Executive Director

• POSITION TITLE:
  Executive Director
• EMPLOYMENT STATUS:
  Full-time, W-2 status, permanent, exempt, 40 Hours per week
• DESIRED START DATE:
  July 15 – August 1, 2023
• COMPENSATION:
  $90,000 – $100,000 Per year / Negotiable
• REPORTS TO:
  Co-Founders/ Co-Owners Daniel Banks & Adam McKinney
• SUPERVISES:
  Administrative Assistant, Development Associate/Grant Writer, Bookkeeper, Artistic Producer, Graphic Designer (all currently independent contractors), Seasonal Administrative Interns, and other staff as added.

ABOUT DNAWORKS:
Founded in 2006 by Daniel Banks, Ph.D., and Adam McKinney, M.A., DNAWORKS is a Fort Worth-based arts and service organization dedicated to furthering artistic expression and dialogue, focusing on issues of identity, culture, class, and heritage. DNAWORKS was founded to center Global Majority and LGBTQQ2SPIAA+ voices and experiences to create more complex representations of identity in and through dance, theatre, film, writing, and art installation. We catalyze performance and action through the arts in the intersecting communities in which we work and live. For us, art = ritual = healing =community. We believe that this philosophy and practice lead to a more peaceful world.

DNAWORKS is a for-profit LLC Partnership with a not-for-profit fiscal sponsor and functions as a production house. We have ongoing projects that we tour and that are in development. We also respond to current events and community needs with interventions and programs that are created with and in specific constituencies and locations. Our LLC-fiscally sponsored status allows us to react quickly and pivot to serve our constituencies more fully.

BENEFITS:
Paid holidays, vacation + wellness and sick time, a monthly stipend for healthcare, and a quarterly work-from-home stipend.

LOCATION & OFFICE:
Fully remote office.

SCHEDULE:
A typical work week is Monday-Friday 8 am-4 pm or 9 am-5 pm CT; nights and weekends are required for performances, special events, and Advisory Board and community meetings. The weekly work schedule is always adjusted to ensure boundaries around a 40-hour work week.

HOW TO APPLY:
Submit your application package at the link including a resume, cover letter, and 1-2 work samples. Please include in the cover letter why this role is in alignment with your current goals and trajectory at this time, mission alignment, and your core competencies.

You are additionally encouraged to respond to the following questions:

Do you have a current creative practice? Why are you comfortable and passionate about leading, taking the reins of the organization, and running the strategic oversight, management, and day-to-day operations of this company?

Submit Your Application

SEARCH MANAGEMENT:
Unlock Creative: Coaching & Management Solutions LLC is conducting this search. If you have any questions, please email Ashley Walden at search@unlockcreative.org. Label the email “DNAWORKS search questions.” All applications and expressed interest in this position will remain confidential.

ABOUT DNAWORKS STAFF CULTURE:
Based on their personal experiences, the Co-Founders established DNAWORKS to provide more opportunities for and better representation of people who have been systematically marginalized and under-represented. We attempt to think in 360-degrees about oppression and liberation and to create a work environment that is welcoming to all cultures. We encourage all ourorganizational partners to share their needs openly and honestly and to offer feedback as to how we can be even more welcoming and thoughtful. As a team, we co-create the work environment, processes, and protocols around all our projects.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:
DNAWORKS is fully committed to Equal Opportunity Employment and to attracting, retaining, developing, and promoting employees without regard to their race, gender identity, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic disposition, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by federal, state or local law. We strive to provide a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and where employees are treated with respect and dignity. We intend that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors. We offer reasonable accommodation during the employment process for individuals with disabilities. If you need assistance in the application or hiring process to accommodate a disability, you may request an accommodation at any time.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Executive Director will be responsible for growing the organization’s capacity. The ED runs the organization with full authority to execute the business and staff management on behalf of the Co-Founders and Owners. In this capacity, the primary responsibilities include day-to-day strategic oversight and decision-making; staff management; annual budget planning; monthly financial planning and management; fundraising; and financial strategy to collaborate and execute the mission of the organization and the vision of the business owners and our partners. The ED will oversee high-level, day-to-day operations with the ability to delegate tasks to current team members.

Historically, DNAWORKS has been led by the Co-Founders/Co-Owners, Daniel Banks, and Adam W. McKinney, with the support of both salaried and/or contracted staff. McKinney has recently assumed the role of Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and is no longer involved in day-to-day decision-making and programming.

DNAWORKS has invited four nationally recognized artists to join Banks as a Co-Curation team to create pockets of DNAWORKS’s liberation-based, community-building, and anti-racism work across the country. This Co-Curation team will develop new work collectively, with each member being the lead artist on a project and interacting directly with the staff in support of their project. These projects are all in the early phases of development and are not all performance based–at least one involves community organizing and education. This unique model is currently in development and will be co-created with the ED.

POSITION PURPOSE

The ED is a key leadership role and will collaborate to lead contractors, the Advisory Council, and community members and organizations in realizing DNAWORKS’s mission. The role requires demonstrated, strong executive skills as well as a dynamic leader with a passion for the arts and the impact of art on the lives of multiple communities and constituencies. The ED will guide the development of the vision and strategy for the organization’s long-term growth and sustainability. Along with others in leadership, the ED is charged with positioning DNAWORKS to render the organization’s vision into practicable initiatives that are financially sound and supported.

The ED is responsible for the overall business, administrative, and operational management of the company. This includes overseeing fundraising, budgeting, financial management, HR, information systems, institutional marketing, and Advisory Council relations. The ED is an at-will employee.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The essential functions of this job require effective communication and computer work, as well as the ability to be responsive to changing circumstances, think and pivot quickly and gracefully, and be comfortable and experienced at expressing needs and boundaries. Clear, honest, courageous communication is key.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibilities include:

Executive Leadership

● Design, implement, update, maintain, and execute DNAWORKS’s Strategic Plan with an emphasis on fundraising, finance, organizational structure, and operations

● Fundraising strategy, planning, execution, and activities of all fundraising programs

● Manage the Development contractors or staff

● Achieve all financial development goals

● Oversee annual giving campaigns with Development contractors or staff

● Direct and lead institutional fundraising with foundations, corporations, and government entities

● Oversee communications with donors and patrons when it relates to fundraising or institutional advancement, ensuring mission-aligned practices are being used in stewarding our patrons

● Oversee staff management of the CRM database and ensure that best practices are being used in recording and analyzing data

Financial Management and Operations

● Manage the creation of the organization’s annual operating and capital budgets

● Manage financial reporting systems and operations to ensure that all directors and managers have the information needed to manage individual budgets

● Responsible for all external financial reporting of the organization

External Relations

● Represent DNAWORKS in communications with external agencies that have the power to govern or influence financial or administrative demands within the organization

● Provide additional support for and attend meetings, fundraisers, events, celebrations, and special artistic events (galas, open houses, etc.)

People Management

● Recruit, train, coach, and manage all non-production staff and consultants

● Ensure that DNAWORKS’s employment policies and reporting comply with all applicable rules and regulations

● Ensure that DNAWORKS’s employment policies and employee handbook are current and complete and support the organization’s staffing goals and needs

● Foster a culture of teamwork, generous collaboration, clear communication, effective

delegation, and mutual support

EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

The ideal candidate will:

● Hold a personal belief in the mission, goals, and objectives of the organization and be passionate about raising funds for and awareness of our work.

● Have the vision to design and execute DNAWORKS’s resource development in the short, intermediate, and long term to help DNAWORKS achieve sustainable growth into the future.

● Be a charismatic communicator in English and potentially other languages with the ability to establish long-lasting, productive relationships with the Advisory Board, staff, and range of patrons and funders.

● Have demonstrated the ability to generate earned income and philanthropic support and a passion for organizational development.

● Be comfortable leading, working independently, and be willing to ask for help and “raise one’s hand” when needed.

● Be a motivated self-starter with a positive attitude and perseverance.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

● Bachelor’s degree or higher in business, non-profit administration, or related field

● Minimum of 7 years of executive experience in an arts organization of similar scope

and commitments with demonstrated business acumen and strong management

skills

● Significant experience interacting with Funders, Advisory Boards, and Volunteers

● Experience building revenue and philanthropic support

● Management of a development campaign is desired

● Exceptional writing, editing, oral, and interpersonal skills

● Media and public relations experience

● Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills

● Ability to understand the needs and interests of current and potential donors and

funders

● Willingness to re-imagine business models and create new, people- and heart-forward processes and protocols that produce healing and liberation as well as financial stability