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Cultural Affairs Manager

Location:  City of Greeley, CO Download:  City of Greeley, CO - Cultural Affairs Manager - brochure

About Greeley, Colorado

Established in 1870, Greeley became a Home Rule City in 1958 and operates as a Council-Manager form of government. The county seat of Weld County, Greeley lies 30 miles east of the front range of the majestic Rocky Mountains near the confluence of the Cache la Poudre and South Platte Rivers and 52 miles northeast of Denver.   

Education, Commerce, and Community Excellence.  Greeley thrives as the education, trade, transportation, cultural, and marketing center of Weld County. It’s one of the top ten most prosperous and productive agricultural counties in the U.S. and leads the State of Colorado in oil and gas production. With an estimated population of 108,000, the City covers an area of 46.4 square miles at an elevation of 4,658 feet. Greeley enjoys a rich cross-section of cultures and ethnicities with approximately 40% of the community identifying as Latinx and many other immigrant families from across the globe, offering a variety of marketplace and cultural experiences. Greeley is home to both the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), the third-largest university in Colorado, and Aims Community College. In addition to investments in education, there is a deep commitment to achieving community excellence by fostering economic opportunities, expanding educational partnerships, enhancing quality of life, cultivating a sense of belonging, promoting talent and workforce development, enhancing transportation and mobility systems, and providing sustainable infrastructure to serve Greeley’s future. 

Greeley is home to a diverse mix of industries - from food processing, agricultural innovation, health care, and energy to breweries, entertainment, hospitality, and destination shopping. Greeley boasts an eclectic and diverse economy and community character that is vibrant, dynamic, and rich with creative industries and individuals. The city is home to a mix of generations and corporate citizens who provide inspired leadership, community support, and skilled-labor jobs that pay competitive salaries. 

Arts and Culture.  Greeley offers some of the most diverse arts, music, and cultural events in the region and is one of the State’s Certified Creative Districts. Performances produced by UNC’s nationally acclaimed College of Performing and Visual Arts, the Greeley Chorale and the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the longest continually operating orchestras west of the Mississippi, are just a few examples of the superb cultural offerings of the community. The City’s Cultural Affairs Division manages the 1700-seat Union Colony Civic Center, art shows, movies, performances, festivals, farmers’ market and the City’s Public Art program. Greeley is also home to favorite community events such as the Greeley Stampede, Arts Picnic, Friday Fest, Monster Day, the Multi-cultural Festival, OktoBREWfest, and so much more. 

Parks, Recreation and Mountain Access.  With a plethora of parks and facilities encompassing over 650 acres, the recreational amenities in Greeley are endless. The city’s golf courses, recreation centers, swimming pools, fields and courts, skate parks, playgrounds, fishing ponds, picnic areas, and open space create a community rich with options for sports and outdoor fun. Residents get to experience even more time outdoors on biking and hiking trails along the Cache la Poudre River and throughout the community. As the ‘front porch to the Front Range,’ Greeley's connection to the outdoors extends to the plains and mountains with easy access to diverse outdoor experiences from the Pawnee National Grassland on the east to Rocky Mountain National Park to the west and everything in between all less than 50 miles away. 

The Organization

Home Rule Municipality that is self-governed under the State of Colorado Constitution, Greeley operates under a Council-Manager form of government with seven elected officials on the Council, including the Mayor.  Under this form of government, the City Council sets the policies for the operation of the Greeley government while the council-appointed City Manager has administrative responsibilities for city operations. 

The City has a total 2023 budget of $511.4 million and a staff of approximately 1079.75 full-time equivalent positions.

The Position

The Cultural Affairs Manager reports to the Director of Culture, Parks, and Recreation and is an integral team leader responsible for the effective operation of the Cultural Affairs Division. The Cultural Affairs Manager is a member and key leader within the leadership team of the Department; they plan, direct, and coordinate, through subordinate staff, the activities of the division in four primary areas: Museums, Public Art, Special Events, and the Union Colony Civic Center performing arts venue.

Museums

Since the early 20th century, Greeley Museums has been at the forefront of collecting, interpreting and educating visitors and residents about the rich history of Greeley and Weld County. Across our 4 museum sites – Greeley History Museum, Centennial Village Museum, Meeker Home Museum and White Plumb Farm Learning Center – we are actively engaged in a dialogue with the public about our collective past, and how this has shaped all of our lives. We steward more than 60,000 objects and documents, and more than 40 historic buildings, across our facilities that provide deep context to community stories and identities. We attract between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors every year, many of whom are school students from across north-eastern Colorado who attend events like our two annual History Fests, and our Lone Valley School summer camp. While we value educating people about our unique Western heritage, including through a proposed new Agricultural Heritage Center, we also know that the role of history museums into the middle of the 21st century is growing towards being places of community leadership in bringing together diverse viewpoints through stories from our past. We seek to actively grow our reach into all communities across Weld County with new and challenging facility developments, exhibits and events. These include:

·        reinterpreting Meeker Home Museum to reflect more indigenous perspectives on Westward Expansion and its impacts,

·        our recent exploration of the Braceros Program,

·        a conversation around the future of the African-American agricultural “ghost town” of Dearfield,

·        our upcoming exhibit on Dolores Huerta and local Chicano/a activism,

·        and next year’s exhibit about the history of baseball in Latinx communities called “Pleibol”.

Public Art

The City of Greeley celebrates artistic expression and encourages public art as a way of celebrating our community's vibrant cultural diversity. The City of Greeley’s Public Art Program include the following efforts: the Tointon Art Gallery, which provides community members with opportunities to experience the visual arts; enjoyment and education from thought provoking discussion, and the One Percent for Art, in 1998 the City of Greeley and City Council made a commitment to enhance the city’s public art collection by adopting a 1% for Art Program. This program sets aside one percent of the cost of new capital improvement projects as funds for acquiring, maintaining and commissioning art.

Union Colony Civic Center

The Union Colony Civic Center is Northern Colorado’s premier performing arts venue and is proudly owned and operated by the City of Greeley. Built in 1988 with a combination of public funds and private donations, the UCCC is home to two performance venues, Monfort Concert Hall, which seats 1,686 and Hensel Phelps Theatre, which seats 214. With over 100 events held per year, the UCCC offers a wide variety of Broadway musicals, concerts, comedy shows, and many local dance and school performances. The UCCC proudly hosts events held by the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stampede Troupe, The Dance Factory, District 6 Schools, and several other local and regional productions. In addition to the performing arts, the UCCC is home to the Tointon Gallery featuring ten exhibits annually by local, regional and nationally acclaimed artists that are free to the public. 

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

·        Serve as an advocate for culture in the community and within the City government, helping to center culture in the heart of City life and growth.

·        Establish broad cultural strategy and policy that aligns with City priorities.

·        Assist Unit Heads in establishing budgetary and staffing priorities, advocating for resources within the City where necessary and help pursue both internal and external opportunities for funding.

·        Serve as a direct liaison between the four cultural units and senior leadership, actively pursuing the needs of Cultural Affairs divisions in balance with departmental and city priorities.

·        Exercise managerial and administrative oversight of the Cultural Affairs Division by developing a comprehensive program and developing goals, objectives, policies and priorities, short and long-term capital, financial and operations and staffing plans. Develop, implement and monitor standard operating procedures and systems necessary to the smooth operation of the Division.

·        Manages a broad range of operations including performing and visual arts values, public venue management, historic artifact preservation techniques and record keeping, historic site management, and marketing techniques.

·        Effectively communicates with individual citizens, advisory boards, and community groups to resolve issues and create an atmosphere of excellence in customer service.

·        Maintain cooperative and efficient relationships with Divisions within Culture, Parks and Recreation and other Departments/Divisions. Collaborative in approach with others across the organization and committed to excellence in the promotion of City services, policies and projects to citizens, community organizations, businesses, and the media.

·        Effectively balance the needs of the division and the department with proper financial and personnel resource allocations.

·        Attend a variety of advisory board meetings and other citizen groups for informational purposes, capital improvement project meetings, and other public settings as needed. 

Experience and Education

Qualified candidates will have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a related field (i.e., Performing Arts Management, History, Museum Studies, Business Administration, Performing Arts). A minimum of 7-10 years related experience in a supervisory and/or management level in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience, and at least two (2) years supervisory experience is required; municipal experience is highly preferred. 

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate must be a forward thinking, business minded leader who actively engages the community, exhibits strong coordination and has the ability to build relationships with public/private partnerships, non-profits, and college/universities. Demonstrated experience in fundraising, marketing and understanding the importance of education and enrichment of culture will be essential for the success of this position. This individual should be an advocate for growth and development in cultural affairs and someone who is not satisfied with status quo. 

The successful candidate should be a creative, visionary leader with the ability to energize, inspire, and motivate.  The ideal candidate should have strong interpersonal skills, exceptional organizational and administrative skills, a collaborative working style, and a demonstrated knowledge of and passion for the arts. The successful candidate must have the capacity and interest to be an effective mentor and supportive leader for staff. Advanced written and oral communication skills will be imperative. 

Salary

The City of Greeley is offering a competitive hiring range between $100,000 to $140,000 and a comprehensive benefits package. Relocation assistance may also be available for the successful out-of-area candidate.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should forward a cover letter and resume to: 

resumes@affionpublic.com
Reference: GREELEYCADM 

Affion Public
PO Box 794
Hershey, PA 17033
888.321.4922
www.affionpublic.com 

**The deadline to receive resumes is July 14, 2023** 

The City of Greeley is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. 

Posted: 06/01/2023