Executive Director

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Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Boston, MA

 

Boston Conservatory at Berklee (“BCB” or “the Conservatory”)—one of the nation’s most revered conservatories dedicated to the study of music, dance, and theater—invites nominations, expressions of interest, and applications for the position of Executive Director (ED). This is a unique opportunity for a visionary and collaborative leader to strengthen this historic institution, broaden its global reach and reputation, and secure its position among the world’s most innovative and acclaimed contemporary performing arts education organizations.

 

Founded in 1867, just two years after the Civil War, BCB is the oldest performing arts conservatory of its kind in the United States. It was among the first conservatories to admit Black artists and women, the first to establish a department for grand opera, the first to grant degrees in music education and musical theater, and the first to establish an integrated department of ballet and modern dance. For more than 155 years, BCB has been challenging norms and setting new standards for what an arts education can be. In December 2015, the Berklee and Boston Conservatory boards each voted unanimously to merge the two institutions, creating the world’s most comprehensive and dynamic training ground for music, dance, theater, and related professions. Now part of the larger Berklee institution, an expansive global network, BCB is in a stronger position than ever to transform the conservatory educational model and offer students a unique and powerful learning experience that sets a new standard for 21st-century careers in the performing arts.

 

Reporting to the President of Berklee and serving as BCB’s senior executive officer, the ED will provide oversight and vision for all aspects of academic, artistic, and administrative life within the Conservatory, and will be a key member of Berklee’s leadership team. This person will join campus at a time when the community seeks a leader who can strengthen the Conservatory’s distinct identity while also guiding it in realizing the full potential of the merger. In addition to furthering the quality, range, and impact of BCB’s academic offerings, supporting faculty and student achievement, and developing new platforms for nurturing and promoting artistic excellence, the ED will galvanize the Conservatory community toward the future, leading them through the next critical stages of growth for this storied institution. This will include designing and implementing transformative programs and initiatives that advance BCB’s mission to provide students with a world class, contemporary performing and creative arts education; identifying strategic internal and external partnerships that further enrich BCB’s strengths in contemporary art forms; and building strong relationships that elevate the Conservatory on a global stage.

 

The successful candidate will have a record of achievement that inspires the Conservatory community and resonates with the core mission of the institution; a collaborative leadership style that invites participation from diverse groups of stakeholders; an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit; a demonstrated commitment to advancing the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, community, and belonging; experience with the fiscal and operational leadership of a complex unit; an appreciation for faculty expertise and the norms of higher education; a deep understanding of the ways in which the arts and higher education landscapes are changing; the ability to galvanize different stakeholders around a shared purpose and lead a community through change; and a demonstrated aptitude for fundraising, institutional development, and building strategic partnerships that advance an organization’s mission.

 

BCB has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in the recruitment of its next ED. All applications, nominations, and inquiries should be submitted in confidence through the firm’s website: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/boston-conservatory-berklee/executive-director