The Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts is seeking a highly collaborative and creative leader to join the staff as the Deputy Director. This position will work closely with the Director and Chief Curator, and is an integral part of the Wattis team, which consists of 5 full-time employees and 3 part-time employees. This position comes at an exciting time as the Wattis has moved onto the newly expanded CCA campus.

The core role of this position is two-fold: managing the internal operations (administration) and external affairs (the public and donors). Therefore the Deputy Director will be a key representative of the institution to artists, colleagues, donors, students, and the general public. The ability to work and interact with the public and donors are essential. Additionally, the ability to work with the school and colleagues inter-departmentally is also essential.

Successful candidates will be organized project managers; creative thinkers and problem solvers; and strong verbal and written communicators. The Wattis seeks candidates who share our commitment to creating a respectful, thoughtful, collaborative, creative and fun work culture.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Operations

Administration - 30%

In collaboration with the Director, create and oversee operating and program budgets; ensure that Wattis budgets align with CCA’s Financial Planning Office
Maintain and enforce a calendar and schedule of deadlines for all aspects of the organization’s operations: research, exhibition, programs; foundation and individual fundraising; press, marketing and communications
Work with Director and CCA’s Advancement team on calendars and communications to be able to reach fundraising goals
Develop and maintain an efficient system for the administration, communication, implementation, management, and enforcement of the deadline calendar, including protocols and templates for all staff to follow, regular scheduled meetings, clear communication, and coordination with relevant CCA departments

Management - 20%

Serve as a key member of the senior leadership team along with the Director, Chief Curator and Associate Curator
Set standards for delivery of tasks, oversee training, and onboarding to new staff. Conduct performance reviews.
Manage Gallery Associate (who operates the gallery and social media platforms); Operations Coordinator (who coordinates communications and finance); contracted graphic designers, and contracted publicist.
Contribute to the institutional vision and identify institutional priorities in collaboration with the Director/Chief Curator and Associate Curator
Participate in professional activities and forums to represent the Wattis and to maintain and deepen professional expertise and knowledge

External Affairs
Fundraising - 30%

Work with Director and CCA’s Advancement staff to develop and implement fundraising strategies for patrons and foundations
Work with Director, curators and CCA’s Advancement in preparing materials needed for grant applications, including writing and editing project narrative, compiling images and budgets
Develop, manage, and oversee the Membership Program (called the Curators’ Forum), with support from CCA’s Advancement Office, including speaker selection, event planning, production and distribution of quarterly calendar-of-events, promotion and announcement of events, cultivation and recruitment of new members, management of existing members, hosting, gifts and follow-up, and event logistics
Develop, manage, and oversee the Limited Editions Program, including development strategy, artist selection, production, promotion, sales, fairs, and shipping, with support from the Gallery Associate
Attend art-world and fundraising events (openings, talks, fairs) in the Bay Area to solicit new prospects

Public Programs - 20%

As part of the programming team (Director, Deputy Director, Associate Curator), contribute to public programs including identifying artists, works, and ideas.
- Ensure they are aligned with the Wattis goals and innovative vision
- Coordinate execution of programs to create meaningful and memorable experiences for audiences
- Public Programs include: talks, screenings, performances, sound installations. An outdoor series of public activations will be a big part of the upcoming planning.
Create and develop strategies for promotion and communication with the goal of a more robust audience for the Wattis. Work with Galley Associate and Operations Coordinator to ensure communications to the public promotes Wattis’s programs.
Ensure all messaging is inline with Wattis’s voice and style
Work with CCA colleagues to coordinate with the college’s public programs

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Deep knowledge of contemporary art discourse
Has 3-5 years of relevant professional experience as a program director, manager or leading administrator in museums, art education, or related field
Excellent communication skills (internally and externally) and experience with writing
Demonstrated project management skills, with the ability to organize multiple projects simultaneously while keeping track of deadlines and milestones independently
Ability and desire to work collaboratively as part of a team, and openness to constructive feedback and exchange
Experience with hosting and events planning
Fluency in Zoom, Mailchimp/Constant Contact, Microsoft Office Suite,Google Apps. Knowledge of Adobe Suite is a plus.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

The range for this position is $77,000 - $80,000/annually
CCA offers a comprehensive benefits package, including the choice of five medical plans, generous holiday, sick & vacation time, a retirement match and tuition remission. CCA covers an average of 91% of the medical plan cost for the employee only and an average of 82% for employees with dependents. More information can be found here: https://portal.cca.edu/working/office-human-resources/employee-benefits.

POSITION DETAILS:

CCA considers a full-time work week to be 37.5 hours per week.
Schedule: The Deputy Director works 5 days per week (Monday through Friday). There are evening engagements and occasional weekend engagements. Flexibility with work from home hours depending on the event and program schedule.

Location

San Francisco

FLSA

Exempt

Additional Locations

Application Instructions

Applicants are required to attach a cover letter and resume. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Recommended document file formats are Word or PDF. If there are multiple attachments, we recommend compressing/zipping your files into a zip format file. There is also a place in the application for you to provide a link to large documents. Please submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions.

Application Deadline

For staff positions, screening begins immediately and continues until the position is filled.

EEO Statement

As an educational and cultural institution, California College of the Arts has a responsibility to provide access and opportunities for all people, with special attention to supporting groups historically underrepresented in higher education.

We believe that a culturally diverse campus is integral to academic excellence, and our student, faculty, staff, and trustee bodies should reflect the diverse world in which we live, with attention to race, ethnicity, religious creed, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and ability.

California College of the Arts is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from individuals who will contribute to its diversity. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to hr@cca.edu. In alignment with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment. If a background check is required for a position, it will be noted in the job posting.

Questions?

Please address any questions to hr@cca.edu.