Jobs for arts managers today

Jobs in the private and public sector encompass an enormous range of possibilities.
If one considers career opportunities in the broader scope of arts and entertainment, then the options available are extraordinary for an arts manager. When scanning a publication like ART SEARCH, an employment service bulletin

that is published 23 times a year by the theater Communications Group
(TCG), 37 it is possible to gain an overview of the job market for arts managers.
TCG, as have many organizations, now posts job openings online. The typical
job listings in ARTSEARCH and in other job listing services reveal the expectations
of organizations about staff qualifi cations for an arts manager in today’s
workplace. For example, a typical issue of ARTSEARCH will list openings for
artistic or executive directors, managing directors, administrative assistants,
box offi ce managers, development directors, education directors, general managers,
public relations managers, and database managers. 38 The qualifi cations
often noted for executive directors, for example, include skills in areas such as
administration, communication, planning supervision, fundraising, and fi scal
management. Obviously, executive director positions require previous experience
or, as is often indicated in a job posting, “a proven track record. ”
The proliferation of online job postings and Web-based application processes
has made the process of applying for a job easier. A few of these resources are
discussed in Chapter 14, Career Options and Preparing for the Job Market.
However, fi nding the information about the salary offered for these jobs can
be a challenge. Most organizations now resort to wording such as “Salary and
benefi ts commensurate with experience. ” There is general data available on
salaries, but specifi c salary information is often only available in costly reports
published by arts service organizations.

Salary ranges
Depending on what part of the United States the arts manager job is in and
the overall operating budget of the organization, the full-time salaries for entrylevel
positions may range from as little as $15,000 to $30,000. Middle-management
positions may start at $25,000 and range up to $60,000, and upper
management salaries could start as low as $30,000 and go up to $75,000 and
beyond. When it comes to the upper end of the pay scale, the salaries often
reported in the media tend to focus on extraordinary compensation levels of
CEOs or the fi ve highest paid staff in an organization.
The benefi ts will also vary with the fi nancial resources of the organization. Most
offer health insurance through a group policy and may require the employee to
pay a percentage of the benefi t costs. Larger arts organizations and educational
institutions (such as colleges and universities) offer more comprehensive benefi
t packages.

The NonProfi t Times ( www.nptimes.com ) publishes an annual salary survey
that offers survey information gathered from a few hundred not-for-profi t
organizations. Their 2007 salary survey report was based on 488 responses
from organizations in America, of which only 8% were arts organizations. 39
The annual survey provided national salary averages by six organizational
budget sizes (less than $500,000 all the way up to $50 million-plus) and for
ten different job functions. It also reports geographical salary averages for
seven different regions in the United States using ten job titles. For example,
the overall average salary range for a development director (the person
responsible for the fundraising in an organization) was $71,455 to $71,825.
Organizations reporting budgets of less than $500,000 had salary averages for
this position ranging from $33,493 to $33,890. On the other hand, the average
for this job if you worked for an organization with a budget between $1
million to $9.9 million was between $61,539 and $64,650. 40 Salary averages
were above the average in the Northeast and below average in the South and
Midwest.
There are many employment opportunities in arts management, especially at
the entry level. However, many of the smaller not-for-profi t arts and culture
organizations simply do not have the funding to offer salaries that are competitive
with the private sector. Please refer to Chapter 14, Career Options and
Preparing for the Job Market, for more information about career options and
compensation in arts management.

The manager’s personal mission
An essential ingredient in the mix of the knowledge, skills, and abilities
that a person brings to any arts management job must include a passion
for what he is doing and a strong sense of purpose. When it comes to
compensation, as we have seen, the salary will very likely be lower if you
opt to work in the arts and not-for-profi t sector. However, salary might be
only one of several criteria someone may have for selecting a career in arts
management.
The rewards of working in this field can extend far beyond a paycheck. Having
a strong personal mission and sense of purpose is an important part of the
profile of an arts manager. In addition, although sometimes it is diffi cult to
quantify what may be the intangible benefits of working in the arts, having a
clear point of view about the value and contribution the arts make to a community
is an important starting point. As you will see in Chapter 7, Human
Resources and the Arts, and Chapter 8, Leadership and Group Dynamics, the
successful arts manager must have skills that span many general management
functions.

From the Bookshelf
Livingston Biddle’s comprehensive personal history of the NEA, Our
Government and the Arts: A Perspective from the Inside (New York: American
Council for the Arts, 1988), is fi lled with hundreds of facts and anecdotes
about the struggle to establish and maintain what may be one of the most
cost-effective organizations in government. In addition to telling interesting
stories, Biddle takes the reader inside the legislative system as well as the early
management structure of the endowment.
For a more current insider’s perspective on the NEA you would do well to
read Jane Alexander’s book, Command Performance: An Actress in the Theater of
Politics (New York: Public Affairs, a Perseus Books Group publication, 2000).
The book offers a fascinating look into the strategies used by Alexander to
help ensure the survival of the NEA at a time when its very existence was
threatened. In addition to offering a wealth of information about how the
NEA met these challenges and survived, this book provides arts managers
with valuable lessons on the fi ne art of working with the political system in
the United States.