POSITION DESCRIPTION

Job title: Director, Art Partnerships

Classification: Full-time exempt position

Benefits: Benefits including health, dental and vision insurance, 401k, vacation and sick pay.

Compensation: $88,000 to $98,000 annually, depending on experience

Location: Principally based at Creativity Explored, 3245 16 Street in San Francisco, with regular visits to other CE locations

Supervises: Exhibition Coordinator, Gallery Coordinator, Exhibition Associates

Reports to: Executive Director

Application Review Begins: April 9, 2024

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Creativity Explored is a San Francisco nonprofit that partners with people with developmental disabilities to create an artistic, studio-based collective where the creative capacity of any person can flourish. We do this by placing the work, needs, culture, and experience of artists with developmental disabilities at the center of the community in a way that honors humanity, respects self-agency, and nurtures creative potential.

CE is a warm, fast-paced, and fun place to work, with a long-serving multidisciplinary staff that is deeply committed to our community. A San Francisco icon, CE was named Best Art Gallery and Best Nonprofit this year.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director, Art Partnerships is a forward-looking leader who brings strong capacity building, strategy and project management skills to benefit CE artists through exhibitions, sales and business partnerships. Overseeing a team of four, the Director manages, creates and improves effective systems for exhibiting, documenting, storing, valuing and selling art produced by CE artists. They oversee a wide range of engagements with a variety of partners in the business and art worlds. The Director collaborates with CE departments and external partners to benefit CE’s artists and place their aspirations and needs at the center of our work. A member of CE’s Management Team, the Director also works to support the overall success of CE by working closely with our board and helping implement our strategic and operating plans.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director ensures successful sales and exhibitions of art produced by CE artists by:

• Ensuring that processes are in place to appropriately document, inventory, organize, and store CE artists’ work, including managing, implementing and upgrading systems and tools to do so
• Pricing and valuing CE artists’ work to meet goals for placement in the art market, for artist income, and for CE’s financial goals
• Platform CE artists’ work in order to foster effective sales and partnerships using CE’s website and other sales tools

The Director oversees exhibitions and sales opportunities by:

• Helping identify, meeting, and reporting on budget goals
• Initiating and implementing external opportunities, including solo and group exhibitions, art fairs, gallery representation, and museum acquisitions
• Planning and implementing internal exhibitions and related programming and events at CE’s gallery space
• Identifying and selecting art as needed for various collectors, institutions, and business partners
• Researching, initiating, and implementing large-scale art partnerships such as installations and public art, often involving external artists, cultural institutions, and funders
• Prioritize, inform, and implement Art Services projects, which place CE art in a variety of settings from offices to housing complexes
• Implementing Licensing projects, which involve partnerships that license CE artists’ art to businesses in a variety of industries
• Planning and implementing retail activities that include design and sales of CE art products, sales and displays at CE’s gallery, retail partnerships with a variety of stores, and popups in settings from craft fairs to businesses

Partnership across the organization is a key part of working at Creativity Explored. The Director will:

• Partner with the Marketing and Brand Partnerships, Development and Programs teams to build long-term brand value and increase year-upon-year exposure and revenues for the organization and its artists
• Review and evaluate partnerships across departments to deepen and leverage those partnerships’ benefit for CE and our artists
• Serve on the organization’s Management Team, working closely with colleagues to implement the organization’s Strategic Plan and ensure smooth day to day operations
• Work closely with CE’s Exhibition Committee and Board Marketing Committee and prepare reports for CE’s board
• Participate in key operations and finance processes such as our team budgeting process, ongoing financial management, changes or upgrades in organizational systems
• Participate in the creation of proposals, contracts, and MOUs needed for grants and business partnerships
• Serve as onsite Manager of the Day at least once a week at CE’s facilities in the Mission and Potrero Hill
• Support cross-departmental initiatives such as our annual gala

Organizational Relationships

The Director, Art Partnerships is expected to work productively in a team environment, to provide leadership as a member of our Management Team, and to foster open communication with staff across the organization to produce communications that support the organization’s mission and goals. They are also expected to work towards embodying the four components of CE's Staff Philosophy: Community, Creativity, Collaboration, and Compassion.

Compliance with Policies and Procedures

The Director, Art Partnerships will comply with established Creativity Explored policies and practices.

KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

• Bachelor’s (Master’s preferred) in art-related major such as fine arts, museum studies, curatorial studies, art history
• At least three years’ experience overseeing arts partnerships, sales, and/or exhibitions at a cultural institution or arts-related business
• Broad awareness of, and connections with, the contemporary art world
• Two or more years’ direct supervision experience
• A strong connection with CE’s mission, including the ability to advocate for CE’s artists
• Systems thinker with strong skills in planning, prioritization and capacity building
• Self-directed, entrepreneurial approach
• Demonstrated experience using data to share results and make decisions
• Strong aesthetic knowledge and skills, including awareness of current art market conditions and trends
• Strong project management skills including use of one or more project management systems
• Experience choosing and implementing related software and digital tools
• Team orientation, with demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people
• Demonstrated experience managing projects involving coordination between multiple business entities
• Outstanding interpersonal and verbal communication skills

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

• Complete and maintain CPR, First Aid, and AED certification (initial certification to be completed within 30 days of date of hire)
• Workplace Harassment Training
• Complete Creativity Explored staff training pertinent to position job responsibilities as assigned

OTHER INFORMATION

The Director, Arts Partnerships is an exempt, full time position. Most work takes place during M-F business hours but may vary due to organizational needs with a hybrid schedule in place with this position requiring at least 60% of their time on site at one of our studios. The position receives generous benefits as described in Creativity Explored’s Personnel Policies, including ample paid vacation, sick leave, holiday pay, retirement plan with match, health, dental and vision insurance, life and disability insurance and medical flex spending.

Offers are subject to satisfactory Criminal Records Clearance and proof of negative TB test results completed within the last year.

Creativity Explored is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse workforce. Bilingual/Bicultural individuals, people of color, women and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply please submit your resume at https://forms.gle/cpAusdSuE6rf521o8 by 9:00 PM (PT) on April 8, 2024. PDF format only. No calls, please.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $88,000.00 - $98,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Work Location: Hybrid remote in San Francisco, CA 94103