Jobs (Calgary): Executive Director – Ghost River Theatre

Theatre Alberta; Calgary; On-site; CAD 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health spending account

Monthly cell phone allowance

Flexible work schedule

4 Week Vacation with an additional 2‑3

Job summary

Ghost River Theatre in Calgary seeks an Executive Director to co-lead the company with the Artistic Director, guiding strategy, operations, and national/international touring. This hands-on leadership role emphasizes collaboration, equity, and artistic excellence in a dynamic, creator-driven environment.

The ED will oversee finances, fundraising, marketing, and community engagement, while managing a small team and reporting to the Board. Calgary-based, primarily in-person at West Village Theatre.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across all aspects of the company.
• Oversee budgeting, fundraising, and financial reporting.
• Support touring, program planning, and stakeholder relationships.

Job description

The Virgin Trial – Alberta Theatre Projects The Virgin Trial Alberta Theatre Projects Directed by Glynis Leyshon Written by Kate Hennig Actors Pictured: Nigel Shawn Williams, Jamie Konchak, Emma Houghton, Conrad Belau & Sarah Orenstein Set Design: Scott Reid. Lighting Design: David Fraser Costume Design: Heather Moore Photo: Benjamin Laird Photo Credits

The Virgin Trial – Alberta Theatre Projects The Virgin Trial Alberta Theatre Projects Directed by Glynis Leyshon Written by Kate Hennig Actors Pictured: Nigel Shawn Williams, Jamie Konchak, Emma Houghton, Conrad Belau & Sarah Orenstein Set Design: Scott Reid. Lighting Design: David Fraser Costume Design: Heather Moore Photo: Benjamin Laird Photo Credits

Jobs (Calgary): Executive Director – Ghost River Theatre

Jobs (Calgary): Executive Director – Ghost River Theatre

Ghost River Theatre is seeking an Executive Director to co-lead Canada’s foremost devised theatre company.

Working in close partnership with Artistic Director Eric Rose, this is a rare opportunity to help shape the future of an artist-driven organization known for its visually striking, design-led productions and national and international touring work.

About Ghost River Theatre
GRT makes our work in a rigorous, supportive collaborative-creation environment that recognizes and utilizes the unique abilities of all participants, premiering our work in Calgary and then touring it nationally and internationally. We value the daring, the illuminative, and the surprising. Our work embraces a hybrid of high-tech visual spectacle with low-fi theatrical magic, constantly reframing and rediscovering what theatre is and is capable of.

Over our 32-year history, our unique creation process has yielded an impressive roster of critically acclaimed productions: ONE, The Highest Step in the World, Tomorrow’s Child, GIANT, The Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst, STRUCK, amongst many others. Our intention is to engage audiences in meaning-making experiences that push the boundaries of live performance, while wrestling with the complexities of our contemporary moment.

GRT is honoured to be an arts leader in the Calgary, Alberta, and national cultural ecologies. Each year GRT hosts and teaches artists from all over the world through our Devised Theatre Intensives. As a leader in our community, GRT co-founded and co-manages The West Village Theatre, an 80-seat black box performance and administrative space located in Calgary’s inner-city neighbourhood of Sunalta.

Our Vision
GRT is a catalyst for enriching Calgary’s thriving arts community. Our mission is to drive boundary-pushing and immersive creative experiences in original live performance.

• We are CREATIVE in our artistry and our decision-making.
• We encourage a diversity of perspectives and talents to come together to CO-CREATE
• We act with COURAGE, willing to take the steps required to grow and (sometimes) leap into the unknown.

We are committed to a “humans-first” culture that centres creativity, care, and collaboration.

The Role
This is a hands-on leadership position within a small, highly collaborative organization.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director (ED) co-leads the organization with the Artistic Director, providing strategic and operational leadership across all aspects of the company.

The ED is responsible for:

• Organizational strategy and long-term sustainability
• Financial management, budgeting, and reporting
• Fund development, including grants, donors, and sponsorship
• Marketing, audience development, and communications
• Operations, HR, and administrative systems
• Community and stakeholder relationships
• Supporting production, touring, and program planning

The ED also:

• Serves as ex-officio on Board committees
• Represents GRT on the West Village Theatre Society Board
• Oversees a small team including a part-time Producer, contract bookkeeper, and project-based staff

Who We’re Looking For

We are seeking someone with:

Leadership & Strategy

• Experience in arts or non-profit leadership
• Ability to develop and implement strategic and operational plans
• Experience working with or reporting to a Board

Financial & Fund Development

• Strong budgeting and financial management skills
• Experience with government grants and reporting
• Fundraising experience (public, private, or earned revenue)

Community & Audience Engagement

• Relationship-building skills across artists, donors, partners, and community
• Experience with marketing, communications, and audience development

Operations & Management

• Experience managing people, projects, and systems in a nimble environment
• Comfort balancing big-picture thinking with day-to-day operations

Personal Qualities

• Collaborative, transparent, and people-centred leadership style
• Strong communication and public-facing presence
• Adaptable, resourceful, and energized by creation-based work
• Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility

Commitment to Equity
Ghost River Theatre is committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in both our artistic and organizational practices. We actively encourage applications from individuals who identify as Indigenous, Black, racialized, Deaf, disabled, 2SLGBTQ+, and/or from other equity-seeking communities.

Ghost River Theatre calls Treaty 7 territory our home base, which is the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, including the Kainai, Siksika and Piikani Nations, the Tsuut’ina (Dene) Nation and the Mînî Thnî (Chiniki, Bearspaw, Goodstoney), the Métis Nation within Alberta (Nose Hill Métis District 5 and Elbow Métis District 6), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.

Compensation & Working Conditions

• Salary: $60,000/year
• Health spending account
• Monthly cell phone allowance
• Flexible work schedule
• 4 Week Vacation with an additional 2-week office shut down over the Christmas holidays (following probation)
• Calgary-based; primarily in-person at West Village Theatre (free parking)

Why This Role?

• Co-lead a nationally recognized, artist-driven company
• Shape innovative new work with touring potential
• Work in a deeply collaborative, values-driven environment
• Contribute meaningfully to Calgary’s arts ecology

We thank all applicants; only those selected for interviews will be contacted.