Director, Cultural Leadership

Director, Cultural Leadership

aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential.

We acknowledge, with deep respect and gratitude, our home on the side of Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain. In the spirit of respect and truth, we honour and acknowledge the Banff area, known as “Minhrpa” (translated in Stoney Nakoda as “the waterfalls”) and the Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Îyârhe Nakoda (Stoney Nakoda) – comprised of the Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Goodstoney Nations – as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy comprised of the Siksika, Piikani, Kainai. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Shuswap Nations, Ktunaxa Nations, and Metis Nation of Alberta, Rockyview District 4. We acknowledge all Nations who live, work, and play, help us steward this land, and honour and celebrate this place.

The Opportunity

Cultural Leadership is one of two core leadership programming areas: Indigenous Leadership and Cultural Leadership. The incumbent will work closely with the Director of Indigenous Leadership, with the other Arts disciplines at the Centre, and with the Executive Director, Leadership, to plan and design specific portfolio programs, but also cross-disciplinary programs where appropriate.

The incumbent will work closely with the Banff Centre operations and administrative teams to ensure that the innovative cultural leadership programs for mid-career and established leaders are delivered at the highest possible level. Banff Centre leadership programs seek to create an environment within which leaders can explore and push leadership and innovative boundaries, develop new organizational skills and competencies, and develop both personally and professionally.

The programs need to find a balance between personal growth and development of the leader (values led leadership, cultural exchange and diplomacy, diversity, equity, empathy and collaboration), and organizational development and design thinking (strategic planning, change management, government relations, marketing and audience development, digital transformation in culture) in order to ensure that the modules directly translate to actionable behaviors once program participants return to their regular roles in organizations or communities.

Excellent knowledge of arts and cultural leadership practice and education is essential. A professional network of contacts within arts and culture communities in Canada and internationally is also essential, along with a deep understanding of professional development at the post-secondary level and beyond. The success of the programs rests on the ability of the incumbent to attract a roster of exceptional, sessional leadership faculty and to attract high-quality applicants to the programs.

Roles and Responsibilities

Reporting to the Executive Director, Leadership below are some key accountabilities:

Strategic Planning

• Works with the Executive Director, Leadership to understand and implement the strategic goals and business objectives of Banff Centre as they relate to cultural leadership programming overall.
• Works with the Director of Indigenous leadership and Executive Director, Leadership, in developing an innovative and comprehensive cultural leadership program plan, annually and over a 3-year planning horizon, which includes program evaluation metrics.

Programming

• Creates an annual comprehensive and integrated program plan for the department area, working with program managers and other subject experts. This includes designing residency programs and planning for their implementation and evaluation.
• Designs programs that are in alignment with our Strategic Plan (Creative Pathways, released 2021); the provincial government’s Alberta 2030 post-secondary strategy, which focuses on training for jobs and work-based learning; and Canadian Heritage’s arts training objectives.
• Leads diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion efforts to ensure programs are representative and inclusive in order to reflect the changing cultural, economic, and political developments that affect cultural leaders across the Canadian and Bow Valley landscape.

Operational Management

• Works closely with Recruiting, and the Admissions office to ensure program materials are clear, comprehensive, and accessible to potential applicants. This includes Ensure timely and complete delivery of program design narrative and tuition and scholarship allocation prior to programs being approved to be launched in market.
• Assists in identifying new potential donors, sponsors, and in the development of donor proposals, government and other grant proposals with Development team.

Financial Management

• Responsible for managing the Cultural Leadership budget required to deliver excellent programming.
• Participates in budget meetings to ensure cross functional team impacts are fully understood and strategies are developed to ensure financial sustainability and resources are well stewarded amongst the teams.

Relationship Building

• Utilizes effective contacts within the arts and culture, education, and funding communities nationally and internationally to ensure the on-going relevance of cultural leadership programs.
• Fosters relationships with donors to ensure good stewardship of past gifts.

Leadership and Influence

• Provides innovative and strategic leadership, vision and program direction and design to cultural leadership communities, through experience and knowledge of the arts and culture communities.
• Leads a team in a unionized environment that achieves its financial and non-financial objectives.
• Encourages a positive, respectful and professional workplace characterized by a commitment to learning and creativity and by high levels of personal fulfillment.
• Sound knowledge of the collective agreement and ensure compliance.
• Addresses issues and concerns impacting residency program participants, faculty, and staff while working with Participant Resources and Security Services.

Human Resource Management, Team Building and Interdivisional Cooperation

• Enables the Leadership staff to function as a high performing team at all times, maintaining open communication, clear objectives and priorities, and a culture of positive behavioral intent that is consistent and in alignment with Banff Centre values and is welcoming and inclusive, supporting a diverse workforce.
• Ensures that employees fully understand their roles, responsibilities, and performance standards and provide ongoing formal and informal feedback, coaching and support as employees strive to achieve expectations.
• Fosters an internal culture that maintains the highest standards for customer service, excellence of staff, participant and guest experience, and fiscal, operational, and organizational integrity.
• Ensures a positive and safe work environment for all Banff employees, aligned with Banff Centre’s policies including but not limited to code of ethics, anti-harassment policies, contractual obligations, and strategic directions.
• Maintains effective working relationships with team members, internal partners, customers, the union and other stakeholders.
• Ensures team members represent Banff Centre to any stakeholders and constituents in an informed, helpful, and positive way, striving to increase the organization’s public value in each interaction.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access

• Support the development and implementation of strategies to promote inclusion, diversity, equity, and access across Banff Centre
• Support team members participating in training session to educate on unconscious bias, cultural competency, and other diversity-related development processes.
• Support assessments of workplace accessibility for employees, participants and guests with disabilities and work with Talent Management and Culture to determine and implement improvements as required.
• Ensure work environment is welcoming and progressive for members of diverse and Indigenous Communities.
• Design, implement and monitor Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Actions where appropriate.

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