Are you looking for fulfilling work in the arts? Want to meaningfully help enhance the profile of Toronto’s Premier International Dance Festival?
We hire a number of seasonal staff for our festival each fall, as well as offer other paid opportunities throughout the year. As we grow, we seek creative, collaborative, and hard-working individuals with unique skills and experiences to strengthen our small but mighty team.
FFDN is currently looking for its next Artistic Director after it was announced recently that the founding Artistic Director Ilter Ibrahimof will be stepping down after the upcoming 10th anniversary festival in fall of 2024. The search is led by Martin Bragg and Nicola Dawes of Martin Bragg & Associates. To apply in confidence please review the detailed job posting below, and email your letter of interest and resume in Word or PDF format to Martin Bragg & Associates at fallfordancenorth@mbassociates.ca
Fall For Dance North is Toronto’s premier professional international dance festival modelled on the New York Festival. FFDN is commencing a search for a highly accomplished Artistic Director with outstanding credentials and experience as a performing arts curator, a fundraiser, and an administrator with a love of the arts and a passion for dance.
Launched in 2015, FFDN aimed to whet Toronto’s dance appetite and inspire audiences to seek out more dance throughout the year. FFDN’s first festival was praised for its energy: “It felt like the audience’s collective enthusiasm and joy would blow the roof off the Sony Centre.” FFDN has been twice named by the Globe and Mail as a cultural event of the year. And in 2021, a dance critic remarked, “As this festival inevitably always does, it gave us new perspectives and cracked open the world of dance a little more.” Existing to break boundaries and remove barriers, FFDN is proud to be Toronto’s premier professional international dance festival.
As FFDN celebrates its 10th Anniversary in 2024 it seeks to continue all that has been achieved since the inception of the Festival. As an organization, FFDN looks to the future with optimism and a dedication to further innovation. They continue to nurture emerging artists, spark new collaborations, commission new work, deepen their education program, and develop their international presenters’ network. And throughout, they work to demonstrate their foundational belief in the absolute beauty of pluralism in their art form.
As FFDN begins the next exciting phase of its development, it is important that they continue to be guided by a Board-approved plan that supports the artistic vision and course for the festival; however, FFDN acknowledges the ever-changing landscape as the pandemic’s impact continues to unfold. With the new Artistic Director, FFDN will update the Strategic Roadmap 2022-2024 currently guiding the organization, keeping a focus on the destination while allowing for alternate routes.”
Read more about FFDN's Mission Statement and Values here.
Reporting to and collaborating with the Board of Directors, the Artistic Director will have accountabilities for all Fall For Dance North’s artistic programs and be the primary face of the fundraising efforts of the organizations. The ideal candidate will articulate a clear artistic vision, promote the strategic direction of FFDN, and have general oversight of programming, administration, production, and marketing. The Artistic Director, working closely with the
Advancement Department, will lead the fundraising efforts to achieve annual fundraising goals of $850,000 - $1,000,000. Leading a dedicated and creative staff, the Artistic Director will possess an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong interpretive vision to successfully create and execute strategic initiatives, operational objectives, and financial and artistic growth.
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Fall For Dance North’s Artistic Director is the public representative of the organization, engaging with its audiences, donors, sponsors, artists, funders, and its regional, national, and international colleagues. The Artistic Director works closely with a small and accomplished professional staff in the collaborative delivery of all the organization’s programs.
As a team builder who values collaboration, the Artistic Director will attract, retain, and inspire Fall For Dance North’s staff within an organizational culture that prioritizes inclusivity, kindness, respect, equity, communication, accountability, integrity, empathy, and mutual care.
The Board of FFDN welcomes joint applications for a co-Artistic Director Team. Candidates will be expected to make the case for shared leadership and decision making.
This is an exciting and unique opportunity for a forward-thinking leader who can bring together their vision, experience, and passion for dance to support the realization of unique, innovative, diverse, and internationally recognized projects and programming. The ideal candidate will be a creative and energetic individual who will build on the past, while leading Fall For Dance North into the future.
Toronto is Canada’s largest city and a world leader in business, finance, technology, entertainment, and culture. Its large population of immigrants from all over the globe has also made Toronto one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Toronto boasts one of the most diverse and vibrant landscapes in the country and is at the forefront of education, healthcare, and technology, and is well-recognized as a leader in Arts & Culture nationally and internationally. The city boasts several professional sports organizations and a strong and vibrant theatre district,
offering Torontonians and visitors a wide array of entertainment options.
Reporting to the Fall For Dance North’s Board of Directors, the Artistic Director will be responsible to:
Artistic Programming
• Curate a season of live and streamed performances for Fall For Dance North that innovative, inclusive, inspiring, and engaging.
• Produce programming that balances artistic excellence with cultural diversity and marketability.
• Support the development of new work.
• Develop a hybrid festival model: Find the balance between in-person and digital delivery.
• Attend performances and festivals to see new work for possible presentation.
• Stay abreast of artistic developments and cultivate relationships with regional and national presenter colleagues to assist in the routing of companies for presentation.
Advancement and Finance
• Advance the organization’s profile and financial stability.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with sponsors, donors, and audiences.
• Collaborate with Board and Staff to raise annual fundraising goals of $850,000 - $1,000,000.
• Advance the values of the organization, particularly in regard to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
• Expand national reach and place by investing in a robust associate artist/residency program and a national showcase platform.
• Work within the organization’s Strategic Roadmap to support a disciplined budget and conservative growth.
Marketing, Communications and Community Outreach
• Collaborate in the development and execution of an annual marketing strategy.
• Contribute to the company’s print and marketing materials.
• Establish strong working relationships and cooperative arrangements with community groups and regional, national, and international dance artists, companies, and organizations.
• Represent the organization to agencies, organizations, media, and the public.
• Ensure the maintenance of exceptional customer relations.
Human Resources
• Facilitate effective communication among and with staff to identify priorities and articulate expectations.
• Ongoing review and development of workplace policies and procedures.
• Ensure consistent implementation and adherence to approved policies and procedures.
• Review and approve all job descriptions and employment contracts offered to staff/management.
• Conduct annual reviews for each team member.
• Monitor the professional development and performance of all team members.
• Continue to build organizational capacity, including information technology.
Interaction with the Board of Directors
• The Artistic Director will report to and collaborate with the Board Chair and will meet regularly with the Chair.
• Lead the organization in a manner that supports the 2022 – 2024 Strategic Roadmap and actively participate in the creation of new strategic plans developed in collaboration (consultation) with the Board.
• Attend and contribute to committee and Board meetings in an ex officio capacity whenever possible.
• Continually identify, evaluate, and communicate organizational risks and opportunities to the Board.
• Develop and submit an annual operating plan that aligns with the organization’s Strategic Roadmap.
• Support the Board with succession planning.
The successful candidate will have outstanding leadership experience and a passion for dance. With strong interpersonal skills and a proactive approach to fundraising, the Artistic Director will build on the past success of FFDN, while being creative and innovative with future strategic and programming opportunities.
A natural collaborator with excellent interpersonal skills, the Artistic Director will be a futuristic thinker with a visionary approach, the successful candidate will understand how to maximize Fall For Dance North’s nimble organizational model. The Artistic Director will place a high value on communication. They will have the proven capacity to cultivate effective relationships with multiple stakeholders, lead a high-performance team, and produce results within the programmatic, financial, strategic, and operational realities of an arts organization, particularly as Fall For Dance North rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A personable self-starter with high emotional intelligence who values teamwork and collaboration, the Artistic Director of Fall For Dance North will understand the importance of external stakeholder focus and will be a motivated ambassador and advocate for an organization in a vibrant and increasingly diverse community. The ideal candidate will be comfortable engaging in conversations that generate revenue, build effective partnerships,
deepen engagement, and advance innovative approaches to programs, presentations, educational, and community opportunities.
A natural decision maker, negotiator, and mediator who is creative and resilient, the Artistic Director will embrace a healthy organizational culture based in strategic, artistic, and operational partnerships. With insight and experience in leveraging financial, human, and technological resources, the Artistic Director will be a highly evolved communicator who is also adept at planning and organizing.
The Artistic Director will have a demonstrated track record of effective and visionary leadership in the arts and culture sector, and a comprehensive understanding of programming, management, audience development, fundraising, and Canadian government funding opportunities in the dance sector. The successful candidate will have exceptional skills in relationship management, fundraising, and collaboration with the ability to effectively engage diverse stakeholders in the Toronto community, regionally, nationally, and internationally. They should have an expansive network within the dance sector at the national and international levels. Fall For Dance North welcomes candidates with a variety of educational credentials. Potential candidates are required to have the legal ability to work in Canada.
Fall For Dance North offers a competitive salary in the range of $75,000 to $90,000
commensurate with experience and will include a comprehensive extended benefit package.
Fall For Dance North’s Artistic Director Search is led by Martin Bragg and Nicola Dawes of Martin Bragg & Associates. To apply in confidence, please email your letter of interest and resume in Word or PDF format to Martin Bragg & Associates at fallfordancenorth@mbassociates.ca.
Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply, and all applicants will receive an acknowledgement of their application. The review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. No phone calls please. Fall For Dance North and Martin Bragg & Associates are committed to an open and transparent hiring process and encourage applications from diverse communities. As such, we promote policies, practices, and programs that create a dialogue toward mutual understanding.
We welcome all applications from persons of color, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the further diversification and advancement of the arts in our community.
Are you a dance-lover, arts advocate, adventure seeker, community builder, or simply looking to meet new people and connect meaningfully with the arts in Toronto?
As a not-for-profit charitable organization, Fall for Dance North depends on the enthusiastic support of volunteers to help make the festival happen! We provide opportunities for volunteers (age 18+) to gain new skills, develop a social network, and represent the FFDN brand while directly engaging with our audiences.
Volunteer roles may include:
Call for Volunteers for Murmuration, by Montreal’s Le Patin Libre, from April 25-28, 2024. This is a breathtaking, family-friendly event that sees figure skaters and dancers perform exquisite choreography on ice set to electroacoustic music. All performances take place at: Leaside Memorial Gardens Arena (map here).
If you are interested and available to support us, please sign in to your Volgistics account to view the schedule and sign up for shifts.
Although the majority of volunteer opportunities take place during the festival, we have additional opportunities to get involved throughout the year.
Stay tuned as we announce the volunteer schedule and sign up for the Fall 2024 festival!
If you would like to volunteer, or stay connected via our Volunteer newsletter please email volunteers@ffdnorth.com.
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Are you a student currently or planning to become enrolled in post-secondary studies in either Fine Arts, Arts Administration, Business, Communications, Marketing or a similar field?
Internship opportunities with FFDN provide a hands-on introduction to the inner workings of a tightly knit performing arts organization. We are committed to providing interns with one-on-one guidance and mentorship in exchange for course credit. Generally, internships run during the spring semester March-June. Internships that fall outside of this period may be considered on a case by case basis. Please contact us at least one month prior to your expected internship start date to ensure we are able to accommodate.
If you are passionate about the arts and eager to be part of a fun and dynamic team, we encourage you to reach out to us. Alternatively, please consult with your student advisor or internship coordinator, as an internship opportunity with FFDN may already be available directly through your study program. To inquire about internship opportunities, please email FFDN General Manager, Aviva Fleising at gm@ffdnorth.com.