Executive Director | Southeastern Theatre Conference

Management Consultants for the Arts; Baltimore (MD); Remote; USD 105,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading arts organization seeks an Executive Director to steer its mission of connecting theatre practitioners. Ideal candidates will showcase strategic leadership and community engagement to enhance programming and ensure financial sustainability while fostering inclusion.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical and dental coverage

Generous 403b contribution

Sabbatical support

Funds for travel and networking

Qualifications

• Experience in a service or membership organization.
• Proven track record of leadership within non-profit arts institutions.
• Strong communication skills for engaging multiple constituencies.

Responsibilities

• Supervise Central Office staff and volunteers.
• Oversee organizational direction and programming.
• Cultivate and grow membership and organizational partnerships.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Community engagement

Financial management

Effective communication

Leadership

Education

Degree in Arts Management or related field

Job description

Keynote speaker Andre DeShields at SETC 2025 Conference in Baltimore.

OPPORTUNITY
The Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), the largest network of theatre practitioners in the United States, seeks a service-oriented and inclusive leader to serve as its Executive Director. An arts professional that is both a strategic thinker and a collaborative doer will thrive at SETC, as will those with experience connecting and serving communities, overseeing large-scale events or conventions, leading teams of geographically-distributed staff and volunteers, and growing revenue streams. This position reports directly to the Board of Directors and is the chief executive of SETC.

BACKGROUND
SETC has served professional, community-based, and academic theatremakers since 1948. It is firmly rooted in the Southeast and is dedicated to serving members from its ten-state region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia). Still, many of SETC’s programs are available to and benefit the national theatre field. The centerpiece of its work is a yearly convention that brings together thousands of practitioners from across the country for workshops, auditions, festivals, classes, and networking opportunities. Many members trace their continuing educational and professional opportunities back to their work with SETC, and the conference is a place where SETC members share ideas and expand their artistic practices, learn and improve skills, and connect with a wide array of practical opportunities in their field. Other programs include auditions and job fairs, area-specific festivals and convenings, awards and scholarships, a Leadership Initiative for training and mentorship, and publications. See here for more info.

Mission: Connecting You to Opportunities in Theatre Nationwide
Vision: SETC is the strongest and broadest network of theatre practitioners in the United States. We provide extensive resources and year-round opportunities for our constituents. Our services, publications, and products contribute significantly to the careers of emerging artists, seasoned professionals and academicians. SETC energizes the practical, intellectual and creative profile of theatre in America.

Current Environment
SETC currently operates on an annual budget of around $1.6 million. Its Central Office has five full-time staff members and several part-time and contract positions who are responsible for executing a wide slate of work in collaboration with volunteers and SETC members. While it has historically had a physical office in Greensboro, NC, the Central Office staff works remotely with people in locations throughout the Southeast. The majority of SETC’s revenue is earned from convention registrations and membership dues, with modest additional sponsorship and contributed revenue support. SETC has net assets of approximately $2.5 million, including a Board-designated working capital reserve of approximately $1 million and significant funds to support scholarships and awards.

Programs
SETC’s key programs include the following:
● Convention: Each year in March, SETC hosts a five-day Convention attended by 3,000-5,000 theatremakers from across the country, who participate in workshops, affinity groups, festivals, auditions, and other networking and professional development opportunities. Convention 2026 runs March 3-7 in Chattanooga, TN, and other recent sites have included Memphis, Mobile, and Baltimore.
● Auditions / Job Fairs: SETC produces three to four multi-day auditions and job fairs each year that connect participants with employment and learning opportunities in professional and educational theatre. Nearly 2000 people take part in SETC auditions annually, and SETC is a trusted and inclusive connector to promising talent for employers and educational institutions.
● Festivals: SETC hosts a suite of theatre festivals in connection with the convention, which highlight work in the areas of Community Theatre, Theater for Young Audiences (TYA), and Secondary School One-Act and Studio Play Festival, as well as a Fringe Festival and a Short Play Festival.
● National Conference on Outdoor Theatre: Each fall, theatre leaders from all backgrounds convene for a multi-day networking event to trade insights and explore new concepts in design/technology, management and artistic approach specifically for open-air theatres.
● Publications: SETC produces multiple editions of several publications each year: Southern Theatre magazine; Theatre Symposium, a scholarly journal; and SETC News, a newsletter for members.
● Awards and Scholarships: SETC recognizes practitioners for their exceptional accomplishments and their professional promise through financial grants and honorary awards in Playwriting, Design/Tech, Outdoor Theatre, TYA, and other areas. It also provides numerous scholarships to support the work of graduate and undergraduate theatre students, and a Leadership Initiative to train and mentor rising leaders in the field.

Leadership / Staff
SETC’s governing Board is currently composed of 22 leaders in professional, community, and academic theatres who support SETC as active volunteers. It is led by a President and an Executive Committee, who are primarily responsible for organizational oversight and to whom the Executive Director reports. Wider networks of advisors from SETC’s areas of service (representing member states, outdoor theatre, design/tech, playwriting, etc.) also serve important roles connecting and providing programming for the organization's constituents. SETC has embarked on a strategic restructuring of its board to foster streamlined communication and clarify the board’s governance roles within the organization. The small staff at the Central Office serves as the hub for this work, and is eager to work with an Executive Director that will provide hands-on strategic and operational leadership.

Working Environment / Remote Office
SETC’s Central Office staff works remotely from locations throughout the Southeast, gathering several times a year for in-person collaboration, project-specific work, and to execute the organization's major programming. (The full staff is onsite in the convention city for up to ten days, and also in connection with auditions and other smaller events throughout the year.) This role requires up to 5-7 travel days per month to support SETC’s work and represent SETC to the wider field.

ASSETS AND CHALLENGES
The Executive Director will join SETC at a moment when the organization is actively considering how best to serve its wide and diverse membership, and working to find new ways to be a resource for theatremakers in the Southeast and the nation. Among many assets, the Executive Director’s work will be supported by the following:
● A long history of providing connections and opportunities for theatremakers in the Southeast.
● A well-established conference and other events that draw repeated participation.
● A wide array of volunteer leaders and members who feel passionately about SETC and its impact on them and their communities.
● A reputation for bridging academic, community, and professional theatre sectors.

Along with managing these assets, the next Executive Director will be able to move the organization forward to address challenges, including these:
● Growing participation, especially at the annual Convention and Auditions, in the face of systemic changes throughout the theatre and academic fields that SETC serves.
● Engaging the Board and other volunteer groups and helping them hone their roles as advisors and advocates in collaboration with a professional staff.
● Reevaluating and advancing the business model to ensure financial sustainability while ensuring the cost of participation is affordable for members.
● Fostering a culture of communication, compassion, and support for the staff.
● Advancing internal operations and updating systems and processes for effectiveness.
● Embodying an organizational commitment to inclusion and access across a wide range of constituencies.

POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Board of Directors, SETC’s Executive Director will serve as the chief executive of the organization. They will collaborate with the Board to oversee organizational direction and programming, and will supervise the Central Office staff and volunteers in executing programming, developing resources, and fostering a culture of respect and inclusion. They will have had hands-on experience with designing and executing programming, putting ideas into action, fostering good institutional governance and infrastructure, and aligning resources with programming and values. The primary roles and responsibilities of the Executive Director are these:
● Leadership: Work closely with the Board to develop organizational strategies, develop and engage the Board, and ensure clear roles for Board/staff.
● Community Interactions and Connections: Serve as an enthusiastic and effective ambassador for SETC to constituents, partners, and the national field.
● Program Planning and Management: Determine, plan, and implement SETC’s programs, in consultation with Board, staff, and other stakeholders.
● Operations and Finance: Oversee budget strategies, business planning, financial operations, and risk management to foster sustainable growth.
● Human Relations: Supervise Central Office staff, and ensure an equitable and inclusive workplace that encourages staff growth and retention.
● Revenue Generation: Cultivate and grow membership, organizational partnerships, and other efforts that build and diversify revenue.

QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAITS
While no single individual will likely possess all of these qualifications in equal measure, the Search Committee is seeking the following characteristics and traits in its new Executive Director:
● Experience working in a service organization or membership organization.
● Experience working within a non-profit arts institution (preferably theatre), and/or significant established connections with the professional theatre world.
● A compelling, effective, and transparent communicator, who thrives on engaging with multiple constituencies.
● A proven mentor and manager of people.
● A strategic thinker who can articulate a vision, build consensus, foster decisions, and take action.
● A strong financial manager.
● A demonstrated track record in increasing resources and stewarding growth.
● An engaged and active steward of Board relationships.
● An advocate of equitable, accessible, and inclusive environments.
● A collaborator and consensus-builder.
● A warm and positive approach to personal interactions.
● A lover of theatre and the people who make it.

COMPENSATION AND START DATE
The annual salary range for the Executive Director starts at $105,000; benefits include comprehensive medical and dental coverage, a generous 403b contribution, and funds for sabbatical support, travel and networking, and remote-working expenses.

SETC has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to facilitate this search; Thomas Pearson and David Mallette are leading the search. A search committee of SETC Board members will make the hiring decision. They hope to make a final decision by fall 2025, with the new Executive Director beginning work as soon as possible thereafter.

Interested and qualified candidates should submit the following items for consideration:

● A current resumé;
● Cover letter (no more than 1 ½ pages);
● Four professional references;
● Salary expectation.
The cover letter should describe your background and your approach to leadership, and could also address:
1. What is it about this role and SETC that excites you?
2. What in your background makes you a compelling candidate for SETC?
3. What do you see as the most meaningful role(s) for a service and membership organization in today’s theatre ecosystem?

All documents should be in .pdf format and have the candidate’s name as part of the file name. Applications to be submitted electronically by clicking the APPLY NOW button below.
Once all materials have been submitted online, the applicant will receive a confirmation of their submission via the email address provided in the application. For clarification on any of this information, please contact Christy Wall at [e-mail] .