President [National YoungArts Federation – Young Arts, Miami, FL]

Description

The National YoungArts Foundation – YoungArts – based in Miami, Florida, was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison. The organization’s goals are to identify and support the next generation of artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts and to assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development.

Each year, YoungArts receives more than 11,000 applications from the nation’s most talented young artists (15-18 years old or grades 10-12). From this pool, approximately 800 Winners are selected through a blind adjudication process and are recognized for their outstanding work and accomplishments in ten separate disciplines. Winners are designated into three categories –Finalist, Honorable Mention and Merit – and are eligible to participate in YoungArts programs in Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

National YoungArts Week 

The organization’s week-long signature program – which occurs annually in January and is held in Miami – provides approximately 170 YoungArts Finalists with life-changing artistic enrichment experiences. Finalists participate in master classes with distinguished teachers and mentors such as Placido Domingo, Neil Patrick Harris, James Rosenquist, Joan Morgan, Carrie Mae Weems and Sarah Lamb as well as workshops, interdisciplinary activities, performances and exhibitions. Throughout the week, their work is further adjudicated to determine additional award levels, including a monetary award of up to $10,000. Finalists share their talents with the public through…

• performances in classical music, jazz, voice, dance and theater;
• film screenings at New World Center;
• exhibitions of an art, design and photography in the YoungArts Gallery;
• writers’ readings in the YoungArts Jewel Box.

Regional Programs 

In an effort to provide all Winners with the National YoungArts Week experience, YoungArts began offering regional programs in 2012. Currently, programs are offered in Miami, New York and Los Angeles and are produced in close partnership with institutions in each region including Baryshnikov Art Center (NY) and The Los Angeles Theatre Center (LA). Like National YoungArts Week, these programs offer participants the opportunity to work with master teachers in interdisciplinary sessions, master classes and workshops, and perform or exhibit work at leading venues.

U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts 

U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts is another important program of YoungArts. After a rigorous adjudication process, YoungArts nominates 60 candidates for an invitation to apply to the U.S. Presidential Scholars program. From this group, the Commission on Presidential Scholars selects 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts each year. Scholars are selected annually by The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, based on academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals. The award, presented on behalf of the President of the United States, is one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.

YoungArts provides emerging artists with life-changing experiences and validation by renowned mentors, access to significant scholarships, national recognition and other opportunities at critical junctures throughout their careers to help ensure that the nation’s most outstanding emerging artists are encouraged to pursue careers in the arts. To date, YoungArts has honored more than 20,000 alumni, including Doug Aitken, Viola Davis, Josh Groban, Jenji Kohan, Desmond Richardson and Kerry Washington with over $12 million in monetary awards; and enabled its participants to work with master teachers who are among the most distinguished artists in the world: Marina Abramovi?, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Renée Fleming, Zaha Hadid, Jeff Koons, Robert Redford and Bruce Weber. To learn more about YoungArts please visit www.youngarts.org.

Current Environment, Campus and Facilities

YoungArts has a fulltime staff of 43 and a 19-member Board of Trustees. The 2015-16 operating budget is approximately $13 million. The staff has grown significantly over the past four years, concurrent with its move to the new campus. Direct reports to the President include VP of Artistic Programs, VP of Development, VP of External Relations, COO and the Assistant to the President. Michael Kaiser is serving as Interim CEO and Claudette Donlon as Interim COO. A COO search is underway and it is anticipated that the role will be filled in advance of the President search process being completed.

In 2012, YoungArts purchased and moved into its current campus, located on Biscayne Bay just north of downtown Miami. There is no debt on the campus. There are three primary buildings: 1) The Tower, a seven-story office building; 2) The Jewel Box (named as such because its façade is stained glass) which houses rehearsal and performance spaces; and 3) an ancillary building containing studios, offices, classrooms as well as other arts tenants. There is a large, open plaza area that is used for outdoor performances and events. Additionally, there is a surface lot which is used for additional parking and forms the foundation for a large tent, used for the YoungArts annual gala. Plans are in early stages for renovating and upgrading portions of the campus to better suit YoungArts’ long-term objectives.

The Future

The Board of YoungArts recently determined three areas of strategic programmatic focus:

1)  YoungArts Experiences, or core programming, that includes all YoungArts Weeks and Presidential Scholars in the Arts. While keeping existing activities relevant and robust, the organization will look to expand the applicant pool – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, build relationships with high schools, and add additional regional programs.

2)  Support for the higher education of YoungArts alumni, including building deeper relationships with higher education institutions, developing online workshops on college admissions and advocating for alumni admission into colleges and universities.

3)  Alumni Programming that provides support for alumni at the early stages of their artistic careers. YoungArts will look to build new and significant ways in which to support alumni during the years immediately following their formal education, including alumni performances/exhibitions in regional YoungArts cities, ongoing access to master teachers and workshops, mentorship and technical support.

In parallel with these efforts, YoungArts will look to enhance its current campus and facilities to support the strategies above. Additional marketing, communications and branding efforts will be needed to raise awareness and build audience. Further, expanding the pool of donors, especially individual contributors, is seen as an important road to building the revenue pool needed to support these ambitions.

Requirements

Position and Responsibilities

The President reports to the Board of Trustees through the Board Chair. The President, in collaboration with the Board, oversees all aspects of YoungArts. S/he will work in a close collaborative relationship with the Board and COO to lead, guide and manage the organization. The primary roles of the President are as follows:

• Set overall vision and direction for YoungArts through providing strong organizational leadership, including execution of the recently adopted strategic plan and the development of new plans as needed.
• Ensure that YoungArts’ signature program – including Miami and in its regional locations – remains strong and grows in vibrancy.
• Elevating YoungArts toward a more self-sufficient model, supported broadly in the community through individual, institutional, foundation and corporate philanthropy.
• Align staff, space and financial resources in a manner that will enable YoungArts to continue its growth and maturation.
• Make choices that continue to build the Board’s strength and donor breadth.
• Find new ways in which the YoungArts campus can engage the community.
• Serve as the public face of YoungArts.
• Engage in high-level donor cultivation.
• Facilitate a working environment in which the staff can do their best work; the Board is both fulfilled and effective in its work for YoungArts; and YoungArts’ artists and audiences enjoy rich experiences in their respective disciplines.

Qualifications

The strongest candidates will have the following experience and capabilities:

• Deep and broad experience with performing and/or visual arts.
• A capacity for strong leadership, including visioning, motivating others, and developing the most effective culture for decision making.
• Proven ability to motivate and manage a large team of professionals.
• Productive experience in strategic planning and execution and the ability to effectively align resources around those strategic decisions. Prior posts within arts education and/or training, presenting or producing are all preferred.
• The capacity to effectively engage with professional artists, trustees and donors who work at the top of their respective fields.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible administration experience in a management role in a nonprofit organization, preferably in an arts or education organization
• Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills and the ability to effectively interface with senior management, trustees, and staff
• Undergraduate degree required; a master’s or advanced degree is preferred.

The ideal candidate will also have the following characteristics:

• A passion for and a belief in young people and their artistic gifts.
• An articulate, compelling, and engaging presence, effective in representing YoungArts in a breadth of social and business environments.
• A collaborative nature.
• A desire to be fully engaged in the Miami community.

Compensation, Start Date and Application Procedure

The salary and benefits will be highly competitive with other organizations of comparable stature and size. The search process is guided by a committee of four trustees led by the Board Chair. It is anticipated that the position will be filled by spring, 2016, with the successful candidate onsite as soon as possible thereafter. Applicants should submit a résumé / CV, cover letter, four professional references and salary requirements. Nominations of qualified candidates are welcomed. Materials should be submitted to the consulting firm retained for this important search as follows:

Management Consultants for the Arts, Inc.

Attn: David Mallette or Louise Kane

By email:  MgtConArts@gmail.com

Subject Line: YoungArts President

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