POST DATE: June 28, 2024
STATUS: Full-time permanent, exempt.
SALARY: $80,000-$100,000 annually, paid bi-weekly

Ars Nova seeks an accomplished and highly collaborative General Manager who is a thoughtful communicator with exceptional attention to detail, strong information retention and excellent budgeting & organizational skills. Reporting to Producing Executive Director Renee Blinkwolt, the General Manager oversees financial management, human resources, operations, administration, and participates in producing and developing a high volume of new and exciting theatrical work. This role plays a critical part in Ars Nova’s success by monitoring and marshaling the resources necessary for the team to meet the mission; serving as a member of Ars Nova’s highly collaborative leadership team, guiding initiatives, building consensus and harnessing the expertise of constituents across the organization.

Ars Nova exists to discover, develop and launch singular theater, comedy and music artists who are in the early stages of their careers. We are the stomping ground and launching pad for visionary and adventurous artists to create new work. We strive to build the next generation of audiences for live entertainment by prioritizing a zeitgeist-forward aesthetic and marrying it with accessible ticket prices. Some of our acclaimed work includes: Heather Christian’s “Best of 2022” (New York Times, NY Mag, New Yorker) Oratorio for Living Things, the Lortel Award-winning “Outstanding Musicals” Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future and KPOP (Broadway 2022), Obie-award-winning and international touring Underground Railroad Game, and the Tony Award-winning smash-hit Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

Ars Nova recognizes both that it is a predominantly white institution and that our institutional practices have historically led to the exclusion of people of the Global Majority from our team. We are actively working to become a more diverse, anti-racist, inclusive organization and we hope candidates from the Global Majority will accept our invitation to apply.

KEY PURPOSE OF POSITION/GOALS:

Ars Nova’s General Manager ensures that the theater (both onstage and offstage) runs efficiently and smoothly, as well as optimizes all potential and real opportunities for growth and success. The General Manager runs the administrative arm(s) of the company, including supervising the Facilities, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Rentals, Culture & Community, and General Management Teams.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES AND COMPETENCIES:

The responsibilities, competencies and expectations outlined below are representative, not exhaustive. Responsibilities may shift as needed to best align with organizational needs.

ADMINISTRATIVE & FINANCE SUPPORT:

● Working with the Producing Executive Director to manage a thriving not-for-profit organization and building a positive and inclusive work culture;

● Leading the finance team, which is comprised of the Business Manager and a Finance Coordinator, and reviewing their accurate and timely financial reporting and bookkeeping, including payroll, bank reconciliations, accounts payable/receivable, monitoring cash flow, acquiring and maintaining loans, ensuring compliance with GAAP and legal standards, overseeing the annual audit.

● Working with the Producing Executive Director and other Directors to develop, manage, and oversee a $4 million dollar annual budget; along with capital budgets and production budgets, including working with department heads to accurately monitor actuals and year end projections.

● Supporting Ars Nova’s fundraising efforts by working with the Institutional Giving Team to create budgets for funding applications and grant reports, helping with cultivation events, donor cultivation and governance; Interacting frequently with the Board of Directors, with a direct relationship to the Finance Committee, and interacting with donors.

HUMAN RESOURCES:

● Supervising all contractual relations and business functions, including labor, insurance, trademark, real estate, ADA and employment, to ensure best practices across 3 union and various non-union contracts;

● Managing human resources and internal company policies, including hiring, onboarding, administering benefits including PTO, annual reviews, ensuring that company policies and legal standards are adhered to, and helping the full staff be as productive and fulfilled as possible.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT, PRODUCING, & ARTIST SUPPORT:

● Represent Ars Nova in collective bargaining negotiations with theatrical unions Off-Broadway; Maintaining strong relationships with arts service organizations, agents, vendors, and other entertainment industry professionals; and staying abreast of local news, opportunities and community meetings;

● Working with Ars Nova’s “Producing Team” – Producing Executive Director, Associate Artistic Directors, and Director of Production- to develop and produce the work of over 300 emerging artists in more than 50 unique public events each year, and countless workshops and readings. This includes contract drafting, union negotiation and compliance, and typical company management duties, with support from our General Management Assistant.

VENUES, FACILITIES & OPERATIONS:

● With our Director of Production and Facilities, jointly overseeing the Facilities & Operations team and the department’s efforts to maintain the cleanliness, safety, and well-being of our two venues, including supervising major capital renovation projects and ensuring compliance with various city agencies. Additionally ensuring cross-departmental communication is smooth and the efficient use of office systems, including the internal “Atlas” resource, organizational calendar, IT, alarms, etc.

● Optimize earned income by renting the two theaters and loft to outside parties, typically securing bookings 26+ weeks per year at Greenwich House, which involves year round cultivation and attention to ensure rental contractual details are met;

● Collaborating with the Culture & Community team’s efforts to ensure a high quality patron and their efforts in Front of House, Box Office, and Concessions/Bar and operations, including ticketing, cash management, inventory, profit analysis, and staffing.

ABOUT YOU:

● You have significant prior experience in the fields of arts administration, theater management, live performance producing, venue management, company management, artist relations, non-profit financial management (or transferrable/equivalent);

● You enjoy and have comfort reading contracts and decoding/translating dense writing or legalese into plain-speak;

● You have experience working in performing arts management, including direct experience with union regulations, collectively bargained agreements and contract negotiations;

● You are a self-motivated, determined, positive-thinker with a proactive work ethic who is able to anticipate needs and “manage up”;

● You have rigorous budgeting experience and you actually enjoy number-crunching, spreadsheets, calculations, and *that moment* when it all adds up and balances out and the final penny is counted;

● You are careful and trustworthy with sensitive information and have HR experience;

● You like solving puzzles and seeing how all the details fit together, you are a creative problem solver, adaptable to new responsibilities and retain new information quickly;

● You share our commitment to anti-racism and creating and maintaining an inclusive environment, are excited about joining our efforts to make Ars Nova a more just and equitable place to work and make work, and have the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.

BONUS IF :

● You possess strong leadership skills to represent the institution both internally and externally

● You are already comfortable representing Ars Nova, its mission, programs, and core values to the broader community;

● You are excited about the idea of supporting the creation and presentation of live entertainment by keeping an eye on all the administrative details, having them at the ready at the moment they’re needed;

● You have a passion for theater, for artists of all stripes, and love connecting communities to each other and to live entertainment;

● You are fluid with Google Suite, Quickbooks, and have a comfortability with project based software, specifically Asana;

● You’re well-versed in Actor’s Equity Association contracts/ rulebooks, and especially the Off-Broadway League’s Collectively Bargained Agreements.

We know there are great candidates that may not have all of the qualifications listed above but possess intuitive knowledge or other fully transferable skills. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

ABOUT THE POSITION:

This is an exempt, full-time position based in NYC with a starting annual salary of $80,000—$100,000. Ars Nova aims to compensate fairly and competitively within the not-for-profit entertainment industry, and on a transparent level salary system within the organization; our current Fair Pay Guidelines are available HERE. Benefits include health and dental insurance, an open paid time off policy, an Employee Assistance Program offering confidential counseling, legal support, work-life solutions and the like, opt-in 401(k) retirement savings plan with an employer match up to 3.5%, FSA, vision insurance, long-term disability, life insurance and TransitChek plans, and more. Ars Nova is based in NYC and offers a flexible work schedule and remote/in-person hybrid work space. This position will require regular onsite, in-person activity (including some evenings, weekends and holidays), so the applicant should intend to reside in the greater NYC area. Ars Nova works on-site Tuesdays-Thursdays every week, with greater flexibility to work remotely if desired and possible on most Mondays & Fridays.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Please submit a resume and a personal statement. Ditch the “cover letter” and speak from the heart about what excites you about this work. While we ask that resumes be submitted in written form, we invite applicants to submit their Personal Statement via a written piece, a spreadsheet, audio or video recording – whatever form best supports your self-expression. If opting for a non-written approach, please limit audio/video files to no more than 3 min in length. This form can only accept files up to 25MG in size. If you’re unable to compress your file to that size, please upload it to a sharable hosting location (dropbox, drive, vimeo, youtube) and include the url where we can view the content.

Submission link: https://form.asana.com/?k=e-yZY_XhZlVwV14PeXzIww&d=75190075101323

In order to help maintain an equitable process, please do not submit unsolicited candidate recommendations. For process or technical questions, please email jobs@arsnovanyc.com.

HIRING PROCESS: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled, so we encourage you to submit as soon as possible. Each application received by July 19, 2024 will be reviewed by Casey York, Managing Director. Selected candidates will have an initial interview over phone or Zoom, and semi-finalists and finalists will have in-person conversations with several members of the Ars Nova team, including Renee Blinkwolt, Producing Executive Director. Additionally, finalists may request a meeting with our affinity group for members of our team who identify as people from the Global Majority if that perspective would be helpful to them. References will be requested and checked prior to an offer being made. We are hoping the General Manager will join our team in September 2024.