The Art Newspaper

Executive Director

International Center of Photography

By The Art Newspaper. [UNDEFINED]

Our Client

Based in New York City, the International Center of Photography (ICP) is dedicated to advancing the understanding of and appreciation for the medium of photography through a compelling mix of public programs, educational course offerings, and exhibitions that engage the general public, its members, a wide range of students, and professionals in the field of photography. ICP’s goal is to create and provide a place where anyone can explore all of photography’s meanings—public and personal, historical and current—through discussion, contemplation, and instruction, in order to sustain a global community of people committed to the understanding of photography’s function in and impact on the world.





Since its founding, ICP has presented more than 3,000 photographers and over 500 exhibitions. Through its exhibition program, ICP has firmly established its reputation as a leader in exploring the historical and contemporary roles of photography in a broad range of cultures. ICP’s library is devoted to the providing the broadest view possible of the practice of photography. With its substantial collection of 22,000 volumes, 250 serial titles, and 2,500 vertical files, it is broadly considered New York’s most accessible photography library. Serving more than 5,000 students each year from over 45 countries, ICP offers a wide variety of degree-granting and non-degree-granting courses, including a joint MFA program with Bard University.





This is an exciting and challenging time in ICP’s 37-year history, as it prepares to move into the next phase of its evolution. Currently housed in two separate, yet proximate, leased buildings in midtown Manhattan, ICP hopes to become an integrated hub for the exploration, understanding, and practice of photography, bringing together a substantial new research center, an expanded exhibitions program, enriched educational offerings, a broadened series of publications, and attractive public programming into a truly cohesive, engaging experience, and converting students and visitors into ongoing members of the ICP community. ICP has a current operating budget of $18.8 million, an endowment of $10.5 million, and other investments of $17.5 million, with 85 full-time and 50 part-time staff, over 500 adjunct faculty.





The Role





The Executive Director, ICP’s Chief Executive Officer, reports to the Board of Trustees and must be an inspiring, bold, and collaborative leader with a passion for photography and digital media. The Director oversees all professional staff and programs, and provides strategic leadership, management expertise, and financial oversight for ICP. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Director is supported by and manages directly the Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Collections/Chief Curator; Deputy Director for Programs/Director of Education; Deputy Director for Finance and Administration; and Deputy Director for External Affairs.





The Director will work in partnership with this senior management team and the Board to develop a strategic approach to achieving ICP’s goals. Along with the Board and senior staff, the Director will serve as the organization’s key fundraiser, and secure the resources needed to support both ongoing operations and new initiatives—in particular, charting a course to a new, permanent home for the institution. The Director will also serve as ICP’s primary advocate in the international cultural network, as well as in the arts community of New York City. He or she will raise ICP’s profile by articulating its vision more strongly, evolving and integrating academic and exhibition programming, and building partnerships with other relevant global institutions.





Candidate Profile





The Director of ICP will evince decisive leadership, intellectual curiosity, and a dedication to learning, along with a passion for the arts and, in particular, photography. He or she will have significant and proven strategic leadership and management experience in a multi-faceted for-profit or nonprofit organization with multiple internal and external constituencies. He or she will be digitally conversant, with considerable savvy operating in this realm.





This person will have demonstrated success developing a compelling strategy for an organization, building the financial and ideological support for its implementation, and skillfully balancing and aligning the needs of multiple interests. He or she will have earned a reputation for effectiveness in partnering with a Board or a senior management team, and will be able to guide and lead through others. He or she will be able to engage the commitment of others to deliver on strategic initiatives, and will have demonstrated experience as a successful resource-builder for a significant venture.





The successful candidate will be a vibrant leader and manager, with the ability to motivate, inspire, and unite staff around a shared vision. He or she will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, able to cultivate relationships with, and build bridges across, diverse constituencies. In particular, he or she must have experience managing significant institutional transition, and will be energized by advancing the institution’s stature and recognition. In order to support ICP’s evolution and safeguard the institution’s health, this person must bring a developed understanding of organizational dynamics and processes.





Ideally, the Director will exhibit a thorough knowledge of and passion for photography and the history of the medium, as well as demonstrate an understanding of the future of the industry and the impact of digitization on the medium. In addition, this person will have a record of well-respected intellectual achievement in his or her field, with demonstrable success conceptualizing, designing, and implementing attractive constituent experiences.





While a Bachelor’s degree is required, a graduate-level degree is preferred. While the successful candidate is likely to have studied art history or arts management, ICP is open to any area of education which, when combined with relevant work experience, has prepared the candidate for this important leadership role.





To apply please send a cover letter and resume to directoricp@russellreynolds.com