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DIR OF PROGRAMMING, DUKE ARTS

Job Title: DIR OF PROGRAMMING, DUKE ARTS
Job Code: 1831
FLSA: E
Job Level: 14
Revised Date: 07/01/2022
Job Family: JF 28

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Occupational Summary

Reporting to the Vice Provost for the Arts and serving as a key senior leader on the Duke Arts team, the Director of Programming will lead the development of a robust season of world-class performances and exhibitions, presenting artists spanning across performance, visual, literary, and experimental arts. Duke Arts seeks to balance its academic and service missions, and to engage both internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The Director will ensure this balance through a combination of creative programming, educational outreach, and partnerships with on- and off-campus entities and communities. Presenting within the context of a world-renowned research university, the Director is well positioned to provide artistic programming that is informed by and in conversation with cutting-edge research, scholarship, and practice.

Work Performed

The Director will formally oversee the work of professional staff in Artist Services and Production, as well as a presenting budget. This person will seize the chance to strengthen artistic and academic connections across the University, support the work of departments, faculty, and students, and lead initiatives that bolster student learning. On campus, the Director will be a valued partner to faculty and administrators, aiding and amplifying the impact of their efforts. Off-campus, the Director will develop and sustain important relationships and foster meaningful programs that are compelling, relevant, and inclusive, and that resonate with and attract the diverse audiences of the region.

The Director will work closely with staff, faculty, students, university leadership, and community partners to articulate and implement a bold vision that aligns the presenting program with the academic activity at the university. Importantly, this vision will reflect the broad diversity of artistic forms that are represented among the university's academic programs as well as the broad demographic diversity that exists among practicing artists. The Director will stay abreast of artistic conversations as they evolve, and will adapt their vision to emergent practices and trends, as relevant and appropriate. A successful vision will position the presenting program for increased audience engagement as well as increased regional and national acclaim.

As the senior leader for the presenting program within Duke Arts, the Director will lead their team in the full scope of presenting activities, including identifying specific artists to present, establishing residencies, fostering programs that lead to greater learning and community engagement, facilitating commissions that lead to the creation of new works, developing and delivering a robust season, and partnering with the Duke Arts Development team to generate grant and fundraising opportunities to support the season and Duke Arts. It is important for the Director to develop enduring relationships with artists, ensembles, organizations, and institutions around the world that are pioneering in their fields and whose work speaks and contributes to University-wide conversations and priorities.

The Director will serve as a connector and a facilitator, partnering with academic and administrative units across the campus to further integrate Duke Arts and the presenting program into the academic enterprise of the university. While the presenting program has a significant history of developing relationships with faculty and departments, there is a strong appetite for greater partnership across campus. An enterprising Director will leverage this desire, taking full advantage of the rich academic resources that exist on campus, engaging faculty in the development of the season, and supporting them in their curricular efforts, when possible.

As an institution of higher learning, the student body is a key stakeholder, and contributing to student learning is an important facet of the mission of Duke Arts. As such, the Director will partner closely with the student body, the Student Engagement and the Community Engagement teams embedded in the Duke Arts structure, and the Student Affairs division on campus to identify programs that are relevant and of interest to students. There exists a real opportunity to connect artistic practice and creation to student learning, and the Director will leverage these opportunities when possible.

The presenting program at Duke has a long history of serving not only the campus but also the broader Durham community. Over the years, the program has built up a loyal audience that includes longtime subscribers and single ticket buyers. While programs have continued to draw a robust audience, there is increasing competition in the region. The Director will work closely with the Director of Communications and Marketing and the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement to provide input on marketing strategies and identify ways to attract new audiences while sustaining the interest level of patrons. More fundamentally, the Director will continue to help build the fruitful relationship between Duke Arts and Durham, which includes sharing venues and co-programming with community partners.

Required Qualifications at this Level

Education/Training

Work requires analytical, communication and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelor's degree program. Master's preferred.

Experience

Four years of progressive arts administration, performance management, program management, business administration experience or some combination thereof.

Skills

N/A


The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.


Duke University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas-an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.


Essential Physical Job Functions

Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.