President and Chief Financial Officer
California Humanities seeks an inspiring Chief Executive Officer
with the curiosity, imagination
and energy to help define the organization’s next chapter, and lead
its work to greater impact.
While embracing the richness of the more traditionally-defined
humanities disciplines, the
position allows the CEO to stretch and envision the humanities as
fertile ground for bold
thinking, for new ideas, and essential for helping individuals and
groups navigate challenge and change. The CEO should bring a
thoughtful willingness to:
- Advance a humanities-driven approach to addressing a broad array
of urgent societal
issues, such as public health, social justice, civic engagement and
climate change;
- Explore how issues of power, equity and diversity overlap with
California Humanities’
giving policies and practices;
- See support of the humanities as essential to giving voice to the
incredible communities
and diverse cultural traditions in each distinct region across the
entire state.
Such exploration is already reflected in California Humanities’
creative range of funding
initiatives and public programs. In fact, a primary strength of the
organization lies in its ability
to respond to contemporary issues with deep engagement. However,
California Humanities
now seeks a leader with the strategic ability to push the work
further – evolving the vision and
programs into an organization even better prepared to embody its
values and to meet this
critical societal moment.
The organization currently has a budget of $4.5 million, a staff of
ten, and a passionate board of cultural leaders from across
the state. With an expansive view of California – its people,
places and promise -- the CEO will represent California
Humanities in every region across the state, and beyond,
giving voice to the organization’s purpose, encouraging
partnerships and
collaborations that advance the organization’s mission, and
ensuring California Humanities is
seen as an important resource for all.
It is important that within the first year, the Chief Executive
Officer:
- Work to thoroughly understand California Humanities – its mission
and values, history,
culture, programs, operations, partners, stakeholders and
potential;
- Gain the confidence of the Board and staff, forging relationships
of trust and
cooperation that continue to bring forth their best efforts and
talents;
- Assess California Humanities’ structure – ensuring that staff are
well-positioned,
operations are efficient, and programs are focused, relevant and
mission-aligned;
- Thoroughly understand the structure, policies and requirements of
the National
Endowment for the Humanities – California Humanities largest funder
– advancing key
relationships. Prepare for, and oversee the NEH’s 5-year
assessment, scheduled for
October 2023;
- Cultivate solid relationships with elected officials at the
local, state and national levels,
prioritizing efforts to sustain the support of California senate
and assembly members;
Maintain a strong presence in Washington, DC at the annual
Humanities on the Hill;
- With a commitment to regional equity and a keen listening ear,
proactively engage key
partners across the state – humanities practitioners, artists,
community leaders and
others – learning about their needs, interests, and ideas on how to
advance California
Humanities’ work;
- Become active in the Federation of State Humanities Councils, the
national membership
organization of state councils; and
- Operationalize California Humanities’ equity values statement
(found under “Equity at
the Heart of Humanities” at Calhum.org). Lead and advance the deep
institution-wide
exploration currently underway on what cultural and racial equity
mean both for
California Humanities’ internal culture (staff, board, policies,
and operations), and also
as a lens for its external work (grantmaking, programs,
communications, and advocacy).
Find the full job description here: https://calhum.org/about-us/job-opportunities/
Get job alerts
Create a job alert and receive personalized job recommendations straight to your inbox.
Create alert