Baltimore in September to interview with the full team at Mid Atlantic Arts and will be compensated an additional $1,500 plus reimbursement of their reasonable travel, lodging, and food expenses for their trip.
This search process is rooted in values shared by Mid Atlantic Arts and Creative Evolutions, and will include the following elements:
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It is important to us that you are treated with respect and are appreciated for the value you create for Mid Atlantic Arts through your participation inn this process. Candidates who do not advance will be notified promptly and given feedback on their materials or candidacy relative to the rest of the candidate pool.
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Throughout the process we commit to active communication with you, so you are never wondering what is happening or where things stand with your application or the hiring process.
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It is important that the full Staff and Board participate in the selection process. Final candidates will have the opportunity to come on site before a hiring decision is made. They will also have the opportunity to meet all Staff and Board (in-person or virtually) during the finalist process.
In addition, Creative Evolutions is engaging a paid Industry Panel of three peer non-profit management specialists who will be collaborating with Creative Evolutions to design and conduct the Semi-Finalist Interviews as part of the process. These peers will recommend up to three candidates who advance to Finalist consideration and will also commit to be available for up to three calls each for the selected Executive Director during their first year of employment at Mid Atlantic Arts. This ongoing support is intended to strengthen Mid Atlantic Arts as an organization and to provide strong collegial or mentorship support to the new Executive Director during the transition period. The outgoing Executive Director, Theresa Colvin, will also be available to the new Executive Director for consultation during the transition period as needed.