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Job Description:
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Position
Reporting to the CMA board of directors, the Executive Director will provide the strategic leadership and public
advocacy needed to fulfill the CMA’s mission and vision while embodying its values. The Executive Director will
embrace the CMA’s four guiding principles in serving as a champion for the public value of museums and heritage
organizations and the numerous citizens that those entities serve. A highly visible individual responsible for
advancing the CMA's policy agenda, the Executive Director will cultivate resources, develop relationships, and
provide programs that are beneficial to museums and heritage organizations. Working in both official languages,
the Executive Director will collaborate with the board of directors, members, staff, and partners. This individual will
travel throughout Canada and internationally, as required, to develop and fulfill the CMA's strategic plan and to
sustain the organization as an innovative professional association.
Roles and Responsibilities
Public Visibility and Advocacy
▪ Serve as the spokesperson for the CMA and for museums, delivering the message of their value to the public,
including policy makers, partners, and the media.
▪ Set and attain federal policy and advocacy objectives, in consultation with the CMA board, that advance
museums and heritage organizations.
▪ Cultivate productive working relationships with Canadian Heritage and members of Parliament, especially those
playing key roles relating to appropriations and priority policy issues.
▪ Foster planning and policy collaborations between Canadian Heritage, Provincial Heritage Associations, and
other national and provincial partners to represent the interests of museums nationally.
▪ Exemplify and propagate best practices in cultural advocacy at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.
▪ Build alliances with and present to other organizations in the museum and heritage policy arenas that strengthen
the CMA and provincial and regional associations.
▪ Develop and maintain strong relationships with indigenous peoples and exemplify Truth and Reconciliation
standards in meeting the museum sector’s far reaching role.
▪ Embrace other public visibility and advocacy roles and responsibilities, as needed.
Member Relations and Support
▪ Communicate regularly with CMA members and foster high levels of member involvement, satisfaction, and
retention.
▪ Develop industry research and analytical tools that add value and knowledge to and for the museum sector.
▪ Serve as a trusted advisor, resource, mentor, and thought leader for museums, heritage organizations, and
their allies.
▪ Maintain a deep knowledge of significant developments and environmental trends affecting museums.
▪ Facilitate consultative decision making and effective policy-driven governance.
▪ Promote the benefits of CMA membership to a wide range of urban and rural museums, business partners,
museum professionals, and others who support the museum field.
▪ Develop and maintain strong relationships with culturally diverse communities nationally.
▪ Embrace other member relations and support roles and responsibilities, as needed.
Resource Identification and Cultivation
▪ Ensure a collaborative relationship with Canadian Heritage in enhancing the public and financial support for the
CMA and its members.
▪ Develop and diversify the financial resources necessary to fulfill the CMA's strategic plan and ensure future
stability and sustainability.
▪ Lead fund development efforts that secure memberships, government support, business partnerships,
sponsorships, and philanthropic contributions.
▪ Cultivate, maintain, and enhance relationships with current and potential contributors.
▪ Embrace other resource identification and cultivation roles and responsibilities, as needed.
Planning and Management
▪ Oversee the CMA's strategic planning and plan fulfillment, including programs and services, communication,
evaluation, and operations.
▪ Guide, supervise, and evaluate all organizational operations and personnel, delegating such authority as is
deemed appropriate to other senior staff.
▪ Mentor the staff, maintaining a positive, productive, and collaborative working environment.
▪ Oversee and ensure adherence to the CMA's personnel policies, procedures, and performance standards.
▪ Ensure that the CMA, as a steward of public and private resources, exemplifies excellence and demonstrates
accountability, transparency, and compliance with federal, provincial, and municipal regulations.
▪ Embrace other planning and management roles and responsibilities, as needed.
Traits and Characteristics
A passionate and knowledgeable advocate for the museum and heritage sector and underlying museological policy,
the CMA’s Executive Director will have a well-rounded set of competencies that is distinguishable from others in
the field. As a persuasive leader with the ability to set and attain goals, the Executive Director will have a clear focus
on the CMA’s role in serving its members and interact with members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers. With a
contagious enthusiasm for the museum and heritage sector and the work of CMA members, the Executive Director
will have the leadership capacity to move initiatives forward through the mobilization of numerous stakeholders.
The Executive Director will have superior conceptual thinking capabilities, with the ability to proactively analyze
abstract concepts and scenarios and thereafter establish specific, measurable, attainable, reviewable, and time
sensitive (SMART) goals and objectives that achieve results. The Executive Director will deeply recognize, respect,
and actively promote diversity in all its forms, including with and for indigenous peoples, cultures, and communities.
Genuinely appreciating the geographical, cultural, and ideological differences of a wide array of stakeholders who
come from all backgrounds and political parties will be equally important.
Traits and Characteristics
A passionate and knowledgeable advocate for the museum and heritage sector and underlying museological policy,
the CMA’s Executive Director will have a well-rounded set of competencies that is distinguishable from others in
the field. As a persuasive leader with the ability to set and attain goals, the Executive Director will have a clear focus
on the CMA’s role in serving its members and interact with members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers. With a
contagious enthusiasm for the museum and heritage sector and the work of CMA members, the Executive Director
will have the leadership capacity to move initiatives forward through the mobilization of numerous stakeholders.
The Executive Director will have superior conceptual thinking capabilities, with the ability to proactively analyze
abstract concepts and scenarios and thereafter establish specific, measurable, attainable, reviewable, and time
sensitive (SMART) goals and objectives that achieve results. The Executive Director will deeply recognize, respect,
and actively promote diversity in all its forms, including with and for indigenous peoples, cultures, and communities.
Genuinely appreciating the geographical, cultural, and ideological differences of a wide array of stakeholders who
come from all backgrounds and political parties will be equally important.
An experienced, self-assured, and dynamic leader with extensive knowledge and experience in public policy, the
Executive Director will demonstrate exemplary team building capabilities, exceptional management expertise,
ingenuity, dedication, enthusiasm, humour, and energy. The Executive Director will be politically savvy and forward
thinking, with a focus on how museums and heritage organizations best contribute to the progress of society.
Other key competencies include:
▪ Leadership and Teamwork – The capacity to organize and motivate others to accomplish goals while creating
a sense of order, direction, and active participation among a variety of stakeholders.
▪ Customer Focus and Diplomacy – The tenacity to commit to customer satisfaction, with a high value on
multiple stakeholder needs and the ability to anticipate challenges and develop appropriate solutions, build
rapport, and relate well to all kinds of people regardless of cultural background.
▪ Interpersonal Skills – The flexibility to communicate persuasively and effectively to individuals and groups of
all sizes through presentations, discussions, remarks, and written and verbal communications.
▪ Planning and Priority Management – The dexterity to work within established timeframes and ascertain top
priorities for optimum productivity with policies, procedures, systems, and structures that result in mobilizing
resources to achieve significant outcomes.
▪ Personal Accountability – The ability to accept responsibility for actions and decisions, inspire others, build
trust, and acknowledge responsibility to be accountable for personal actions and professional decisions.
Qualifications
Qualified applicants must have a bachelor’s degree, with a master’s degree strongly preferred, and a minimum of
eight to 10 years of executive experience in relevant association, government, or nonprofit leadership. Experience
in public policy development and a successful advocacy track record at the federal, provincial, or municipal level is
required. A deep understanding of and sensitivity to the political environment in which the CMA and its members
function is needed. Leading candidates will be bilingual (English/French) Canadian citizens or permanent residents
and have broad knowledge of the museum and heritage sector, particularly the public benefits and roles that
government agencies and philanthropic support play in advancing positive impacts nationwide.
Please submit a letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments (electronic submissions
preferred) to:
Bruce D. Thibodeau, DBA
President
2 Toronto Street, Suite 217
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2B5
Tel (888) 234.4236 Ext. 201
Email CMA@ArtsConsulting.com
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