Search for President and Chief Executive Officer

Strategic Vision and Leadership

Revenue Enhancement and Government Relations

Public Visibility and Engagement

Governance, Financial, and Organizational Resiliency

The President and CEO of Banff Centre will have deep knowledge in and respect for the arts and culture sector. This individual will have an innate ability to inspire, lead, listen, and organize people into action. Motivated to conceptualize new ideas and translate subjective viewpoints into practical results, the President and CEO will deeply engage in multiple conversations with the Indigenous, national, and international arts and educationcommunities to advance the field. They will be confident, innovative, and discerning. The President and CEO willhave the capacity to set clear objectives, mobilize resources, and understand the human, financial, technological, and artistic resources needed to advance Banff Centre’s important work and reverberating impacts. An authentic and collaborative leader who balances both people- and task-oriented interactions, this individual will beadaptable to changing circumstances and respond in a flexible manner. A passionate yet thoughtful decision maker, the President and CEO will energetically embody Banff Centre’s ambitious goals with creativity,intentionality, and humility. This individual will possess exceptional interpersonal and public presentation capabilities that convey the importance and outcomes of a leading post-secondary arts and leadership organization. The President and CEO will also model behaviours that create trust, build confidence, and encourage others to ideate and create while structuring paths to ensure organizational alignment around Banff Centre’s artistic, leadership, and educational mandates.

Other key competencies of the role include:

A master’s degree or equivalent experience and at least 10 years at a senior management level with increasing responsibility in a multi-disciplinary arts and culture organization, post-secondary institution, international artistic endeavour, non-profit organization, or comparable government agency are required. Qualified candidates will have a demonstrable track record in contributed and earned revenue oversight, budget responsibility, staff management, and organizational capacity building in the creative industries. Comprehensive results in the effective integration of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility are expected, as is a deep commitment to the tenets of Truth and Reconciliation. Superior verbal, written, and presentation skills, as well as media (traditional, electronic, and social) expertise, are needed. Experience collaborating with high-level, nationally respected board members and government agencies is preferred. Computer literacy skills are necessary, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Multiple language skills are valued, with regular national and international travel is required. Those currently eligible to work in Canada are preferred but international candidates will be seriously considered. 

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Banff Centre) exists to inspire artists and leaders to make their unique contribution to society and aspires to be the global leader in arts, culture, and creativity. Founded in 1933 and located in Banff National Park, Banff Centre’s history is the story of some of the most iconic and outstanding artists from Canada and around the world who have helped forge the Canadian cultural identity. 

In January 2009, Alberta’s Minister of Advanced Education and Technology confirmed a mandate for Banff Centre as a specialized Arts and Culture Institution providing non-parchment, post-secondary education programs in the arts and creativity, as well as in leadership development, mountain culture, and the environment. As Canada’s leading post-graduate arts institution, Banff Centre offers intensive training and career development programs for emerging and established artists across all artistic disciplines, including opera, music, dance, film and media, mountain culture, visual arts, and Indigenous arts. As a champion of arts and creativity, Banff Centre Leadership programs prepare and empower leaders from a wide range of sectors to make an impact in a rapidly shifting world. Its programs integrate the power of the arts, the wisdom of Indigenous practice, and the extraordinary beauty of Banff National Park. Programs in the cultural, Indigenous, and corporate sectors connect participants with others who share their commitment to positive change in cultural institutions, Indigenous communities, businesses, non-profit organizations, and government. 

Prior to the global pandemic, Banff Centre annually welcomed more than 3,500 artists and leaders in approximately 120 learning programs and more than 26,000 attendees participated in 360 conferences. Activities included more than 150 premieres, 50 commissioned artistic works, and 400 performances and events for approximately 80,000 audience members. Banff Centre’s performance facilities include the newly renovated 638-seat Jenny Belzberg Theatre, as well as the 246-seat Margaret Greenham Theatre, which consists of a studio space with a fixed audience rake, soft black masking, and a fixed grid in a venue that is used extensively for dance, drama, intimate music events, and meetings. Additionally, Rolston Recital Hall, with a maximum seating capacity of 226, has a natural acoustic setting in a venue that can be configured for performance or recording situations. From the stage, performers have an extraordinary view of the majestic mountain peaks, and its attached control room is used to record from the hall or Bentley Chamber Music Studio, which seats up to 100.The Club, with a total capacity of 161 or 120 seated, is a cabaret space with a low stage, flexible seating, limited backstage space, and a warm and intimate atmosphere. The Shaw Amphitheatre is Banff Centre's most majestic and engaging venue with a spectacular 360-degree view of Banff's mountain ranges and an open starry sky at night. In the heart of Banff Centre’s campus, the 1,700-seat outdoor amphitheatre is an ideal location for a post-session event or can be enjoyed from a private reception on one of the Kinnear Centre's terraces.

Banff Centre looks forward to a bright future as its Creative Pathways, Banff Centre’s Strategic Plan: April 2021inspires the Albertan, Canadian, and global creative landscape through five pathways: 

Banff Centre Arts programs consist of an array of Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Indigenous Arts, Literary Arts, and Media + Production, as well as the Leighton Artist Studios and other artist facilities. The Performing Arts is dedicated to creating and presenting contemporary works in dance, music, opera, theatre, and interdisciplinary art forms with hands-on training and professional development for artists and technicians at every career stage. Visual Arts is committed to contemporary art and curatorial practice with remarkable programs, exhibitions, facilities, faculty, and artists from around the world. Indigenous Arts consists of rigorous, transformative programs for Indigenous artists, inspired by Banff's unique power of place. Literary Arts at Banff Centre is a space to hone skills and develop work with expert faculty in literature and journalism. 

Media + Production is a collaborative training for media practitioners in digital film, interactive media, and audio. Leighton Artist Studios allow makers to gain creative and technical expertise with nine unique and remarkable studio spaces for professional artists in all genres. Other artist facilities allow creators to take a concept from the initial spark of an idea to a full-scale production with facilities that offer an excellent range of resources to support artists across all disciplines. The Arts and Leadership division currently consists of more than 450 adjunct faculty,contract workers, and full-time staff who provide more than 100 programs in the areas of artistic program planning, performing arts, and Indigenous arts, research, and leadership.

In addition to facilitating an environment for learning and growth, Banff Centre produces and presents a variety of activities. These include the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival + World Tour, Banff International String Quartet Festival, Banff International String Quartet Competition, and various exhibitions in the Walter Phillips Gallery. Its Decolonizing the Narrative Conversation Series is a monthly online session that invites leading Indigenous art creators to talk about their practices and processes. Banff Centre’s Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives serves the learning and professional needs of artists, leaders, and researchers from across Canada and around the world who participate in programs at Banff Centre. The library provides a unique and extensive collection that includes music scores, books, periodicals, audio and video recordings, digital resources, and artists’ books. Finally, the Sally Borden Fitness Centre includes an aquatics centre with a 25-metre pool, a climbing wall, group fitness classes, and many other amenities.

Banff Centre is committed to promoting environmentally conscious procedures and practices. Since 2009, Banff Centre has been awarded four Green Keys from the Green Key Global eco-rating program. This certification is based on the results of a comprehensive environmental audit, where participating properties are awarded up to afive Green Key rating. Banff Centre is also a Green Leaf Eco-Rated Member, with four Green Leaf status, and confirms that it is taking substantial steps towards environmental improvement by adopting industry best practices for energy efficiency, resource conservation, and pollution prevention in all areas of its operations and management. Banff Centre also takes pride in holding Gold Tier status within International Association of Conference Center's Green Star Program, whose code includes 60 tenets within the areas of education, awareness and public declaration, waste management, recycling, reuse, water conservation, purchasing, energy management, air quality, and food & beverage. 

Banff Centre operates under Alberta’s Post-Secondary Learning Act and is governed by a 16-member national Board of Governors, composed of the Banff Centre President and Chief Executive Officer (President and CEO), six Alberta-based members appointed by the Alberta Lieutenant Governor in Council, and nine national members appointed by the remaining members of the board, one of whom must be nominated by the federal minister responsible for the National Parks Act. The Banff Centre Foundation Board (Foundation Board) consists of nine members, including the President & CEO, who oversees the investments of Banff Centre’s endowed funds and is evolving to become more active in soliciting philanthropic support for annual operations. 

Banff Centre is an integrated organization with a collaborative team atmosphere. The organization is guided by two Vice Presidents responsible for Talent & Culture and Business Affairs & General Counsel, as well as one Senior Vice President who oversees program management and production, hospitality, finance, information technology, and physical facilities, events, marketing, and communications. With approximately 191 full-time and 85 part-time employees, Banff Centre’s operating budget for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022 is $42.6 million, with annual contributed revenue, grants, and investment earnings of more than $29 million. Its FY23 operating budget is estimated to be $49.6 million, with $29.7 million in annual contributed revenue, grants, and investment earnings; $15.4 million in conferences, lodging, rentals, restaurant revenues, and other services; and$4.5 million in performances, festival tickets, class registrations, and other revenues. At peak operations just prior to the pandemic, the operating budget was approximately $75 million, with approximately 450 full- and part-time employees. Banff Centre’s endowment fund stands at more than $50 million.

The spectacular beauty of the Canadian Rockies surrounds the Banff Centre campus, which is spread over 42 acres and includes a variety of theatres, recital halls, practice rooms, production facilities, visual art spaces, conference facilities, residences halls, restaurants, and staff housing, just a few blocks from downtown Banff, Alberta. Banff Centre is located in Banff National Park, founded in 1885 as Canada’s first national park and now serving as the flagship of the nation’s park system. Banff National Park encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 square miles) of mountainous terrain with many glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forests, and alpine landscapes. More than three million visitors a year make the pilgrimage to the park for a variety of activities, including hiking, biking, skiing, and camping in some of the world’s most breathtaking mountain scenery. It serves as a key component of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.

The Town of Banff (Banff) is a unique mountain community located in the breathtaking Bow River Valley that many Banff Centre employees call home. Incorporated as a municipality in 1990, Banff has a population of approximately 10,000 residents. Tourism is Banff’s economic driver, with more than four million people visiting Banff National Park every year. The town thrives with a diverse mix of residents and visitors from all around the world. Banffites embrace the mountain lifestyle of hiking and biking in the summer and skiing and snowboarding in the winter, while acknowledging an obligation as stewards of the national park and the value of living in a safe and caring town.

In addition to the national park’s extraordinary beauty and Banff Centre’s many varied programs, Banff residents can enjoy the Banff Public Library, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff Park Museum National Historic Site of Canada, Cave & Basin National Historic Site of Canada, and a variety of sports clubs and leagues. Families with children will find multiple public and private K-12 educational opportunities in Banff and the nearby community of Canmore. With a population of approximately 1.2 million residents, Calgary is just a 90-minute drive from Banff and offers all the amenities of a major metropolitan area, including an international airport.