Executive Director Search

Employment: Full-time

Organization: Richmond Symphony Orchestra (RSO)

Location: Richmond, IN

Compensation: $50,000 to $60,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

The Richmond Symphony Orchestra (RSO) is seeking a dynamic, operationally focused Executive Director to lead the business, fundraising, and community engagement efforts of our historic organization.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary, the RSO annually produces 5 Masterworks concerts, 2 Family concerts, 1 educational concert, a full orchestra “Signature” (fundraising) event, and an outdoor summer series. Richmond, IN is one of the smallest communities in the nation to nurture and support a fully professional symphony orchestra. Annually issuing 70+ contracts to regional musicians, securing nationally recognized soloists, featuring a 60+ university and community chorus, and injecting over $775,000 in economic impact into our region annually, the RSO is a cornerstone of east central Indiana’s cultural life and a point of pride for the local community.

The organization is currently in a position of strength, enjoying growing concert attendance and a solid financial foundation. Our Music Director has signed a five-year extension contract. As we look to the future, we are conducting a regional search for a proven, professional manager to maintain our organizational trajectory, build our endowment, and deepen our ties with local educational and non-profit institutions.

About the Position

The Executive Director serves as the essential, day-to-day public face and chief administrative officer of the RSO. Working in close, collaborative partnership with the Board of Directors, the Music Director, and other operational staff, the Executive Director ensures the fiscal and operational health of the orchestra. Together, in a peer-level partnership with the Music Director, the Executive Director aligns a passionate artistic vision with organizational and business realities.

We are seeking a professional, non-profit manager.  The ideal candidate would have orchestra familiarity in addition to deep management expertise. We need a steady leader who can balance budgets, manage complex logistics, lead a small office staff, and comfortably engage with major donors, while inherently understanding the unique rhythms and needs of a professional symphonic season.

A significant portion of the Executive Director’s time will be dedicated to fundraising, community engagement, and driving a bold new era of educational programming.

The Executive Director will:

• Drive Financial Sustainability: Capitalize on our current financial stability to lead fundraising, grant writing, and donor relations. A top priority is advancing our long-term  vision to build an endowment of committed gifts that supports a minimum of one-half of our total annual expenditures.
• Expand Educational Programming: Increase and expand our current youth initiatives to create a robust, modernized educational outreach program for the region.
• Forge Higher-Education Partnerships: Actively cultivate and manage strategic partnerships with Richmond’s vibrant higher education and non-profit community, including Bethany Theological Seminary, Indiana University East, Earlham College, and Ivy Tech Community College.
• Lead Operations and Management: Manage the day-to-day business operations, oversee marketing and ticket-sales strategies, and develop the annual budget to maintain our strong balance sheet – including the office staff and volunteers.
• Coordinate Concert Logistics: Handle the administrative details of a 7-concert subscription series (masterworks and family concerts) at the Civic Hall Performing Arts Center, working alongside the Music Director and stage production personnel.

Who We’re Looking For

The ideal candidate is a pragmatic manager and community builder who understands the business of the arts and values steady, sustainable growth. You should be equally comfortable navigating a balance sheet, presenting to a university dean, and discussing orchestral programming.

A preferred candidate will have:

• A strong background in professional management, operations, or business administration.
• Demonstrated familiarity with orchestral operations, classical music, and/or performing arts management.
• A grounded leadership style that prioritizes operational stability, consistent execution, and diplomacy.
• A proven track record in fundraising, major gift cultivation, or high-level sales and relationship management.
• Exceptional networking skills, with a specific ability to build bridges between the RSO, local school districts, and surrounding colleges/universities.
• Financial acumen, including experience managing budgets, financial forecasting, and driving revenue growth.
• Strong, persuasive written and verbal communication skills.
• A desire to immerse yourself in the local Richmond community – we are looking for an “in office” individual (roughly 3 days a week).  Learn more about Richmond: https://homeinwayne.com/. 
• A Bachelor’s degree in arts administration, business, non-profit management, or equivalent professional experience.

Why This Opportunity?

This is a rare opportunity to lead an orchestra that is healthy, growing, and financially sound. You will not be tasked with saving a struggling organization; rather, you will be trusted to steward a historic, 70-year-old institution. For a manager who values stability and collaborative success, this role offers the chance to maintain our current momentum while thoughtfully expanding our educational and regional footprint.

Specifically, the RSO is offering:

• A W2 salary of between $50,000 to $60,000 annual;
• Relocation assistance may be available through MakeMyMove (more information: https://www.makemymove.com/moving-living/richmond-in/) ; and
• Annual conference attendance at the League of American Orchestras.

Application Procedure:

Submit a letter of interest and a résumé highlighting your management and musical experience with the subject line “Executive Director Search – [Your Last Name]” to [ED_Search@richmondsymphony.org].

Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.