Job Posting

Position: Program Director

Location: grunt gallery

Reporting to: Board of Directors

Term: Full-time, permanent 35 hours/week. Some evening and weekend work. Flexible schedule.

Start Date: July 15, 2023

Click here to access a PDF of this job description.

Audio recording of this job description coming soon.

About grunt gallery:

Formed in 1984, grunt gallery is an artist-run centre located in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver, BC. grunt gallery has built its reputation on innovative programs that showcase current and past work by contemporary Canadian and international artists. Working with a wide range of collaborators, grunt gallery confidently supports interdisciplinary projects, performance, media works, publications, websites, artist talks, research residencies, mentorships, publicly-sited projects and socially-engaged initiatives alongside gallery-based exhibitions. grunt gallery continues to provide space for artistic agency, diverse perspectives, unruly practices and community connection. The gallery operates a wide variety of programming and initiatives, including those stemming from the Exhibitions, the Archive, Accessibility and Public Engagement, Events and Special Projects.

grunt has experienced significant growth over the last three years. Our programs have expanded and our staff team has grown at the same time as we continue to reflect on our role in community, and our commitment to anti-oppression work in the arts. Working at an increased scale and scope while prioritizing social justice, community engagement and creative access/accessibility initiatives, the organization seeks to create opportunity and impact in this region, in keeping with the priorities and guidance of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh host Nations.

We are looking for a Program Director who shares this sense of commitment, and who can embrace the complexities of working strategically in the public realm alongside the quieter work of relationship, self-reflection and collaborative leadership. We continue to do the work of articulating our emergent approach to arts-work, and we invite your vision into the organization at a key moment in our development. We understand new leadership may come from places we can’t predict, and we hope this opportunity can include those who, upon first glance, may not see themselves in a directorship role. We have a strong history of supporting Indigenous, Disabled/ Sick/ Mad, BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ artists and creative thinkers into leadership, and we offer investment in this imaginative potential.

The Program Director has a strong background in the visual arts community, with extensive knowledge of the local art community, and will work collaboratively to deliver the curatorial vision of the organization. The Program Director is highly motivated to build relationships with funders, foundations, donors, members, artists, and patrons.

The ideal candidate will be comfortable working with a talented and empowered staff team to ensure the core values of the organization are integrated at every level. The Program Director upholds the organization’s values and artistic vision and leads strategy for the organization. The Program Director is committed to anti-oppression and trauma-informed work, accessibility initiatives, fair treatment of artists and cultural workers, and supports and values emerging artists and emerging practices.

Required Competencies:

Creativity
Community
Collaboration
Commitment
Budget Development
Communication
Flexibility
Negotiation
Networking
Reliability
Grant Writing
Mentorship
Accessibility
Conceptual Thinking
Equity

Responsibilities:

• Works in a co-directorship model with the Operations Director to provide artistic, strategic, operational and financial direction to the organization, ensuring the needs of the organization are met effectively and collaboratively.
• Upholds the artistic vision of the organization and works closely with staff to determine the artistic and strategic direction of each department, build narratives for grant writing and seek funding to support a variety of projects.
• Works collaboratively with the Curator, artists and partner organizations to determine and facilitate exhibition-based programming and special projects.
• Responsible for long-term strategic planning of the organization.
• Provides financial management and oversight, including budget forecasting and tracking, investment management, and long-term financial strategy.
• Responsible for extensive grant writing for operations and special projects.
• Responsible for developing key connections, partnerships and collaborations inside and outside the arts community in order to support and build the annual operations and programming plan.
• Builds grunt’s community reputation via networking, development and community engagement.
• Develops and maintains relationships with public and private funding sources, and has a strong interest in donor development and fundraising.
• Reports directly to the Board of Directors and attends monthly board meetings to provide strategic, financial and programming updates.
• Supports and leads the staff team, putting grunt’s shared values, mandate, and public image at the forefront.
• Other duties as required.

Required Skills and Education:

• Passionate about collaborative leadership, organizational development, artistic visioning, strategic planning, partnership building and networking within the visual arts community.
• Excellent understanding and experience of working within the visual arts community and with artists.
• Familiar and comfortable navigating local, national and international art communities.

• Excellent understanding of artist-run centres and non-profit policies and requirements.
• Ability to uphold and drive grunt’s vision.
• Post-secondary education in an arts related field or a combination of relevant education and work experience must be demonstrated.
• Proven ability to develop, maintain and work within departmental and operational budgets with demonstrated cost-savings experience.
• Proven track record of successful grant writing.
• Shared organizational values.
• Experience working in community and embodying the role of ‘storyteller:’ able to synthesize complex ideas and rich histories for broad audiences.
• A collaborative and attentive leader who is able to lift up and support a talented and empowered staff team.
• An understanding that grunt is a “people-centered” work environment that respects a variety of working styles that uphold and align with grunt’s values, and thrives on communication to allow for creative autonomy and decision making amongst staff.
• A working intercultural skill-set to effectively work with diverse groups of people including staff, board, artists and community members, and a history of engagement with Indigenous and LGBTQIA2S+ people.
• Commitment to accessibility initiatives beyond an accommodation mindset.

• Exceptional communication and coordination skills to ensure all aspects of complex projects are carefully planned and can be effectively understood by collaborators.

• Must be highly organized, detail oriented, committed to quality and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work flexible hours.

Remuneration: $70,000 per year with additional benefits:

• Following a 90-day probationary period, enrollment in employee benefits program
• Annual travel/research budget
• Annual professional development budget
• Hybrid office/work-from-home model
• Three weeks paid vacation
• Additional paid days off during office-wide closures (one week in August; two weeks in December)
• Ten sicks day annually

How To Apply:

Please forward your cover letter and C.V. to: meagan@grunt.ca

Preferred file format is PDF.

Please email meagan@grunt.ca should you require any accommodations for this application process or to discuss your access needs.

Application Deadline: Friday May 19, 2023 @ 5:00 pm PDT

grunt gallery welcomes, encourages, and is actively seeking applications from members of equity deserving communities such as (but not limited to) people from racialized communities, Indigenous peoples, persons with Disabilities, women, gender-diverse and LGTBQIA2S+ people, and others with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities.

It is our hope that this position will encourage working artists, or creatives with an on-going practice, to consider this role. We hope to develop a working relationship wherein artists can exist both as artists and arts workers, and will be in conversation with the successful applicant on what grunt can do to support their on-going career.

grunt gallery is located on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ/selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations of the Coast Salish peoples.