TCG Co-Executive Director: National Operations and Business Development SEMI-FINALISTS COMPENSATED

CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: NATIONAL OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

FULL-TIME HYBRID POSITION SHARED LEADERSHIP WITH TWO COLLEAGUES

PLEASE APPLY BY August 26, 2024

CreativeEvolutions.com/TCG 

TCG.org

Theatre Communications Group in 2024

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology.  

This expansive approach to the development, advancement, and health of theatre in the United States requires a flexible and responsive approach to our changing world, and the collaboration of thousands of theatre artists, arts leaders, and partners across many sectors.  

In this rapidly shifting world, TCG has responded by shifting our leadership structure to reflect the diverse needs and expertise needed to adapt to our shared ecology to lead forward.  This is reflected in our new shared leadership structure, where the staff will be supported by three equal Co-Executive Directors:  One for National Engagement, one for National and Global Programming, and one for National Operations and Business Development.  

It is also reflected in the new expectation that these Co-Executive Directors will have term limits.  Each will be engaged on an initial three to five year term, with the potential to renew for one additional term.  At most, we expect these leaders to serve in these roles for 10 years, and then make room for different people who are best positioned to serve the needs of TCG and the theatre artists of tomorrow.   With this structure, developing new leadership both within the TCG staff and across the field will be a continued priority for the organization, and opportunities for new leadership of the organization will be available regularly.

To transition into this structure, the board of TCG has taken a considered approach by combining a national search for one role (Co-Executive Director: National Operations and Business Development) and promoting the two other Co-Executive Directors from within.   As of July 22, 2024, the Co-Executive Director: National and Global Programming will be Emilya Cachapero (previously Director of Grantmaking Programs) and the Co-Executive Director: National Engagement will be LaTeshia Ellerson (previously Interim Chief Growth Officer).

With these two promotions, TCG will be able to carry forward institutional knowledge and build on existing relationships, while also lifting up both Emilya and LaTeshia to bring forward new ideas and approaches that they have been developing at TCG over time.  The deep experience and specific approaches of Emilya and LaTeshia also provide a clear team that the third Co-Executive Director will be able to join at the end of this hiring process.

The journey so far…

Since its founding in 1961, TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 750 Member Theatres and Affiliate organizations and over 3,000 Individual Members. TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year through its programs and services and offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the bi-annual National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people.

TCG awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists, advocates on the federal level, and through the Global Theater Initiative serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. 

TCG is North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 21 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine (now back in print) and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. 

TCG is currently led by a board of 10 national leaders, chaired by New England Foundation for the Arts Executive Director Harold Steward.  Through a recent restructuring and adjustment, the staff now consists of a hybrid staff of 28, with assorted partners and external contractors in some areas.  TCG operates currently on an annual budget for FY 25 of $6.7 million.

Values: What do we mean by lead, just, and thriving? Lead: For TCG, to LEAD (for) is a statement of intention and accountability. It reflects the organization’s commitment to modeling and advocating for the structural, cultural, and equitable environments that a just and thriving theatre ecology requires. Distinguishing to lead “for” versus solely to “lead,” TCG recognizes its communal role in this ambition. Listening was noted as a key quality of leadership, as well as actively assessing and acting in ways that the organization can have impact. Just: JUST specifically names TCG’s equity-based values. It is one of the adjectives that explicitly describes the type of theatre ecology that TCG will advance. TCG believes that a better world for the theatre requires greater equity, visibility, and funding. Thriving: TCG envisions a THRIVING theatre ecology that has the investments, commitments, and participants it needs to 

create, produce, and present diverse stories; encourage, engage, and financially sustain theatre makers and practitioners;  abundantly serve multifaceted communities; advance values and practices of equity and justice; and sustain theatre as a viable industry.

What We Are Looking for in Our New Co-Executive Director

All three of our new Co-Executive Directors will need to hold a core belief in collaborative work, and to see themselves as supporters and connectors with the rest of the TCG team.  While each will bring specific ideas, vision, and energy to their roles, they will embrace collective responsibility for TCG’s service to the field and for the care and investment in TCG’s people.  They will all prioritize the ‘communications’ part of the name of the organization as an essential daily priority, both internally and externally.

For the Co-Executive Director: National Operations and Business Development, their primary super-strength will be as a brilliant systems designer for both technical and human parts of the organization.  They will have a highly detail-oriented mind and the ability to make clear and efficient decisions around priorities and allocation of resources.  They will be an expert planner who can also adapt to new circumstances and situations quickly and orchestrate complicated shifts in process with a diverse and largely remote team. They will also be creative in their approach, able to envision and execute on new opportunities for earned revenue at TCG.  Their experience with operational and business systems will also provide the opportunity to strengthen TCG’s day-to-day, and re-invent TCG in various areas to model anti-oppressive business practices.

Human Expectations and Personal Values

We expect our Co-Executive Directors to be very different from one another, but we do expect them to unify around the present and aspirational values of the TCG team. 

In a Co-Executive Director structure, where the three individuals have equal shares of power and authority in the organization, each Co-Executive Director needs an appreciation for the benefits of co-leadership and an eagerness to support one another while feeling confident and clear in their responsibilities on the team. A spirit of humility and grace to know when to lean into their perspective and when to make space for others’ expertise is the bedrock of how we hope TCG will function going forward.

They will operate from a joyful place of optimism about a better future (for tomorrow or ten years from now), while appreciating that they are responsible for one moment in a much longer story.  This appreciation will mesh well with their passion for training and mentoring others.  They will see their work in building TCG to include building the knowledge, relationships, confidence, and enthusiasm of members of the team (or others in the field) who will be at TCG even after their term(s) complete.

Their team orientation and emphasis on listening will allow them to design and develop better operations or opportunities for TCG, and will provide a fertile space for input and challenges to the status quo from staff, board, or other TCG constituents.  They will not see these challenges as threatening, but instead as a healthy and integral part of growth and progress.  Paired with this, they will remain deeply aware that holding hierarchical authority and power can lead to diminished empathy, and so they will make efforts with the other Co-Executive Directors, staff, and board, to regularly re-ground themselves in compassion, and how their actions impact the realities and vulnerabilities of the people who make up TCG and the theatre ecology.

Co-Executive Director Roles and Structures

TCG has spent extensive time discussing and exploring the structure for three Co-Executive Directors. Since two of the three Co-Executive Director's are internal promotions, the third Co-Executive Director will complement and enhance the capabilities of the existing leaders.  Because TCG will be collectively led by three individuals, no single person needs to be outstanding in all areas, as long as the team of three collectively are exceptional in all the capabilities TCG needs to fulfill its purpose and support its people.  While this opportunity statement includes a draft of how responsibilities will be shared at the outset, TCG anticipates that the three leaders will continue to evolve and refine their roles during the first year of their collaboration, and in an ongoing way through their entire terms of service.

The following responsibilities will be shared among all three Co-Executive Directors: 

Strategy and Vision All three Co-Executive Directors will be responsible for collaborating on a unified, cross-functional, and adaptive strategy and vision for TCG in partnership with staff and Board.   

Staff Culture and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion All three Co-Executive Directors will commit collectively to following and supporting a set of core cultural behaviors for TCG as set out in TCG’s values.  Together the three Co-Executive Director's will ensure that all of TCG’s communications and programming align with these values. All three should be people who have deeply examined their own biases, learned and lived anti-racist practices, and are able to both lead and learn in this area.  (Note that EDI-specific programming for the field will be held as a specific programming responsibility.) 

Public Engagement 

All three Co-Executive Directors will be great communicators, comfortable speaking publicly as well as engaging one-on-one with TCG’s many community members. They will also be excellent listeners, able to engage deeply with TCG’s constituents by listening fully, building trust, and working to heal past harm.  Specific opportunities to represent TCG at conferences and other engagements will be shared strategically among the three Co-Executive Director's as well as with other appropriate staff and board representatives.  

Managing a Budget that Enacts TCG’s Values 

Believing that budgets are moral documents that express an organization’s values, the three Co-Executive Directors will work together to develop an annual budget that enacts TCG’s values while reflecting fiscal realities.  

The three Co-Executive Directors will also all: 

Report to and participate in annual collective evaluations with each other and the board Collaborate deeply with the Board and other staff leadership at twice yearly full-day strategy sessions, and in between as appropriate  Bring a diverse set of empowered perspectives into leadership, giving more weight and strength to TCG initiatives by removing the ‘one voice’ structure.  Embrace having great strengths in some areas, and supporting other Co-Executive Directors with strengths in other areas  Operate in a way where they can step in for one another on short-term basis when life happens  

TCG is now hiring for the Co-Executive Director: National Operations and Business Development. 

The Co-Executive Director: National Operations and Business Development will serve as one of three co-equal leaders sharing executive leadership of TCG. 

The primary role of the Co-Executive Director: National Operations and Business Development will be to develop and support systems and processes for a diverse and largely remote team, including envisioning and launching new earned revenue opportunities.

Specific responsibilities for the Co-Executive Director: National Operations and Business Development include:

Primary leadership around TCG's overall business model, including envisioning and exploring new approaches to supporting the mission of a national service organization. Design, oversee and improve TCG systems for People & Culture/Human Resources,  Information Technology, Financial Management, and general operations. Develop approaches to understanding and illuminating organizational capacity (human, financial, temporal, and relational) to aid in prioritization and decision making. Lead internal communications and coordination between functional areas, including between the board and staff.  Manage the annual budgeting process and oversee day-to-day finances in partnership with ArtsFMS and the other two Co-Executive Directors  Support TCG’s publishing arms (AT Magazine, TCG Books, and Advertising) jointly with the other Co-Executive Directors, with a particular orientation towards effective operations in the current environment and developing new earned revenue opportunities  Design and improve current and potential earned revenue systems and opportunities Lead and coordinate the work of TCG’s operations departments, including specifically:  Finance and Administration People & Culture Information Technology Contracts and Legal Oversight

For Reference: The Co-Executive Director: National and Global Programming (Emilya Cachapero) will serve as one of three co-equal leaders sharing executive leadership of TCG.  

The primary role of the Co-Executive Director: National and Global Programming will be to develop programs and services that serve the field and advance TCG’s vision of a just and thriving ecology.

Specific responsibilities for the Co-Executive Director: National and Global Programming include:

Engage strategically with the changing realities in the theater ecosystem and guide all TCG programming areas to effectively work together to address short-term and long-term needs of the field.    Determine when new programs, tools, or strengths need to be invested in at TCG, and when needs or impact can be better addressed through partnerships or sunsetting TCG activities to allow resources for other focuses. Guide TCG’s advocacy work including both legislative advocacy and other advocacy methods developed with the field. Work with TCG staff to understand, build on, and reinvent as needed current collaborative programming structures.   Lead and coordinate all TCG programs, including those that originate outside the programming department.  Specifically supervise TCG’s programming department including:  Advocacy  Research  Fieldwide Programming  Grantmaking  ITI International Work  Specific activities that foster impact or purpose, including convenings, governance, leadership development, etc.   For Reference: The Co-Executive Director: National Engagement (LaTeshia Ellerson) will serve as one of three co-equal leaders sharing executive leadership of TCG. 

The primary role of the Co-Executive Director: National Engagement will be to communicate TCG’s mission and build mutually beneficial relationships with partners, donors, trustees, and members. 

Specific responsibilities for the Co-Executive Director: National Engagement include:

Integrate all of TCG’s communications, working closely with marketing, development, and membership directors to unify TCG’s messaging.  This will include partnering with AT magazine editors and programming staff as they develop content.   Develop and oversee relationships with TCG member theaters, educational institutions, and individual members, ensuring that TCG is in regular communication with all its constituents. Revitalize fundraising at TCG, including expanding trustee giving and developing new funding partnerships. Lead and oversee the relationship-building and communication work of TCG departments, including specifically:  Communications  Development  Marketing  Membership

How We Will Support Our New Co-Executive Directors

The arrival of new leaders at TCG means everyone will need to adapt to new ways of working and a different collaborative partnership than has existed in the past. As we discover that new dynamic together, it is important that our new Co-Executive Directors feel supported and engaged from all sides of the organization.

All three Co-Executive Directors are currently slated to receive the same salary, benefits, and support structures. Future variations may be developed and recommended to the board by the Co-Executive Directors themselves as part of their duties. TCG commits to providing:

Annual salary of $215,000 for each Co-Executive Director, with an annual cost of living increase linked to CPI. Benefits including: Medical/Dental/Vision Life/Accidental Death & Personal Loss, and Disability Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Employee Assistance Program Flexible Spending Account 403b Retirement Plan Vacation/Personal & Sick Days 11 paid Holidays Summer Fridays A hybrid work structure, welcoming applicants living in any area of the US and working remotely for a significant portion of their time. Regular travel to New York and other parts of the United States (and potentially internationally) will be expected, with travel expenses covered in the approved annual budget. An onboarding and transition plan, developed by the team and ready to adapt to the needs of the Co-Executive Director. Commitments made with clear accountability  from the Board of Directors around adherence to Codes of Conduct, active communications, attendance at board meetings and events, annual financial pledges, and participation in mutual annual review processes.   Mentorship or Advisory support during the first year with Creative Evolutions and industry peers (see the Search Process that follows).

How this Search will Operate – Values, Communication, and Compensation

Overall Estimated Timeline:

Preferred Application Period:  July 25 - August 26, 2024 After the end of the application period, please reach out if you are still interested, and we will let you know if there is still an opportunity for consideration.

Initial Virtual Candidate Meetings: Aug 15 - September 15, 2024 In-Person Semi-Finalist Meetings: September 2024 Finalist Period with full board and staff: October 2024  Anticipated Start: November/December 2024 After an initial submission of interest (see below for instructions), selected candidates will be invited for a virtual Candidate Meeting with Calida Jones, Doug Clayton, and/or Rebecca Novick from Creative Evolutions. Following the initial meetings, a group of candidates will be advanced to a robust semi-finalist and finalist process. The semi-finalist and finalist process will likely include:

A virtual presentation and Q&A with the full board and staff   A series of deep-dive explorations on the key areas of leadership noted in the “Roles and Structure” section. Each of these exploration meetings will be conducted by individuals with very direct expertise in the particular area. These individuals may come from the board, the staff, or be engaged outside industry peers. Any outside industry peers who participate in the evaluation process will also be engaged to be colleagues, advisors, or mentors to the Co-Executive Director team during the first year.   A physical on-site visit that includes at minimum: Touring TCG’s offices Meetings with staff or board  in various environments Meetings with Co-Executive Directors Emilya Cachapero and LaTeshia Ellerson This is a lot of time, energy, and expertise to ask for semi-finalist and finalist candidates, and TCG and Creative Evolutions are providing $750 in direct compensation to each semi-finalist candidate, and $1000 in direct compensation to each finalist candidate, in addition to reimbursing expenses (transportation, housing, food) associated with any requested travel at the semi-finalist or finalist stages.

This search process is rooted in values shared by TCG and Creative Evolutions, and will include the following elements:

It is important to us that you are treated with respect and are appreciated for the value you create for TCG through your participation in this process. Candidates who do not advance will be notified promptly and given feedback on their materials or candidacy relative to the rest of the candidate pool.   Throughout the process we commit to active communication with you, so you are never wondering what is happening or where things stand with your application or the hiring process.   It is important that the full TCG team participates in the selection process. Final candidates will have the opportunity to come on site before a hiring decision is made. They will also have the opportunity to meet all Staff and Board (in-person or virtually).

How to Express Your Interest

Apply at CreativeEvolutions.com/TCG 

Rebecca Novick, Calida Jones, and Douglas Clayton (Creative Evolutions)

The application portal will ask you to provide the following:

A pdf of your resume. The resume can be of any length and style, though we encourage you to adjust it as appropriate to help us see how your history and experience connect to the current circumstances, intentions, and needs of TCG. If your preferred resume already lives in an online space or platform, you are welcome to simply provide a link to those materials.   Instead of providing a standard cover letter, you will be asked to reply to the following questions:  Please write out the questions and answer each one individually and distinctly. If you feel you communicate more effectively verbally, you can reach out to us and provide a link to a video of you talking through your answers to these questions as an alternative.   Who are you and what is most exciting for us to know about you as a human being?  What is most exciting for us to know about you as a leader?   Please share your current awareness and perspective on TCG’s particular position, role, and opportunities in the current state of the American theatre.   In your experience, what are the most important components to supporting a successful operation that operates primarily virtually and across a national geography?   How have you approached identifying and building channels for new earned revenue?   What experience have you had working in or directly observing a co-leadership or shared-leadership structure?  What do you think are the most important practical steps you would need to take with your Co-Executive Directors to be able to work together in a truly shared fashion?   TCG continues to grow its own understanding of prioritizing human beings of all kinds within its business operations.  As a leader responsible for areas like finances, human resources, IT, and operational structure, how have you made decisions that are anti-oppression and that helped the team and individuals to flourish in the past?   If you wish, feel free to share how you self-identify so we can honor your preferences and perspectives in our communications with you   If you have any questions about the position or your submission, please feel free to e-mail and we will be happy to clarify

Rebecca@CreativeEvolutions.com

Calida@CreativeEvolutions.com

Douglas@CreativeEvolutions.com