Director of Strategic Programming - Grace Farms Foundation : Job Details

Role: Director of Strategic Programming

Reports To: Chief Communication Officer

FSLA Status: Salaried, Exempt, Full Time (40 hours)

Location: On-site

In 2025, Grace Farms Foundation will celebrate its milestone 10th anniversary, after opening in October 2015 as a new kind of publicly available place. Across just nine years, the Foundation has brought forth grace and peace into the local and global community through the intentional environment at Grace Farms - with 77 acres of preserved landscape and internationally award-winning buildings by the Pritzker Prize-winning firm SANAA - and our distinct programmatic offerings. These offerings span focus areas of nature, arts, justice, community, and faith, delivered in many different formats and venues and for varying audiences. Programming at and beyond Grace Farms advances the Foundation's work and key initiatives, creating a community around the work. As such, strategic programming is both elemental to the brand of Grace Farms and the wellspring for future outcomes.

The Role:

The Director of Strategic Programming, reporting to the Chief Communications Officer, ensures that the values and mission of Grace Farms Foundation are communicated through Grace Farms' year-long programming. S/he connects local and global leaders and influencers into Grace Farms programming framework and is a key steward of outside speaker and performer relationships. The Director of Strategic Programming frequently hosts such partners in advance of public programming with excellent hospitality to experience Grace Farms and connect with our mission. Besides taking ownership for partner preparation, s/he has important event preparation conversations with their agents (as applicable), marshals on-staff talent, and coordinates with Grace Farms event-management colleagues. S/he manages the cadence and budget of the programming calendar and ensures that the full cycle of a program has all the proper documentation and resource allocation, from budgeting to archiving.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as a key resource, thought partner, and creative driver to the CEO, organizational leadership, and program leads; identify opportunities and potentially different ways of working to increase programmatic impact.
• Provide a high-level overview of the annual program calendar, making suggestions for additions, deletions, and combinations as internal and external conditions require and with an eye toward being planful and nimble simultaneously.
• Collaborate with Leadership to implement foundation-wide goals through programming (example: inclusive design).
• Be the connective tissue between all designated internal partners that lead programs (workshops, walks, activities, engagements) and the staff who operationalize the programs including operations, marketing, and finance. Support program leads by recognizing and strengthening their unique talents, and bringing forth the best programming ideas and execution.
• Work with internal teams to identify opportunities for new programming that engage a wide range of stakeholders, program participants, and thought leaders across fields, disciplines, and areas of concern.
• Develop and shepherd flagship multi-year programs, including the Design for Freedom Summit, Earth Day, and Grace Farms Benefit, to increase brand awareness and give a platform for Grace Farms' initiatives. Gather all internal contributors, create streams of accountability, manage the full project, hold debriefs, and report back to the Leadership team.
• Propose speakers and institutional collaborators who can advance program goals; steward speaker and institutional relationships on behalf of Foundation leadership.
• Design programming concepts with an eye toward a rounded experience on site at Grace Farms, connecting physically with the seasons, landscape, and buildings and with other offerings on site and our notable hospitality.
• Through proactive planning and excellent collaboration, ensure that all programs achieve maximum impact, are marketed effectively to appropriate audiences, and are executed at the high level of excellence for which Grace Farms is known.
• Stay up-to-date on the happenings of key collaborators such that we can celebrate their work through marketing.
• Collaborate with all Grace Farms operations teams to bring programs responsibly - and in some cases, profitably -- to life.
• Integrate new fundraising levers into the annual programming cycle, incorporating membership, Grace Farms Foods' tea and coffee, and more.
• Partner with the chief financial officer to ensure budgets are appropriate and maximize organizational resources. Responsible for the overall programming budget, refining ticketing and speaker fee structures in accordance with annual impact, brand, and financial goals.
• Constantly assess past and current programming to identify opportunities of growth and evolution. That might be in the form of greater collaboration, or new systems to better assess impact or program evaluation.
• Other professional job duties as required.

Required Skills, Qualifications & Education:

• A minimum of ten (10) years of program and management experience, ideally in a rapidly evolving institution that operates in a public space.
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree or equivalent record of continuing professional development preferred.
• Experience with diverse audiences and intergenerational programming.
• Demonstrated success with creating, executing, and assessing a variety of public-facing programs.
• Voracious intellectual curiosity: an eagerness to learn about new areas, coupled with an orientation of constant improvement.
• Excellent analytical skills and the ability to develop appropriate success metrics across all departments; a high level of comfort with complexity and nuance.
• Sophisticated personal presence, superior interpersonal skills, and a high level of emotional intelligence, with a proven ability to successfully engage with a variety of stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and an inclusive, transparent communication style that fosters cooperation, trust, and teamwork.
• A proven track record of leading with diplomacy, integrity, and sound judgment, as well as a sense of humor and humility.
• Skilled at identifying opportunities for synergy, and able to effectively manage multiple workstreams and projects.
• Ability to operate as an effective tactical partner as well as a creative strategic thinker.
• A positive attitude and self-directed and entrepreneurial work style.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends as necessary to attend public programming events.

Benefits

Grace Farms offers a competitive benefit package that includes a choice of medical plans, a dental and vision plan, 100% employer-paid basic life insurance and short-term disability and a 403(b)-retirement benefit with an organization match. We encourage our staff to take time-off to rest and recharge and provide PTO, sick, and personal days as well as 11 paid holidays. All staff are welcome to explore the beautiful 80-acres of our preserved land and may take part in any of the numerous public events on-site.

About Grace Farms

Grace Farms is a center for culture and collaboration in New Canaan, Connecticut. We bring together people across sectors to explore nature, arts, justice, community, and faith at the SANAA-designed River building, situated on 80 acres of natural landscapes. Our humanitarian work to end modern slavery and foster more grace and peace in our local and global communities includes leading the Design for Freedom movement to eliminate forced labor in the building materials supply chain.

Grace Farms is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.