Waawiiyaatanong Feminist Theatre, a non-profit theatre company founded in 1980, is recognized as one of the nation’s first feminist theatre organizations and is among the oldest organizations of its kind in Canada.
Call For Artistic Director:
Waawiiyaatanong (formerly Windsor) Feminist Theatre:
Artistic Director Job Description
Waawiiyaatanong Feminist Theatre (WFT), the oldest feminist theatre group in Canada, seeks a new Artistic Director. Founded in 1980, we are a registered charity arts group dedicated to providing creative opportunities for established and emergent professional artists in theatre and the arts.
This is a permanent part-time position, with flexible hours to be determined in consultation with the Board of Directors. It is possible that this position could eventually become full-time. We seek someone with business and artistic expertise in the non-for profit sector, preferably within the theatre/arts community. Consideration will be given to those individuals with:
• a strong arts administration background
• skills in long-range planning, financial management, budgeting
• communication skills and an ability to take a leadership role
Reporting to the board of directors, the successful applicant will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization including:
• maintaining financial records and lottery bingos
• researching and writing grants, planning events, preserving archival materials
• handling public inquiries, processing mail and memberships
• designing and disseminating promotional materials, updating the website
• supervising other employees and coordinating volunteers
The AD is also expected to attend all regularly scheduled board meetings and prepare an AD’s report, a financial statement and budgets for these where necessary.
The successful candidate will:
• have superior planning and organizational skills
• have excellent verbal and written communication skills
• be computer literate (Microsoft Word, Excel, Photoshop, WordPress)
• be motivated, outgoing, self-directed, and utterly reliable, and
• be able to acquire a police clearance
Knowledge of the history and theory of feminism and the arts is an important asset, and we expect the successful candidate to be fully committed to the theatre’s feminist mandate. We seek an energetic professional artist(s) in the role of Artistic Director. We are interested in hearing from you on how the position could best fit your current artistic practice. Are you interested in taking on the position yourself? Or is a job share a better option for you? If so, are you applying as a team or are you open to working with other candidates? If you find yourself answering yes to the following, then we want to hear from you. Apply today!
➢ Are you committed to values that infuse growth in a company?
➢ Are you an advocate for the arts in Ontario and beyond?
➢ Do you place community as a high priority in your value system?
➢ Are you courageous, with the capacity to learn and evolve as an artistic leader?
➢ Can you lead a diverse team based on transparency, communication, and adaptability?
➢ Are you invested in the continued education around social justice and equity?
➢ Do you thrive on collaboration, creativity, innovation and the ability to propose unique ways to enhance and identify new opportunities?
➢ Are you a decision maker driven by deadlines in a productive and healthy manner?
➢ Are you rooted in a positive working style and able to invigorate the rest of the team?
➢ Are you able to motivate, inspire, and enable others to deliver on strategic WFT priorities?
➢ Are you excited to work in partnership with the members of the community and work together to report to the Board of Directors, as well as be accountable to the community?
Your Skills:
Though we don’t expect you to be an expert in everything, the ideal candidate(s) will be able to identify strengths in several of the following areas:
● Canadian Theatre
● The Performing Arts
● An area of theatre making including but not limited to one or more of the following:
playwriting, devised creation, designing, acting, directing, technical arts, producing
● Literary and/or non-literary traditions
● The non-profit sector
● Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
In the cover letter, applicants should speak to their suitability as outlined in the Job Description, in addition to addressing the following:
● Your approach to leadership, using examples of other models that speak to your values
● Your approach to managing a team of staff and understanding of wellness-based workplace practices
● Your practice of theatre, knowledge same and related works and their impact and
relevance in contemporary Canada
● Your approach to the role the arts can play in building strong communities and relationships with multiple stakeholders
● Your understanding of socially-engaged art, and/or art for social change
● Your understanding of decolonization, including alternative leadership and organizational models that challenge existing theatre models
● Your experience with anti-racism work and/or 2SLGBTQ+ communities
We encourage you to reference specific examples pulled from your experiences in your responses. Experiences from both paid and unpaid work, including training, education, volunteer work, activism, and arts practice. We encourage you to address as many of these points as possible in your cover letter, preferably referencing specific examples pulled from your experiences.
We aim to fill this position prior to our fiscal year end Dec. 31, 2022, and would like the successful candidate to commence working for the WFT on Jan. 1, 2023. Board Members will be available for familiarization with office procedures, and mentorship will be available once the candidate has been chosen. The position will remain open until filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply by April 1, 2022 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Though working remotely can be considered, it is expected that the successful candidate(s) will reside primarily in the Windsor/Waawiiyaatanong/Detroit area. Candidates are encouraged to apply on their own, as a team, or express interest in a job share arrangement as suits their individual needs/artistic practice in their cover letter.
Applicants are asked to provide a single PDF submission of a cover letter and CV which can be sent WFTFounded1980@gmail.com. Please put in the email subject line: Your last name, followed by Artistic Direction. Please contact us if you require any accommodations or supports for the submission process.
In accordance with our Health & Safety Policy, applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.