Chief Operating Officer

Position Summary:

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a leader, with exceptional executive arts administration experience, who oversees the financial, personnel and organizational health and sustainability of Nashville Ballet. The COO is responsible for comprehensively supporting Nashville Ballet’s Artistic Director & CEO, and leads the organization in the management and operations of the company and School of the Nashville Ballet, the support of artistic and educational productions and programs, and the furthering of the ballet’s long-term strategic objectives. The COO will be one of the “faces” of the institution in the Nashville and global community, implementer of the Artistic Director’s vision, an exceptionally effective fundraiser, and an excellent communicator and listener both in and outside the organization.

Essential Functions and Competencies:

• Administration and leadership of overall ballet operations including management of daily operations and development of policy and program objectives in coordination with the Artistic Director & CEO.
• Directly oversees directors of Development, HR, School Administrative Director, and other manager level staff as appropriate

• Meets with and reports to the CEO about the company’s daily operation, as well as about the CEO’s plans for any upcoming adjustments or developments to business operations strategy, or other organization goals and objectives

• Oversee and implement, with director of development, long term strategies to develop and cultitivate new sources of unearned revenue
• Oversee and be responsible for the supervision of all development and fundraising goals and efforts, including, but not limited to, all corporate, individual, and foundation fundraising campaigns, grant opportunities and all fundraising events.
• Fiscal management of the organization, in collaboration with CFO, including the development and implementation of an annual budget in collaboration with the Artistic Director & CEO and the development and implementation of strategies to effectively manage costs and increase revenues.
• With the Artistic Director CEO, responsible for the execution and supervision of all marketing and audience development activities of Nashville Ballet.
• With direction from the Artistic Director & CEO, provides data, research, information and recommendations to the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Board Committees in the creation of policies, programs and strategic direction of the organization.
• Supports all activities determined by Board of Directors, and assists in Board meeting coordination, scheduling, location, development of agenda and meeting materials. Assists in the formation of board committees including participation and attendance where appropriate.
• Represent Nashville Ballet at functions and professional conferences as appropriate to maintain Nashville Ballet’s profile in local, regional, national and global communites; identify opportunities to collaborate, support and receive support from other businesses, government agencies and organizations.
• Provides leadership of direct reports in the development and implementation of short and long-range plans, policies and other activities established in coordination with Artistic Director & CEO and Board of Directors.
• Responsible for management of direct reports, including interviewing, making recommendations for hiring, training, planning, delegating and supervising work; scheduling; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
• In collaboration with Artistic Director and Board, ensures compliance with legal and other regulatory requirements; and implements appropriate control systems as required.

General Responsibilities:

Supports Artistic Director & CEO in day-to-day and strategic operations.

Provides overall leadership and management of Nashville Ballet budget, staff, and volunteers and board culture.

Abilities: 

Strategic Vision and Agility – ability to think strategically, anticipate future consequences and trends, and incorporate them into organizational management and planning, including ability to pivot or change direction as needed  

Capacity Building – ability to effectively build organization and staff capacity, developing a top-notch workforce and the processes for organizational efficiencies.

Leadership and Organization – exceptional capacity for managing and leading people; a team builder who has experience in scaling up organizations; ability to create effective staff communications both individually and throughout the organization; capacity to enforce accountability; to empower and develop leaders from the bottom up, lead from the top down, cultivate entrepreneurship, and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the team so as to put people in the position to succeed.

Action Oriented – enjoys working hard and looks for challenges; able to act and react as necessary, even if limited information is available; not afraid to take charge of a situation; can overcome resistance to leadership and take unpopular stands when necessary.

General Management – thorough understanding of finance systems, and HR; broad experience with the full range of business functions and systems, including strategic development and planning, budgeting, business analysis, finance, information systems, human resources and marketing.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are a non-exhaustive list of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to handle, feel, talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms above the shoulder. The employee is frequently required to sit and occasionally stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative to those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. 

Desired Start Date:  June 1, 2023

Salary Range: $110,000 - $130,000

Work Requirements and Qualifications

• Education: Masters Degree is preferred or Bachelor’s Degree with commensurate experience.
• Experience: At least 5 years of Executive leadership in arts administration experience from similarly sized institution. Five years or more of demonstrated, increased management responsibility.
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Excellent communicator
• Effective partnership and leadership skills
• Problem solver
• Fundraising and HR leadership
• Mentor with grace, candor and passion 

To Apply:

To be considered for the position, please email the items below in one PDF-formatted file with your name as the filename, i.e. JohnSmith.pdf, to careers@nashvilleballet.com. Include “Chief Operating Officer” as the email’s subject line.

A substantive cover letter including the following information:

where you found the position listed,

your interest in the position and the organization,

the date you are available to start, and

contact information for three professional references.

2. A résumé no longer than two (2) pages outlining your educational and professional experience.

Incomplete submissions will not be considered nor will submissions sent via postal mail or fax. No calls please. Thank you!

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to review our website at www.nashvilleballet.com prior to submitting materials for consideration