Description

Position Description

Griot Arts Inc

Executive Director

Organization

Founded in 2011, Griot Arts’ mission is to empower young people to create positive change in their lives and community by providing access to opportunities in the arts, education, and workforce development in a Christ-centered environment. 

We cultivate creativity and compassion in the lives of our students through positive mentoring, enriching art classes, bibles studies, and employment opportunities. 

For more information visit https://griotarts.org/

Position

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director (ED) will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for Griot Arts’ staff, programs, expansion, and execution of its mission. S/he will initially develop deep knowledge of field, core programs, operations, and business plans. Other key duties include fundraising, marketing, and community outreach.

Salary starting at $50,000 with benefits. 

Responsibilities

Strategic Vision and Leadership

• Ensure ongoing programmatic excellence, rigorous program evaluation, and consistent quality of finance and administration, fundraising, communications, and systems; recommend timelines and resources needed to achieve the strategic goals 
• Develop and maintain a diverse Board of Directors that is highly engaged and willing to leverage and secure resources for Griot Arts
• Seek and build board involvement with strategic direction for ongoing operations
• Lead, coach, develop, and retain Griot Arts’ high-performance staff

Fundraising and Communication

• Oversee the financial status of the organization and set financial priorities accurately to ensure the organization is operating in a manner that supports the needs of the program and staff.
• Expand revenue generating and fundraising activities to support existing program operations
• Deepen and refine all aspects of communications to ensure organizational consistency—from web presence to external relations with the goal of creating a stronger brand
• Grant writing and reporting 

Strengthening Infrastructure and Operation

• Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality.
• Ensure effective systems to track scaling progress, and regularly evaluate program components, so as to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the board, funders, and other constituents.
• Establish and monitor program staff performance and development goals, assign accountabilities, set objectives, establish priorities, conduct annual performance appraisals, and administer salary adjustments in conjunction with the Board of Directors.

Qualifications

The ED will be thoroughly committed to Griot Arts’ mission. All candidates should have proven leadership, coaching and relationship management experience. Griot is committed to building a diverse staff and strongly encourages applications from candidates of color. 

Concrete demonstrable experience and other qualifications include

• Minimum of a B.S. or B.A., ideally with at least 5 years of senior management experience
• Unwavering commitment to quality programs and data-driven program evaluation  
• Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage, and develop high-performance teams, set and achieve strategic objectives, and manage a budget  
• Past success working with a board of directors with the ability to cultivate existing board member relationships
• Strong marketing, public relations, and fundraising experience with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders and cultures
• A financially savvy and politically astute leader with the ability to set clear priorities, delegate, and guide investment in people and systems; keen analytic, organization and problem-solving skills, which support and enable sound decision making.
• Excellent coalition building skills with an ability to communicate and work effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Is sensitive to the diverse perspectives of stakeholders and works with them to resolve differences.
• Outstanding presentation and communication skills and the experience and proclivity to be an outgoing spokesperson, relationship builder, and fundraiser.
• Strong commitment to the professional development of staff; successful track record of recruiting and retaining a diverse team.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; a persuasive and passionate communicator with excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project skills.
• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative approach to business planning.

Application Instructions

Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter outlining how they meet the specific requirements of the position to apply@griotarts.com with subject line “Executive Director Applicant: [Applicant’s Name]”.

Address cover letter to Griot Arts Board of Directors at the following address:

278 Sunflower Ave

Clarksdale, MS

3861

Requirements

How to Apply

Griot Arts is closely associated with First Presbyterian Church in Clarksdale, MS. www.firstpresclarksdale.com

Primary Contact: Cali Noland

Email: calilarsonnoland@gmail.com

Phone: 6629026805