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Position Title: Vice President & General Manager

Reports to: President & CEO

Direct reports: Manager of Operations, Orchestra Personnel Manager, Stage Manager, Principal Librarian, and Ballet Coordinator

Position Summary

The Vice President & General Manager (GM) is a member of the senior leadership team and has overall responsibility for the management of orchestra operations including creation of an annual orchestra handbook, concert production, budgeting for orchestra costs, touring, recording, and labor relations. This position also schedules all rehearsals, manages the relationship with the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts/Jacoby Symphony Hall, manages and schedules all ensemble performances, manages electronic media projects, supervises the annual production of “The Nutcracker” and manages the lease for the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts.

Specific duties and responsibilities include:

• Oversee the master calendar for the orchestra, including days off, vacation, leaves of absence, sick time, etc. Ensure that any scheduled changes comply with the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the orchestra
• Create master orchestra handbook in collaboration with the VP & Artistic Administrator and the Director of Music Education & Community Engagement
• Manage the scheduling of rehearsals for all performances, coordinate rehearsals with the Director of Music Education & Community Engagement for all education and community outreach activities
• In collaboration with the CEO, CFO, and other senior team leaders, create and execute the operations budget; reconcile production budgets monthly with the finance office, create end of year projections monthly, manage purchase and inventory of production related supplies and equipment, licenses, and service agreements for production equipment
• Supervise orchestra payroll, coordinate with the finance office
• Supervise all aspects of concert production including confirming rehearsal order, instrumentation, library needs, stage set-up, lighting, video recording, sound, audio recordings, live and recorded streaming of concerts. Additional concert duties include adherence to approved budget, facility rental and scheduling; coordinate all rehearsal and concert activities with orchestra personnel, library, and production staff
• Oversee coordination for external services, runouts, and tours; arrange transportation and accommodations (if required) for musicians, production personnel and staff; seek new touring performance opportunities for the full orchestra and ensembles
• Coordinate equipment needs (via purchase or rental) for concerts, productions, stage, and Jacoby Symphony Hall
• Oversee the purchase and maintenance of Symphony owned instruments including pianos, The Bryan Concert Organ, and percussion instruments
• Supervision for the selection and coordination of ensembles by working in collaboration with music education & community engagement, marketing, and development
• Provide for the successful management and professional working environment for musicians and stage personnel in accordance with their respective Master Agreements
• Serve on and lead negotiations for AFM and IATSE contracts. Schedule, and lead Orchestra Committee meetings
• Manage regular production team meetings; provide supervision and professional development for production team members
• Issue individual musician contracts, negotiate tenure process and notifications; work with orchestra Personnel Manager to resolve musicians’ issues including complaints and grievances
• Negotiate lease with the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts. Serve as primary liaison with Times-Union Center management personnel regarding all aspects of operations for the facility in accordance with the lease, including the arrangement of personnel to clean Jacoby Symphony Hall and backstage areas, and for security during performances
• Coordinate with the Development and Marketing Departments for projects that require use of Jacoby Symphony Hall, the stage crew, or musicians
• Together with the VP & Artistic Administrator, serve as the staff liaison to the Programming Committee

Traits and Characteristics

The GM will be a strategic thinker with strong conceptual and analytical skills, the ability to solve problems, measure performance, evaluate results and identify solutions that align with the organization’s mission. A highly organized self-starter, the successful candidate will be focused on completing tasks and solving problems while developing long-range strategies.

A well-disciplined and hands-on leader, the GM must be self-motivated and able to work collaboratively. The successful candidate will be a strong experienced manager and will foster teamwork while holding the Operations team accountable for deliverables. The GM must possess excellent written, oral, and people skills, and will be a good listener.

The GM will inspire confidence that budget information is dependable, accurate, timely and transparent and can clearly articulate the meaning and importance of data that is presented. The GM will have high ethical standards, a model of integrity and will operate in a transparent fashion.

The GM must have significant relevant experience in orchestral operations of a symphony orchestra of comparative size as the Jacksonville Symphony

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree is required
• Seasoned leader with progressively responsible orchestra management and administrative oversight
• Deep knowledge of production, including sound, lights and staging
• Significant knowledge of orchestral repertoire
• Significant experience with electronic media, symphonic multi-media projects, and recording projects
• Five or more years in management, operations, and concert production with orchestras at a similar budget size
• Five or more years’ experience with orchestra payroll, production budgets and supervision of operations staff
• Successful history of negotiating and/or administrating collective bargaining agreements with the AFM and IATSE
• Experience managing tours is preferred
• Working experience with OPAS. Extensive knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, with an emphasis on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Superb written and oral communication skills
• Strong track record for addressing issues and solving problems in a timely manner
• Ability to interact well with various constituents including staff, orchestra, Board members, patrons, and facility staff
• Experienced presenting financial information to Board committees and Board of Directors
• A resourceful, results-oriented leader with the ability to think strategically. Generate innovative ideas, prioritize, plan, and set goals and objectives
• Ability to speak credibly and persuasively about Jacksonville Symphony’s vision for the future
• A sense of humor

Compensation and benefits:

A competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, 403-B plan, generous vacation and holiday days, parking, and complimentary tickets are included

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Jacksonville Symphony is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, military status, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable state or local law

Application process:

Submit a cover letter and resume to: Steven Libman, President & CEO: HR@jaxsymphony.org. Put “General Manager” in subject line. Note: All employees of the Jacksonville Symphony must be fully vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus.

About the Jacksonville Symphony

Our mission is to enrich the human spirit through symphonic music.

As Music Director Courtney Lewis begins his seventh season on the conductor’s podium, the Jacksonville Symphony celebrates the 2021/22 season that promises another year of exemplary symphonic music. Each season, the Symphony reaches over 135,000 individuals through almost one hundred performances in Jacoby Symphony Hall and communities throughout Florida. The Jacksonville Symphony is also committed to the creation of original music and has embarked on an ambitious plan to commission five original compositions between the 2021/22 and the 2023/24 seasons.

The Jacksonville Symphony is one of Northeast Florida’s most important cultural institutions. Founded in 1949, the Symphony now enjoys a national reputation, regularly heard on more than 250 public radio stations across the country on Performance Today. Combined with performances aired on Jacksonville’s public radio station WJCT and the organization’s continually growing streaming program, the Symphony reaches over 60,000 individuals through these digital channels. The Symphony’s performance home, Robert E. Jacoby Symphony Hall, is an acoustic gem and offers an intimate and acoustically superior concert experience. Each year thousands enjoy the Symphony’s performances both at Jacoby Symphony Hall in the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts and at venues located throughout the state of Florida.

The Symphony is a crucial leader in the community for music education, serving four county school districts and over 35,000 students. In addition to offering free tickets to children under the age of eighteen for selected Florida Blue Classical concerts, and other special youth pricing, there are several programs to foster music education.

Led by Symphony Assistant Conductor Daniel Wiley, the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras (JSYO) serves more than 300 talented musicians from all over Northeast Florida. The six levels of ensembles enable the JSYO to serve the needs of all musicians with individualized, ability-specific instruction. JSYO enriches orchestral instruction by guiding young musicians with quality musical instruction, improving skills, and maintaining the highest standards. In June 2018, the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras embarked on its first national tour as one of only three student orchestras invited to perform in the Los Angeles International Music Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Over the years, the Jacksonville Symphony has hosted some of the most renowned artists of the music world including: Isaac Stern, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Kathleen Battle, Mstislav Rostopovich, Audra McDonald, Joshua Bell, Lang Lang, Alisa Weilerstein, Branford Marsalis, Renée Fleming and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

https://www.jaxsymphony.org/about/employment-auditions/