About the Knight Arts Program 

Knight Foundation believes arts and culture create connection and vibrancy in communities and demonstrate a crucial form of freedom of expression. Investing in arts and culture is central to Knight’s effort to build stronger, better informed and more engaged communities, which are critical for a more effective democracy. Knight invests across genres and increases the impact of its work by strategically collaborating with the Communities and Journalism teams to focus funding in the eight communities Knight supports.

Knight aims to amplify and accelerate work in the communities it funds by supporting the arts in the following ways:

Boosting diversity and sustainability with the arts ecosystem.
Creating new work, developing emerging practices and understanding the sector through fellowships, forums, research and critique.
Increasing the overall capacity of arts organizations through support for planning, staffing and investments in technical infrastructure.

The Role

Reporting directly to and working closely with President and CEO Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, the Vice President of Arts (VP) will be responsible for leading and managing the strategic, programmatic, financial, and management operations for Knight Foundation’s Arts program. The successful candidate will work in close partnership with the CEO to chart the course ahead for the Arts program, maintaining a strong focus on community across Knight’s eight (8) cities.

Another key aspect of the VP’s role will be to recruit, manage, and nurture a talented and diverse staff. They will champion a culture that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive, and actively foster a collegial and collaborative environment internally.

Specific responsibilities of the Vice President

Program Strategy and Management

Lead the continuing evolution, implementation, communication, evaluation and dissemination of program plans, strategies, and outcomes to demonstrable and sustainable impact in line with overall Foundation strategy.
Develop and manage operation and program budgets.
Ensure measurement and evaluation methodology is robust and consistent.
Ensure that the program’s strategic and operational objectives are aligned with those of the foundation overall.

Internal Leadership

Lead, manage, and inspire a team.
Participate in senior management team discussions and planning.
Collaborate with programmatic and administrative colleagues across the foundation

Arts Ambassadorship

Represent Knight to a wide range of stakeholders, including grantees, thought leaders, other nonprofits, business, and civic leaders through meetings, updates, speeches, briefings, and interviews.
Engage these communities regarding key programmatic issues, as appropriate.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate has both a broad and deep background in the arts as well as a track record that offers significant credibility to the various stakeholders in the arts arena in Miami, the other cities Knight has a presence in, and nationally. 

Additionally, the candidate should have a sophisticated understanding of the complex issues facing the field and, ideally, considerable practical experience working in and managing an organization. This person has a track record of spotting and understanding the complex obstacles artists face and of working collaboratively with communities and partners to address barriers. 

The individual listens and learns from key stakeholders inside and outside the foundation. This person should be an adaptive learner who commits to strong goals but presents flexible tactics and is able to course correct. This individual should have the capacity to foster constructive and transparent dialogue and collaboration among people, at times on opposing sides of sensitive issues.

The ideal candidate should be committed to the foundation’s mission of achieving significant, lasting and measurable results in its areas of interest and commitment and share the foundation’s implicit and core values. 

Knowledge and Experience

The candidate should bring a demonstrated track record of leadership. This individual will bring an enthusiasm for all art forms regardless of previous professional focus. Ideally, this candidate will be deeply immersed in a regional, if not national, professional arts community and will be recognized as an effective advocate for the arts and their role in community.

Setting Strategy

This individual should have the capacity to assess the operations and strategic focus of the Arts program and identify areas for further effectiveness and development. An innovative, broad-minded thinker, the ideal candidate will possess the ability to remain agile and make clear, timely decisions while producing a solutions-oriented, adaptive, and self-regenerating program that is continually challenging itself and exploring opportunities for new directions. The Vice President will have the strategic acumen and charisma to leverage the reputation of Knight as a reliable funder and push the envelope on the future of innovation across partnerships and mediums.

Relationship Building and Credibility

The ideal candidate will have the capacity and credibility to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including grantees, thought leaders, other nonprofits, and business and civic leaders through meetings, updates, speeches, briefings, and interviews. This individual will possess the judgment, passion, and informed instinct to effectively and diplomatically represent the foundation’s interests in the arts.

Interpersonal Acumen and Shared Values

The candidate should have the interpersonal skills and intellect to cultivate meaningful and productive relationships with colleagues, Board members and grantees. This individual will need to excel at connecting with a range of people with diverse interests. This individual will have a healthy/intact ego and, as such, will be confident, but will not always need to receive credit. The candidate’s body of work will demonstrate alignment with the program’s founding values and its commitment to supporting meaningful socially beneficial change. 

Inquiries, nominations, and applications are encouraged. Interested candidates should submit confidentially, a resume and letter of interest to [email protected]