Chief Operating Officer

Job Description

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a key member of the Institute’s executive leadership team playing a strategic and involved role in the organization, with responsibility for all aspects of Festival and Institute Operations. Given its unique mission, and to ensure that Sundance Institute functions optimally in a creative and fast-moving environment, the COO must be both the cultural champion and a strategic broad thinker.

Working closely under the direction of the Chief Executive Officer, the COO co-leads the Institute’s long and short-term strategic planning process, translating strategy into an operational plan that meets Institute objectives and overseeing all event operations, Institute-wide performance metrics, program evaluation, and benchmarking. The COO will foster a OneSundance mindset across the Institute. This full-time position is based out of one of our offices (Los Angeles, Park City, or New York) in order to work onsite in a hybrid capacity. Extended hours, including evenings and weekends as well as travel to other Institute offices and events will be required.

Top priorities include but are not limited to…
• Overseeing the execution of Sundance Film Festival vision as established by CEO and Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming.
• Leading the operational strategy for all program operations, including the Sundance Film Festival, Labs, and public programming efforts, ensuring fulfillment on the overall vision for each event.
• Leading operational planning to support Institute programs and participating in organizational strategic planning.
• Serving on the Institute’s leadership team, charged with organizational strategy and planning.
• Participating in the Institute’s fiscal planning team to ensure accurate tracking of revenue and expenses.
• Partnering with and supporting the CEO in driving the modernization of the organization.
• Directing a large team, including selecting and training employees, providing direction, feedback, support, and delegating meaningful work to ensure employees understand responsibilities and are effective in their roles.
• Engaging with employees across the organization and key external constituents to align and drive strategies and initiatives.
• Representing the Institute in the community and working closely with other organizations as required.
• Overseeing Institute operations and employee productivity, building a highly inclusive culture that ensures team members can thrive and that organizational goals are met.
• Overseeing and monitoring Institute performance with sound metrics and establishing corrective measures as needed, and preparing reports, both current and forecasting.

You have the following direct or transferable skill sets:
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.
• 10 years of leadership and strategic operational experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in management, or a related field.
• Experience and demonstrated ability to succeed in a highly collaborative environment.
• Experience with live or large-scale events.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, understanding the implications their actions will have on the strategic, financial, and organizational demands of an evolving organization.
• Ability to operate in a complex environment and develop effective strategies to market the culture, mission, and values of the enterprise.
• Ability to quickly adapt to change and redirect resources.
• The ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders in order to drive results.
• Solid grasp of data analysis and performance metrics.
• Ability to generate respect, trust, and a positive image for the organization.
• Highest levels of integrity and ethics.

You will be successful in this role if you…
• Collaborate with the CEO in setting and driving organizational vision, operations strategy, and organizational structure.
• Translate strategy into measurable steps for growth, implementing organization-wide goal setting, performance management, and annual operations planning.
• Lead by example, by empowering, inspiring and ensuring good communication to drive change and achieve goals.
• Uphold inclusive and equitable Institute values in interactions with internal and external constituents.

In addition to an annual salary of $200,000.00 to $250,000.00*, this position is eligible for our comprehensive benefits package, highlights include:
• Health, vision, and dental insurance
• 25 paid Institute holidays plus vacation time
• Paid sick, family, and medical leave
• Employee Wellness initiatives
• 401(k) with automatic 3% employer contribution after one year of employment
• Sundance Film Festival passes and benefits (varies each year)

*Final rate of pay is determined based on the applicant's geographic location, relevant experience and skills, and internal equity among similar positions within our organization.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-r03011-216-73-216-222-42 in your application.