Managing Director

Cora Dance; New Orleans (LA); Hybrid; USD 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

A nonprofit arts organization is seeking a Managing Director that will serve as its chief operations and strategy officer. The successful candidate will ensure the implementation of the organization’s strategic plan while fostering an equitable and collaborative workplace culture. Ideal applicants will have 5-7 years of leadership experience in arts or cultural organizations, strong fundraising experience, and a commitment to racial justice. This role offers a competitive salary and a hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of progressive leadership in arts, cultural, or justice-oriented organizations.
• Experience building humane, anti-oppressive workplace systems.
• Demonstrated ability to manage staff, budgets, and complex projects.

Responsibilities

• Supervise day-to-day operations, including HR, finance, and compliance.
• Lead annual budgeting, financial planning, and transparent reporting processes.
• Hire, support, and evaluate staff; provide professional growth opportunities.

Skills

Leadership in arts organizations

Fundraising experience

Racial justice and equity commitment

Communication and relationship-building

Job description

Managing Director, Full-Time

Location: Hybrid, preference for Philadelphia based

Reporting to: Iquail Shaheed, Executive Director

Salary: FT Exempt, $ 65,000 annual, with competitive benefits package

Post Date: February 1, 2026

Expected Hire Date: March 31, 2026

About the organization:

The Mantua Enterprise for Community, Culture, and Artistry - by Dance Iquail! is not simply a nonprofit. It’s not a dance company. It’s a living, breathing movement.

MECCA is a homegrown engine of transformation. Rooted in the wisdom of Black dance traditions and the lived experience of Mantua residents, MECCA uses movement to move people toward healing, connection, power, and possibility.

Unlike traditional arts nonprofits or civic organizations, MECCA doesn't see community as an audience or outreach. Community is the stage, the choreographer, and the co-author of every project we bring into being. We measure success not just in outcomes but in belonging, in joy, and in justice.

MECCA is where Black art meets radical love, where our shared past, present, and future is expressed as neighborhood pride. MECCA is where every story matters, and where each person embodies their power with purpose and rhythm.

About the role:

The Managing Director will serve as MECCA’s chief operations and strategy officer, ensuring that the organization’s internal systems, resources, and culture are as bold and intentional as its artistry. Working closely with the Founder and Executive Artistic Director, this leader will translate MECCA’s five-year strategic plan into daily practice: leading operations, finances, fundraising, and organizational development while fostering a workplace rooted in equity, care, and collaboration.

In the first 12-18 months, the Managing Director will focus on turning the MECCA vision into durable systems, operationalizing the strategic plan into annual goals and work plans; strengthening core infrastructure across finance, HR, fundraising, and administration; supporting the transition from founder-led to shared leadership, and preparing MECCA for thoughtful growth connected to neighborhood activations, establishing a dance school, and expanding national visibility.

This is a hands‑on role for a leader energized by building, aligning, and stewarding systems in a dynamic, community-rooted environment. Success in the first two months looks like strong relationships built with staff, Board, and community partners; clear visibility into MECCA’s current operations and priorities; and early momentum on stabilizing systems and work rhythms that support both artistic leadership and organizational health.

Other duties as assigned may include:

Organizational Leadership and Strategy

• Implement MECCA’s strategic directions, aligning operations with community-rooted mission and values.
• Build and maintain a responsive, joyful, and equitable organizational culture.
• Occasionally represent MECCA with funders, partners, and civic leaders as needed, centering Mantua voices and values, while primarily focusing on internal leadership, operations, and strategy.
• Develop and design a starting assessment of organizational impact to establish baseline data—focused on organizational key performance indicators (KPIs) and readiness—that can be used in future evaluation efforts.

Operations and Financial Stewardship

• Supervise day‑to‑day operations, including HR, finance, and compliance, with support from external consultants.
• Lead annual budgeting, financial planning, and transparent reporting processes.
• Manage contracts, policies, and procedures to ensure sustainability and accountability.
• Supervise development staff and oversee execution of a five‑year fundraising plan.
• Partner with the Executive Artistic Director and Board on major donor cultivation, institutional giving, and capital campaign planning.
• Explore new revenue opportunities, including earned income models aligned with MECCA’s mission.

Team and Board Development

• Hire, support, and evaluate staff; provide professional growth opportunities.
• Collaborate with the Board on governance, fundraising, and strategic oversight.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of progressive leadership in arts, cultural, or justice-oriented organizations.
• Experience building humane, anti-oppressive workplace systems.
• Comfort navigating power, feedback, and accountability in a Black-led, community-rooted organization.
• Ability to hold structure without flattening creativity.
• Demonstrated ability to manage staff, budgets, and complex projects.
• Strong fundraising experience, with a track record in donor relations, institutional giving, and campaigns.
• Commitment to racial justice, equity, and working in partnership with BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities.
• Skilled communicator and relationship-builder across diverse constituencies.

Application Instructions

Ramos Coaching is conducting the search for MECCA by Dance Iquail. Please submit the following:

1. A resume/CV,
2. A thoughtful and compelling letter of interest outlining your leadership journey, and
3. Three references with contact information (references will not be contacted until the final stage of the search).

Submit all materials to: [e-mail] no later than March 6, 2026.

MECCA by Dance Iquail is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices and is committed to having a workforce that reflects the population that it serves at all levels within the organization.