About The Perelman:

Following 9/11, the community and civic planning process that resulted in the World Trade Center master plan in 2003 envisioned a new performing arts center as one of the anchors of the site. Now under construction, The Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center is the realization of that plan and process. The building is scheduled for completion in late 2022, with programming to begin thereafter. The Perelman is located between Tower One and the Oculus, facing the 9/11 Museum and Memorial.

 

The Perelman’s three intimate theaters range from 80 to 470 seats, and our flexible design means that two or even all three of the performance spaces can be combined to accommodate anywhere from 550 to over 1,000 people in a concert format. A robust public level includes a welcoming lobby, a terrace, and a café and bar. The informal lobby stage will host multiple free performances that highlight emerging artists and community groups.

 

In our theaters, The Perelman will present and produce both live and virtual performances—local, domestic and international—in theatre, dance, music and chamber opera. An individual work of art will often be in thematic dialogue with works of other disciplines throughout the season.  The Perelman’s projects will sometimes involve significant community participation and will always strive to have audiences reflect the work onstage.

The Perelman’s mission is to create connections: by cultivating bonds between extraordinary artists and communities, with exemplary performances in active dialogue across the arts, and in our flexible, intimate spaces, inviting conversation and new relationships. Our art and our audiences reflect the dynamic energy of all five boroughs of New York City. Our work asks all of us to consider and embrace the complexities of society. Together, we welcome the entire world. The Perelman is where the world trades ideas.

About Civic Alliances:

We are eager to build civic alliances between a broad range of community organizations and The Perelman. Community organizations with whom we will have relationships both include and expand beyond those near our site in Lower Manhattan and those that are geographically based. We will seek relationships with a broad array of communities throughout all five boroughs, ranging from those rooted in neighborhood to occupation, age, ability/disability, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity, and culture and language, among many other ways to define community. The contours of each relationship will vary based on the specific needs of organizations and the shape of Perelman projects, but alliance relationships will often include: welcoming an organization’s constituents to The Perelman as audience and sometimes as participating artists (both existent groups and first-time performers of all ages); holding workshops, conversations and panels in our building and in community spaces; and creating programs that are responsive to a community’s needs.

 

Position Overview:

The Perelman is seeking to hire a full-time Director of Civic Alliances (DCA), reporting to Artistic Director Bill Rauch, who will begin in the spring of 2021. We look forward to filling this position with a skilled bridge-builder experienced in the complexities and nuances of the performing arts, community organizing and civic diplomacy, and demonstrating an ability to harness the power of the arts to contribute to a more equitable society. The successful candidate should have a proven track record of collaborating with a wide range of constituents, an insatiable curiosity about the infinite variety of human experience, a profound commitment to under-represented voices, and an unshakeable belief in art that inspires hope. The Director of Civic Alliances will seek new ways to forge audience involvement and participation.

 

Essential Responsibilities:

The Director of Civic Alliances will:

Have primary responsibility for identifying, building and strengthening relationships with community-based organizations throughout all five boroughs of New York City.
Identify, build and strengthen relationships with stakeholders including elected officials and government representatives, local residents, workers in surrounding office towers, and 9/11 Memorial and Museum constituents and visitors.
Ensure that each alliance relationship includes one or more of the following elements:

Setting up opportunities for direct participation of community artists in select projects;
Introducing lead artists of select projects to community stakeholders for content development;
Producing programming (including workshops, panels and conversations) that surround select performances, both in our building and in community spaces;
Creating select programs that are responsive to the self-identified needs of community organizations;
Facilitating community-specific audience building (in collaboration with marketing team) as part of the Perelman’s core commitment to welcome people of all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.

Manage the Civic Alliances programs
Work with executive leaders and the entire staff on creating a welcoming environment throughout the building and all Perelman programs.
Work with the artistic and producing directors on artistic planning.
Work with the president on stakeholder relationships.
Stay current on national conversations and trends relevant to the DCA’s work.

 

Qualifications and Competencies:

In order to meet their responsibilities, the ideal DCA candidate will:

 

Have at least seven years of professional experience in community organizing, community engagement and/or other community-rooted leadership for an arts organization, as well as a passion for the performing arts;
Have a track record of building new initiatives; nimbleness and improvisational problem-solving ability are a must;
Be an exceptional relationship builder with the ability to communicate with people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, transitioning from board rooms to community potlucks to rehearsal rooms with ease;
Possess extensive professional experience in New York City, with knowledge of  the diverse communities from all five boroughs that make up our city;
Lead with a sophisticated understanding of anti-racism and anti-oppression practices as well as the vocabulary and skills of community organizing;
Demonstrate the ability to conceive, strategize, manage and prioritize between multiple projects;
Exhibit tech fluency, building and maintaining relationships through multiple digital platforms;
Have flexibility to work outside typical business hours.

 

In addition, preference will be given to candidates with

the ability to communicate in one or more languages in addition to English;
experience working with immigrant communities.

 

 

Application Instructions:

Please submit a resume and a statement of interest. Within your statement, please address what the work of building and maintaining civic alliances means to you. Please also include contact info for three references. All materials should be sent by February 19, 2021 to Emily Calderin at ecalderin@theperelman.org.

 

Annual salary will range between $90,000 and $110,000, plus full benefits.

 

Equal employment opportunity and a commitment to a diverse staff are fundamental principles at The Perelman, where employment opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.