Director of Programming

OVERVIEW

The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc. seeks a strategic creative leader and “do-er” with a proven track record for successful innovation and implementation, who will solidify and further develop the National Cherry Blossom Festival as one of the world’s great celebrations of spring and a pre-eminent presenter of exceptional experiences. This position demands an individual who will fully commit to the high level of output and time needed to plan and execute award-winning events and programs. The ideal person for this position is passionate about humanities, music, the arts, education, and the transformative impact that they can have on Washington, DC and the surrounding region’s residents and visitors. They have an appreciation for the tourism and hospitality industry, and the critical role the Festival brand and events contribute to the economic impact in and around Washington, DC.

Reports to: Festival Vice President and serves as a member of the senior management team

Supervises: Event operations staff, contractors, other seasonal support personnel

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director of Programming must have an understanding of and passion for the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s mission, which is to produce diverse and creative programming that honor’s the Festival’s cultural connection to Japan, celebrates the tradition of long-standing DC events, and presents experiences that promote traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty, and community spirit; all framed in the themes of springtime, florals (especially cherry blossoms), pinks, and nature-inspired elements.

The Director of Programming is responsible for the creative and artistic quality of Festival content, ensuring that the Festival brand and the brand experience maintains its integrity at all points of delivery to Festival audiences. They will strategically plan, manage, and oversee Festival programs and events, balancing both a short-term and long-term execution plan for Festival programming.

The Director of Programming is responsible for generating innovative cool ideas and activations that are highly attractive to potential sponsors, working through customizations that would deepen the connection between programmatic offerings to sponsor and partner objectives, and provide a high level of engagement and opportunity for attendees to connect with the brand of the Festival and the sponsor’s brand.

The Director of Programming is responsible for developing event and program budgets, identifying and securing cost-saving opportunities, and regularly making adjustments as needed and as necessary for the financial health of organization.

The Director of Programming will lead, manage, mentor, and develop team members from the Programming department. This includes hiring, training, and overseeing seasonal contactors.

The Director of Programming will work closely with Festival production and operations partners to facilitate flawless execution of technical event rundowns (including pre-communication and dissemination of information to need-to-know entities) and ensure events are presented safely. They will collaborate on the pre-planning of staff roles and assignments, gaining input across departments. They will co-present on production meetings.

In collaboration with the Director of Partnerships and Development, they will participate in sponsorship acquisition to ensure adequate funding for the Festival.

They will work side by side the Director of Marketing and Communications, and the entire marketing team, to provide programmatic updates that will help craft the PR and marketing messaging to reach the targeted audiences desired for the events and programs.

They will collaborate with the Manager of Community Partnerships and contractors, develop and enhance youth and young adult-focused educational programs that drives the nonprofit's mission and fosters deeper connections between the Festival and underrepresented communities.

They will cultivate and maintain strong relationships with local organizations and businesses, community stakeholders, educational institutions, and other nonprofits to create ancillary events and attractions around the Festival, providing added value to Festival-goers.

They will represent the National Cherry Blossom Festival at area meetings and community events.

DUTIES

• Ensure content of the Festival is continually fresh and innovative, delivering cool, memorable and remarkable moments to Festival audiences
• Develop a repository of creative and original event-related activations and services, maintaining up-to-date information on cost, magnitude of effort, potential for revenue generation, and time needed to execute in order to support quick turnaround proposals to confirmed or potential sponsors
• Collaborate with Sponsorship team to prepare and present activation opportunities to sponsors as needed
• Oversee the development and execution of program and action plans as well as timelines
• Schedule, prepare and execute planning meetings with clear agendas including the reporting of and follow-through on action items
• Develop and manage consistent process and procedures for efficient and effective workflow, output and progress completion; implement the same system across all events and programs
• Clearly articulate and document on-site event assets that provide sponsor recognition, and be responsible for tracking development and execution with the Marketing and Communications team
• Be accountable for the fulfillment of sponsor execution benefits; develop and manage a consistent process for documenting completion that is shared with Sponsorship team
• Maintain current and develop new external relationships
• Meet or exceed budget expectations
• Evaluate and measure Festival outcomes and incorporate learnings into future plans
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by Festival Vice President

EXPERIENCE/SKILLS REQUIRED

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience related to the humanities, with at least five years’ experience producing large scale events
• Strong leadership skills with proven experience and achievement in Festival content development and management
• Excellent project coordination, time management, and organizational skills with the ability to juggle and prioritize multiple projects.
• Attention to detail and concern for accuracy and excellence.
• Must be a self-starter, proactive and driven, with a strong work ethic, a high level of motivation, a strong sense of urgency when needed, the ability to work without direct supervision and consistently meet deadlines,
• Ability to troubleshoot, to achieve conflict resolution and to work calmly under pressure. A creative thinker who is resourceful in solving problems.
• Ability to foster positive, productive relationships, collaboration and teamwork, internally and externally, among staff, board members, volunteers, partners and other Festival stakeholders.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to supervise and delegate.

As an integral part of the NCBF team, this full time salaried exempt position participates fully in the production and execution of Festival events, which requires flexibility to work additional hours during peak periods, and includes onsite evenings, weekends and holiday based on NCBF’s event and production schedules.

COMPENSATION/BENEFITS

Salary range: $90,000 - $110,000/year. Benefits package includes health insurance with prescription drug, dental, and eye plans (substantially underwritten by NCBF); annual and sick leave; short-term and long-term disability; life insurance; flexible spending account; 401K plan with safe harbor contributions eligible 6 months after hire; parking/transit subsidy.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an Equal Opportunity Employer.