Job Description

Position Summary:

The Senior Director of Presenting Services at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University provides leadership and strategic direction for the Performing Arts Center and is responsible for the management, administration, and operations of presenting spaces, primarily Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall (250 seats with a Dobson Opus 92 pipe organ) and the Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts (with full staging capability, including orchestra pit, opera scene shop, loading dock, dressing rooms and green room). The Ingram Center includes Ingram Hall (609 seats), Choral Rehearsal Hall (80 seats), Instrumental Rehearsal Hall, administrative offices, and NightPro audio recording studio. This position develops and oversees the Blair School’s marketing vision, serves as the primary liaison with Vanderbilt Communications, and coordinates Blair's engagement with performing units across campus and in the Nashville community. Reporting directly to the Dean of the Blair School, the Senior Director is a key member of the senior leadership team in executing the vision and strategic direction for the School through successful management of its presented events. The Senior Director creates an atmosphere of service throughout the organization that promotes teamwork as employees work to achieve common goals that support the overall mission.

About the Work Unit:

Situated on Vanderbilt Campus in the heart of Nashville, TN, the Blair School of Music is a vibrant and fast-paced school at Vanderbilt University, focused on the personal and professional education of highly talented young musicians who demonstrate an exceptional capacity and motivation to shape our increasingly diverse and complex global century—through music, with music, and in music. The school has 140 full and part-time faculty members and industry professionals who teach approximately 220 music majors, 650 Blair Academy students (comprised of pre-college and adult students) and 2,000 non-music Vanderbilt majors.

https://blair.vanderbilt.edu/.

Vanderbilt is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. It offers 70 undergraduate majors and a full range of graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges, all on a beautiful campus—an accredited arboretum—complete with athletic facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories. Vanderbilt is optimized to inspire and nurture cross-disciplinary research that fosters discoveries that have global impact.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

• Develop, implement, and manage the strategy and mission for the growth of presenting services in Blair. 
• Produce annual work plans in conjunction with the vision and strategic plan of Blair.
• In conjunction with the Dean, identify fundraising opportunities and prepare development proposals in partnership with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, as needed.
• Maintain in all areas under purview, vibrant spaces for dialogue and learning.
• Employ a strategy to engage the greater Nashville community by establishing and maintaining excellent relationships with agents (internal and external), and managers as Blair’s key representative in that space.
• Integrate and align artistic presentations with the educational mission and priorities of the school and university.
• Develop, expand, and diversify the audience base for Blair and Vanderbilt presentations.
• Negotiate with artists, agents, and managers, supervise the assessment of technical riders and contract terms, lead all aspects of external artist engagement. 
• Set standards as well as oversee productions and operations to ensure excellence of audience and community experiences.
• Advise and administer on matters related to the upkeep, maintenance, and upgrading of all facilities under purview.
• Ensure donor-provided gifts and endowments associated with performance halls and presenting and as assigned by the Dean and CBO are utilized in accordance with donor intent.
• Engage, partner, and mentor team members in development and marketing to pursue revenue-generating strategies and activities.
• Develop and lead annual and multi-year plans for revenue streams that will achieve financial growth.
• Develop and manage grant funding opportunities for the enhancement and growth of the PAC.
• Serve on multiple university-wide committees and working groups as a representative of Blair School leadership.
• Partner with the Chief Business Officer in developing and maintaining the annual budget for areas of responsibility.
• Partner with administration, faculty, and staff to plan the contract, financial and logistical aspects of residencies, engagement activities, and educational outreach across the university and the Nashville community.
• Apply skills of organizational management, including but not limited to personnel management, team building, financial management, strategic planning.
• Supervise all marketing, financial, operations and human resources activities, as well as supervise all programming, booking and production activities to ensure area leads are meeting desired targets. 
• Administer an effective and efficient staff organization to deliver exceptional services; conduct regular review of staff in areas of responsibility.

Supervisory Relationships:

This position supervises: 

• Manager, Campus Services
• Audio Supervisor
• Lighting Supervisor
• Audio Recording Supervisor
• Livestreaming Supervisor
• Stage Supervisor
• Business Manager
• Operations Supervisor

This position reports administratively and functionally to the Dean.

Education and Certifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is necessary.
• A Master’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is strongly preferred.

Experience and Skills:

• A minimum of five years of progressive arts administration, performance management, program management, business administration, or some combination thereof is necessary.
• Inspiring, entrepreneurial, and collaborative leadership style is preferred.
• Experience with the challenges of leading presenting organizations is necessary.
• Artistic insight and appreciation coupled with business sense and the ability to allocate resources and make difficult decisions is necessary.
• Strong professional networks that will attract, support, and enable compelling programming is preferred.
• A commitment to the development of artists and the arts is necessary.
• Ability to be strategic regarding local and national partnerships and understanding of the variety of constituents that Vanderbilt serves is necessary.
• Advanced understanding of the educational mission of a top research university is necessary.
• Excellent oral and written skills as well as strong interpersonal skills are necessary.
• Experience working with a wide array of stakeholders preferred, including faculty, students, donors, staff, and external partners is necessary.
• Collegiality and a pronounced orientation toward teamwork and partnership is necessary.
• A commitment to fostering a diverse and dynamic working environment is necessary.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing is necessary.
• Ability to make administrative/procedural decisions and judgments is necessary.
• Ability to perform complex tasks and to prioritize multiple projects is necessary.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.