President & CEO – South Arts South Arts

Georgia Entertainment News; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 225,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

A nonprofit arts organization in Atlanta seeks a President & CEO to drive strategic leadership and expand its impact across the southern U.S. This role requires a visionary leader skilled in nonprofit management, financial oversight, and fostering inclusion within the arts community. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of success in executing broad organizational strategies, engaging with stakeholders, and advocating for the arts sector. The position offers competitive compensation with a comprehensive benefits package, reflecting the organization's commitment to its mission.

Benefits

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Short-term and long-term disability insurance

403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution

Qualifications

• Experience in nonprofit management and leadership required.
• Proven track record in fundraising and financial stewardship.
• Strong communication and public relations skills desired.

Responsibilities

• Lead implementation of Strategic Plan and organizational vision.
• Oversee financial health and fundraising initiatives.
• Enhance visibility and brand recognition of the organization.

Skills

Leadership

Financial Management

Strategic Planning

Public Speaking

Fundraising

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Job description

President & CEO
South Arts
Atlanta, Georgia

About South Arts
Mission: Advancing Southern vitality through the arts

Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, South Arts is a nonprofit regional arts organization that builds on the
South’s unique heritage and enhances the public value of the arts.

South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State Arts Agencies of AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, and TN—with additional funding from other public and private donors such as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Mellon Foundation—South Arts supports artists and organizations through a rich and responsive portfolio of grants, fellowships, and programs. WHY? South Arts believes that the arts elevate the region, increasing connectedness and inspiring meaningful change in the process.

With a rich tapestry of folklife and traditional arts and as home for some of the nation’s most innovative
multidisciplinary artists, the southern United States is famous for distinctive styles and rich cultural output. The South is the birthplace of blues and jazz and the home of “Music City” in Nashville. The region hosts some of the most popular and vital arts festivals in the country, including Spoleto Festival USA, Art Basel Miami, National Black Arts, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the National Storytelling Festival, and Bonnaroo. The South is also home to some of the most highly regarded arts schools including Savannah College of Art & Design, North Carolina School of the Arts, Penland School of Crafts, and the John C. Campbell Folk School.

Although the South is home to major cultural hubs including Nashville, New Orleans, Miami, and Atlanta, the investment and infrastructure for arts and culture in our region overwhelmingly lags the rest of the country. This creates a lack of opportunity for artists, creative individuals, and audiences in our region.

Key responsibilities of the President & CEO include the following:

Strategic Leadership

• Work in close partnership with the Board, staff and partners to drive the successful implementation of the Strategic Plan, broader organizational vision and strategy, as well as build consensus around future organizational priorities.
• Assess and adapt South Arts’ current business model and provide proactive, creative, and effective
  leadership around its structure, budget, and the diversification of revenue streams.
• Initiate research that informs planning to foster the development of programs and services that support service delivery.
• Provide foresight and thought leadership into trends across the arts sector that could impact South Arts’ offerings, programs, members and the field more broadly. Leverage the insights of the Board and staff to quickly adapt and pivot programs and strategy as needed to ensure members and partners receive the highest caliber of support and guidance.
• Provide clear, decisive, forward-thinking leadership around all inclusion and accessibility initiatives.
• Guide South Arts in its work to build inclusive practices and policies in the field, while strengthening the role of local and state arts agencies in defining the support needed from South Arts that meets their specific needs.

Ambassadorship & Public Representation

• Serve as a highly visible external face of South Arts, enhancing its visibility, brand recognition, and credibility in the field.
• Represent the organization through public-speaking and media opportunities.
• Cultivate, establish, and maintain strategic partnerships to support the mission and financial sustainability of South Arts.
• Steward relationships with partners and peer organizations while continuing to collaborate closely with existing constituencies to expand the reach and impact of the organization.
• Build and maintain relationships with government representatives, both elected and administrative, at the local, state, regional, and national levels to represent and advance South Arts’ objectives.
• Build South Arts’ capacity around artist advocacy, develop national and international relationships, provide opportunities for shared initiatives that support South Arts’ cause, and ensure that its voice is heard at the highest levels.
• Leverage new technologies and social networks to enhance the South Arts brand and visibility.

Financial Management & Fund Development

• Oversee South Arts’ financial health, ensuring sound fiscal management and integrity.
• Lead fundraising initiatives, including grant writing, donor cultivation, and corporate partnerships.
• Develop and manage the annual budget process in collaboration with the Board and finance team; Ensure that South Arts utilizes accepted processes, audits, cash flow, and financial analysis, assuring that sound financial structures and accurate reporting systems are in place.

Operational Leadership & Culture Building

• Continue to cultivate a vibrant and innovative culture that treats all constituents as true partners in South Arts’ success and investors in its future.
• Motivate and inspire a cohesive staff, ensuring strong internal communication and collaboration; build a team-oriented environment where both independent and innovative thinking and collaboration are encouraged; provide a supportive team culture and opportunities for feedback and professional development; foster an environment of curiosity, continuous improvement, learning, and effectiveness.
• Serve as the organizational champion of a values-aligned culture, including championing inclusion and accessibility in all dimensions of South Arts’ work.
• Develop and manage the internal infrastructure necessary to support expansion and growth, including the refinement of operating procedures, systems, and metrics.
• Assess the availability and use of technology to ensure the highest level of operational productivity.

Program Development & Evaluation

• Ensure the development, implementation, and evaluation of high-quality programs and services that meet the needs of South Arts’ constituents and community.

Candidate Profile

While no one candidate will possess every quality outlined for this position, strong candidates will bring many of the following professional skills, experiences, and personal attributes to South Arts.

A Bold, Visionary Change Agent

The CEO is a bold, visionary change agent with a track record of success developing, refining, and executing an overarching vision and plan to scale an organization’s reach and impact, ideally within a regional or national structure. The successful candidate will embrace the strategic nature of this role and be excited by the opportunity to lead and advance an organization that is evolving within complex times and dynamic industries. This leader naturally inspires the staff, Board, and members to see where the arts sector could, and should, be going and pushes the organization forward in a collaborative manner. Moreover, the ideal candidate will possess the drive and curiosity to stay ahead of developments in the arts and peripheral industries sector to identify how emerging trends can be factored into organizational design and strategy.

Leading & Executing for Results

The ideal candidate will possess the ability to ‘think big’ while ensuring programmatic and operational excellence and overall sustainability. The successful candidate will demonstrate success in empowering and mentoring teams while prioritizing objectives and converting strategy into effective execution. The CEO will be able to properly balance collaboration and decisiveness, understand where input is needed, and then effectively and efficiently drive toward execution. This leader will be adept at building and leading remote/hybrid teams with proven experience leading those teams to scale. A track record of success in developing and hiring team members who can move nimbly in the organization as it evolves is critical.

A Catalytic Spokesperson & Fundraiser

The ideal candidate will be a galvanizing force in the arts world and skilled at leading dynamic movements that mobilize communities, drive innovation and effect lasting change. A compelling and effective communicator, the CEO will easily convey South Arts’ vision, successes, and opportunities with passion and intensity. A successful candidate will bring a high level of cultural awareness and competency, with the ability to engage high-level donors, corporations, and philanthropic partners with ease. The CEO will excel at bringing parties together to align funders and government officials with promising projects or new, facilitated partnerships. This leader’s keen insights and strategic thinking will help create a vibrant ecosystem of support where ideas flourish and impact multiplies.

Nonprofit Management & Business Acumen

The CEO is a technologically savvy executive with a track record of strong operational and financial management. A supportive leader with the capacity to foster accountability across teams, this executive will have a track record of motivating and inspiring others to achieve impact through creativity, teamwork, and by leveraging individual strengths to meet organizational goals. The CEO will understand and implement best nonprofit management practices and planning, including compelling communication messages and effective marketing strategies, management succession, and most importantly, ensuring that overall day-to-day operations are aligned with strategic goals. Ultimately, the ideal candidate will understand the importance of a robust partnership with the Board and will also possess the knowledge and ability to ensure that the Board is achieving its primary responsibilities of excellence in governance and fundraising.

Commitment to Inclusion & Accessibility

The CEO will play a critical role in prioritizing inclusion and accessibility as drivers for the arts sector. This
leadership spans South Arts’ efforts to build an inclusive workforce and constituency, to encompassing strategies that create a pipeline for inclusive leadership within the field, to investing in programming and efforts that promote accessibility and inclusion in all communities it serves. The CEO will have the character and integrity necessary to develop rapport with people of varying experiences, backgrounds, and philosophies. The ideal candidate will be an empathetic leader with proven success leading and implementing Inclusion and Accessibility initiatives and values while sharing their knowledge with their team and others who surround them.

Passion for the Mission

Fundamentally, the successful candidate believes in the power of the arts as a unique medium to connect and engage individuals and communities. The ideal candidate also brings a deep appreciation of the South – its history, values and traditions – and a commitment to embedding the warmth and integrity of southern heritage into everything South Arts does. The CEO will exhibit self-awareness, high emotional intelligence, deep listening ability, and an understanding of others that enhances interpersonal communication and management abilities. The CEO will also have a strong work ethic, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, a sense of humor, and evidence of a commitment to lifelong learning and professional growth. Additionally, the ideal candidate will be an individual of unquestioned integrity, ethics, and values – someone who can be trusted without reservation.

Location Requirements
South Arts is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. While there is a preference for this person to be based in Atlanta, the Search Committee is open to a hybrid model of leadership within the nine state region for the right candidate. If the successful candidate is based outside Atlanta, they must be able to travel to, and have a significant presence in, Atlanta.

Compensation and Benefits
The starting compensation for this position begins at $225,000 based on experience and ability to have broad impact early and can range to $275,000. The benefits package includes health, prescription, dental and vision with South Arts covering 90% of the monthly premium, short-term and long-term disability insurance, life insurance coverage, optional flexible spending account and 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution.

Contact

DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Anne McCarthy and
Nikki Lynch. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile or emailing the search team directly at [e-mail]. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential. DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [e-mail]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.