Operations Manager (Seattle)

Description

Summary: The Occidental Fine Arts Center seeks a hands-on Operations Manager to build and execute cultural programs, gallery operations, and artist education initiatives. Highlights: 1. Opportunity to build, not just maintain, an arts institution 2. Hands-on role owning execution of gallery, events, and education 3. Empowers Seattle to gain respect on the global art stage Help us put Seattle on the map for fine art. The Occidental Fine Arts Center (OFAC) is a venue of the Conru Art Foundation in Pioneer Square. We bring emerging and experienced artists together to raise the level of fine art in Seattle and earn the city real respect on the world stage. We do that three ways: we bring great artists together, we build education for working artists who want to reach the next level, and we give Seattle real cultural events out of our Pioneer Square space and our network. We are part of a bigger family of programs, including the Beautiful Things project and the Seattle Prize. I will be straight with you about where we are. The education side is early. We have run a few workshops, not a full school yet. Building those programs out, the ones that take a working artist to the next level, is a big part of this job. I am looking for an Operations Manager to help build all of it. This is a hands-on builder role, not a desk job. The Opportunity A chance to build, not just maintain Most arts jobs ask you to keep an institution running. This one asks you to build one. We have the space, the network, and the ambition. What we need is the person who turns plans into things that actually open on time: a gallery that keeps real hours, a concert that fills the room, a workshop with the right working artist at the front. If you love art and love getting things done, if you can hold a dozen moving pieces in your head and still ship, this is a rare seat. You will report straight to me and you will own real outcomes. The goal was never to run another quiet gallery, but rather to make Seattle a city the art world takes seriously, and to do it with people who care as much as you do. What You'll Do The work Stand up the ground-floor gallery. Take the exhibition space on the ground floor from empty room to a working gallery: layout, hang, shows, setting the hours, and the day-to-day of keeping the doors open. Help run the gallery and a future art supply shop. Help oversee the Occidental gallery, and help us build out a potential art supply shop. The shop is a project you would help create, not something already running. Produce cultural and live events. Put on cultural events and music performances for around 100 people, using our Pioneer Square location and our network of artists. From booking and logistics through to a great night in the room. Recruit and hire instructors. Find working artists to teach in our programs and workshops, bring them on, and help them succeed with the artists they teach. Promote OFAC across the art world. Get OFAC in front of people: booths at art events, competitions, and similar opportunities around the city and beyond. Coordinate the team and the lead artists. Coordinate a team of several people and stay in close step with the lead artist or artists who set the creative direction. Oversee our sister-program teams. Oversee the people behind the Beautiful Things project and the Seattle Prize, including the folks who handle social media posting and analytics. You may do some of that posting and analytics work yourself. Be the operations backbone. Keep every project moving and own execution end to end. You are the person who makes sure things actually happen. Who You Are The person I'm looking for You run great events You have a strong track record organizing events, and you know what it takes to make a room work, from setup to teardown. You execute You are a creative thinker, but the emphasis is on getting things done. Ideas are easy. You finish. You own it end to end You are self-starting and you take a project from start to finish without being chased. If something is broken, you fix it. You communicate 360 You are an excellent communicator up, down, and across, and a genuine team player who makes everyone around you better. Based in Seattle, on site. This is an in-person role. Bonus: you have run a school or an educational program before. Not required, but it helps, since building our programs for working artists is a big part of this role. Salary Range $90,000 to $120,000