VP Communications, Marketing & External Relations

THE COMPANY
 

Luminato is Toronto’s international arts festival dedicated to performance, media and visual arts and innovative programming that cuts across traditional artform boundaries. Luminato works closely with Canadian artists to support the creation and development of distinctive new work alongside presenting today’s most exciting artists from around the world. The 2019 festival ran from June 7 to June 23.

Founded in 2007 by David Pecaut and Tony Gagliano, Luminato was created to shine a spotlight on Toronto as a vibrant, ambitious world city, rich in culture and creativity. During its first decade Luminato became one of the preeminent international arts festivals in North America, since 2007 welcoming nearly 10 million residents and visitors to enjoy the work of 15,835 artists from more than 40 countries taking part in over 3,600 Luminato projects.  The festival has also become one of Canada’s most significant commissioning bodies, having commissioned and co-commissioned 111 new works including 59 commissions to Ontario artists, 18 Ontario-created works premiered by Luminato having so far toured throughout Canada and to 16 countries worldwide.

In its second decade Luminato is developing as a locally rooted, globally connected festival with a distinctly Toronto personality and a contemporary program flavor that year by year reflects and explores the defining issues of the day.  Now in its 13th year, Luminato is poised to grow over the next seven years to celebrate its 20th anniversary as one of the world’s most respected international arts festivals.

 

THE POSITION

The core of this position is clarifying and raising the profile of Luminato locally, nationally and internationally, as a context for communicating Luminato enticingly to our community of existing and potential ticket-buyers and to all the festival’s other stakeholders. 

The VP will lead and provide strategic direction for the Marketing, Communications and Sales team, strengthening and monetizing Luminato’s reputational and market positioning, and developing longer-term strategies refining Luminato’s value proposition to its stakeholders and partners.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Reputation Management & External Relations

  • Establish a strategy for articulating and communicating externally the positioning and purpose of Luminato, working closely with the CEO to develop a coherent values-aligned communications framework for the Board of Directors and all staff in addressing external markets, stakeholders and other contacts, ensuring the company has a continually distinctive, high and positive profile.
  • Work with the CEO to lead the current national positioning process, developing related strategies to heighten brand profile and recognition, accelerate market development, and grow partnership opportunities.
  • Support the development of productive relationships with the corporate and individual giving sectors; with all levels of Government; with the cultural sector nationally and internationally, and with all the communities the festival addresses as participants and consumers, developing short and longer-term priorities for strengthening all Luminato’s stakeholder relationships. 
  • Develop strategies to raise Luminato’s year-round profile, leveraging the annual festival timeline and assessing new opportunities to build reputation outside of traditional timelines and vehicles.
  • Analyze current internal policies, processes and technical systems, and develop plans to strengthen those that advance stakeholder relations and business goals, taking responsibility for achieving the fullest possible sales and relationship value from the company’s CRM systems.
  • Constantly advocate effectively and compellingly for Luminato’s programming and projects and for the Luminato brand, seizing every opportunity to build knowledge of and respect for Luminato and its contribution to the city of Toronto, to the Province of Ontario, and to Canada.

Marketing & Earned Revenue

  • Develop effective sales strategies leveraging the profile of the festival for addressing the festival’s existing consumers and potential markets in Toronto and beyond, expanding the range and value of Luminato’s Toronto partnerships and ambitiously growing and monetizing the wider national and international visitor tourist markets. 
  • Analyze audience loyalty trends and update the Business Plan with sales strategies and market segmentation plans for retaining past and present customers and developing new audiences, developing specific strategies for retrieving lapsed customers.
  • Expand existing audiences with a targeted tourism strategy to build market and sales growth outside Toronto, developing tourism benchmarks and expanding reach geographies year by year.
  • Develop evidence-driven and data-based marketing strategies, identifying performance indicators and sales targets, identifying further potential for marketing partnerships aligned with the organization’s values and identity that can increase earned revenue.
  • Support corporate sponsorship and individual giving initiatives, government relationships at all levels, and fund development in general, ensuring aligned and coherent brand messaging throughout the company.
  • Support the CEO and Government Relations consultant in optimizing Luminato’s relations with all levels of Government, aimed at building funding from all three levels of Canadian Government and internationally (not limited to cultural funding), analyzing and helping build responses to changes and trends across Government, helping identify opportunities in those trends, and develop strategies to protect Luminato against risks.
  • Remain fully current with technologies for strengthening marketing and sales functions, identifying and deploying the ones most likely to support Luminato’s market growth.

 

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

  • Minimum 10 years’ relevant and progressive senior-level experience in general and communications management in a relevant B2C business, preferably in the arts, entertainment, or tourism industries.
  • Provenly successful experience in building and communicating an organization’s brand identity through strategic planning and execution.
  • Exceptional track record in planning and communicating marketing strategies, advertising and sales campaigns, and e-marketing programs in the Festival’s target markets in Canada.
  • Instinctive, articulate understanding of how integrated marketing and communications programs can be used to strengthen brand, connect effectively with key stakeholders, inspire affiliation, and maximize revenue generation.
  • Deep experience in and complete comfort with digital and experiential marketing, operating confidently at the leading edge of those techniques.
  • Solid background and confidence in deploying large, complex communications initiatives in a continually evolving environment.
  • Excellent knowledge of current communications theories, ticketing techniques, best practices and planning methods.
  • Broad and extensive public relations and communications experience, and outstanding, immediate communications judgement in a politically exposed multi-stakeholder environment, preferably in the arts and cultural sector.
  • Established, effective senior contacts with relevant local, national, and international opinion-forming and media communities.
  • Exceptional project management skills and experience.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of contracting, negotiating, and change management.
  • Experience in building, mentoring, and coaching a team of functional experts, which grows and reduces on a recurrent annual cycle as the team expands each year with contract and fixed-term staff hired to support that year’s festival.
  • Experience in helping shape and communicate (internally and externally) organizational mission, vision, and values.
  • Extensive knowledge of best audience development practices.
  • Evidenced experience in budgeting, financial forecasting and cost control.
  • University degree or experiential equivalent.
  • Ability to speak and write in confident, stylish French is an asset but not essential in this post.

 

CANDIDATE ATTRIBUTES

  • A provenly skilled strategic thinker, confident and capable in analyzing and communicating complex issues, both strategic and operational, backed by superior relationship-building and advocacy skills.
  • Consistently outstanding communication skills - oral and written, formal and informal, prepared and spontaneous. 
  • Motivationally engaged and effective, with high level team-building skills.
  • A passion for the arts and an intelligent sensitivity to the relationship between the arts and the social and political worlds in which they exist.
  • Strong, experienced organizational management skills: confidently comfortable with fast-changing detail but always seeing detail from a strategic, mission-led perspective.
  • Creative and entrepreneurial.
  • A practical, unflappable problem solver and lucid strategic thinker, consistently able to react nimbly and effectively to the unexpected.
  • Ability to work well and take responsibility under pressure - independently, as a member of a leadership team, and as a leader of staff, equally comfortable directing a team and (when necessary) resolving issues by quick hands-on action.
  • Results-oriented, disciplined personality with a collegial management approach and impeccable integrity.

 

COMPENSATION

A competitive, experienced-based compensation package with benefits will be provided.

 

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your application by emailing your cover letter and résumé by end of day Sunday, September 15th to: luminato@searchlightpartnersgroup.com

 

We thank all those who apply however only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Luminato is an equal opportunity employer.

During the recruitment process, applicants have the right to request accommodation. Applicants invited to participate in an assessment process (such as an in-person interview) and who require accommodation, should discuss their needs with us.


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