Executive Director

Job title:

Executive Director

Company

Job description

POSITION:Executive DirectorLOCATION:Toronto, OntarioPOSITION DETAILS:Full Time, PermanentREPORTS TO:Board of DirectorsDIRECT REPORTS:Director of Finance & Administration, Managers of Business Representative Services, Communications Director, Executive AssistantWEBSITE:THE ORGANIZATIONCanadian Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) is the national association of 6,000 active performers, directors, choreographers, fight directors, intimacy directors, and stage managers who are engaged in professional live performance in theatre, dance, and opera. Equity supports the creative efforts of its members by seeking to improve their working conditions, protections, and opportunities.The business of Equity is to:

• Negotiate and administer collective agreements and engagement policies on behalf of theatre, dance, and opera professionals;
• Provide benefit plans, information, and support; and
• Act as an advocate for its membership and the live performance sector.

Equity strives for fairness, integrity, and compassion in all its endeavours. It is a democratically structured organization run by artists for artists. It is entirely self-supporting, funded by artists working on its contracts, through a structure of member dues and fees, and non-member filing fees.Equity is the united voice of its members, and its strength lies in the collective support given by its members to its members.Equity has an annual budget of $3.8 million, with a National Office in Toronto, Ontario. There is a total staff complement of 25, with two staff working in Vancouver, BC, one in Montreal, QC, and one from Valley, NS. The national office oversees issues which affect the entire Equity membership, and co-ordinates interaction with national and international cultural, labour, and funding organizations. The membership, benefits, bonding, and accounts receivable departments are located in this office. The national office also deals with the administration of the collective agreements in Eastern and Northern Canada, while the staff in Vancouver deal with the administration of the collective agreements in Western Canada.The government of Equity is vested in a national Council of 23 members from across Canada, elected every three years and representing all geographic regions and major work disciplines within the membership. Council meets ten times per year and is responsible for guiding the organisation in all matters through its policy decisions.Since 2005, Equity’s Council has worked with Policy Governance® as the Association’s governance model. Council instructs the Executive Director through written policies which prescribe the “Organizational Results” to be achieved, and describes organizational situations and actions to be avoided (“Executive Director Limitations”), allowing the Executive Director to use any reasonable interpretation of these policies. The Executive Director is the Council’s only link to operational achievement and conduct, so that all authority and accountability of staff, as far as the Council is concerned, is considered the authority and accountability of the Executive Director.Equity’s Current Areas of Focus: A Selective ListEducation, Communication, and Relationship-buildingEquity continually seeks to improve its relationships internally and externally.Council and staff, in their respective spheres of responsibility, are committed to finding ways to increase the broader membership’s understanding of and participation in their organization.While maintaining a firm commitment to members’ rights and needs, the organization seeks to foster increasingly positive relationships with engagers, reflecting the nature of each party’s ultimate common purpose.AdvocacyEquity continues to promote the cause of artists and elevate their socio-economic status within Canadian society. This involves collaboration with other cultural organizations, and promoting and addressing these issues with government entities at all levels.Demonstrating the Value of MembershipWe constantly work to ensure that members are aware of and appreciate the benefit of membership – the value that Equity’s range of services provides in exchange for their dues contributions.Maintaining the Insurance PlanOur insurance plan, which is currently funded internally and managed by an administrative agent, is actively monitored and refined. The goal is to provide the best and most cost-effective coverage possible at an affordable premium cost for our members.Safe and Respectful WorkplacesBoth physical and personal safety are key action points for Equity across the many workplaces that engage its members and use its contracts. We plan to conduct a follow-up survey on this topic in 2025 to assess progress made over the last decade, so that we can renew existing efforts and focus our future work in these areas.Understanding and Reflecting our MembershipWith a membership and live performance community in constant evolution, it is critical that we have a good understanding of artist demographics and their common and distinct needs. The goal is to consistently achieve equitable access to opportunity across all areas of work within Equity’s jurisdiction. We plan on conducting a new edition of our very successful membership Census in 2025, to keep our focus and work current.Looking AheadContinuing to anticipate and prepare the organization for future trends such as:

• The rapidly evolving royalty and intellectual property implications of new and digital media
• The changing nature of live performance, involving, for example, an increase in the number of members who also produce
• Changes in the live performance sector in a post-COVID landscape.
• Improvements in effective use of the website and digital communications, to ensure the membership has timely, complete and readable resources available to them at all times; and
• Improvements in contract administration efficiency, including effective use of current digital information technologies where practical.

THE POSITIONThe Executive Director (ED) is the chief executive officer and senior administrator responsible for all Equity staff operations. This position presents the opportunity to lead a professional association of artists working in Canadian live performance who are united within a vital and evolving national arts community. The mandate of the ED is unusually wide-ranging, and the challenge is unique – to serve an organization whose members are both owners and clients.The position involves a great deal of visibility, with extensive interaction with all levels of cultural, labour, and funding entities across Canada as well as internationally. Above all, this position presents the opportunity to make a real difference to the well-being of live performance artists and, ultimately, to the fabric of Canadian culture and society.The MandateCouncil provides direction to the Executive Director in such a way as to preserve Council accountability while maximizing the Executive Director’s flexibility, creativity, and freedom to respond to evolving situations.RESPONSIBILITIESLeadership & Strategy

• Reporting to Council, the Executive Director is the recipient of all executive authority delegated by Council, and is held accountable for organizational performance.
• Determine and reflect regional concerns to the national office and maintain a highly visible presence among the membership across Canada.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of Equity’s Constitution, bylaws and governance policies.
• Keep abreast of any actions at the World Intellectual Property Organization or United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization which could impact live performance and related arts and culture.
• Approve and oversee all contracts for goods and services and commercial transactions, including commercial leases and staff purchases and expenses.
• Chair the RRSP Committee, which oversees the management of over $100 million dollars in member-owned assets.
• Manage Equity’s complex relationships with those members who are also producers, striving to achieve a balance that both respects Equity’s rules while also creating conditions to allow self-engagement.

Collective Bargaining

• Support the creative efforts of its members by seeking to improve their working conditions, protections, and opportunities through the negotiation and administration of various collective agreements.
• Equity currently negotiates and administers 4 ballet agreements, 3 opera agreements, 3 theatre agreements, and 3 federal agreements, each typically running on a three-year cycle. In addition, Equity produces and administers 8 smaller-scale engagement policies, with review and updating on a similar cycle. This work is a significant part of the Executive Director’s job, with several agreements and policies due for renewal each year.
• Negotiate periodic renewals of the collective agreement with the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE), Local 343, the labour representative for the majority of Equity’s staff.
• Develop and maintain a level of understanding of, and enforce as appropriate:
• Grievance and arbitration practices, and the collateral impact of human rights protections
• Labour standards, workplace regulations, employment practices, and case laws as they arise out of collective bargaining and policies as well as with respect to Equity’s own staff
• All relevant privacy laws and pension benefits as they pertain to insurance and RRSP administration

Government Relations

• Advocate and lobby on behalf of Equity at the federal and provincial levels (as possible) either alone or in collaboration with other industry partners.
• Maintain contacts in every province and in large urban areas to stay abreast of political developments regarding relevant issues – arts funding most particularly, but also legislative developments.
• Liaise with the many umbrella organizations in which Equity participates, including federal and international entities such as the Canada Council, the Department of Canadian Heritage, Employment and Social Development Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency, the Coalition for Cultural Diversity, the International Federation of Actors.

Outreach & Advocacy

• Maintain an effective relationship with engagers, in both negotiating and administering contracts.
• With engagers, promote the development of an innovative approach to creating new opportunities for Equity members.
• Be an effective and eloquent spokesperson for Equity in public/media situations, both orally and in writing (with support from the Communications Director).

Management

• Demonstrate to staff and to Council an ethic of service balanced with a sense of vision, creativity, and care for staff well-being, inspiring others to follow suit.
• Evaluate options and facilitate decision-making regarding updating Equity’s information technology systems, and oversee staff and consultants responsible for their implementation and operation.
• Maintain an awareness of when outside consultant expertise is required, and instruct and oversee the activities of such consultants, which may include lawyers, accountants, auditors, pension plan administrators, insurance brokers and, from time to time, others in areas such as public relations, survey firms, and Policy Governance.

Expected salary

Location

Toronto, ON

Job date

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 04:41:26 GMT

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