Chief Operating Officer

13 Sep Chief Operating Officer

Who We Are 

Little Island is a beautiful, welcoming, and unique public park and public art space located in Hudson River Park at 13th/14th St. With its one-of-a-kind design and dynamic offerings and experiences, Little Island invites all New Yorkers to experience a public space that is designed to ignite imagination, foster spontaneity and play, and support camaraderie and connection. Little Island relies on its dedicated staff to deliver this experience and cultivate a public space that is welcoming for all to enjoy.   

Little Island is an initiative of the Diller-von Furstenberg Diller Family Foundation (DVFFF) and is part of Hudson River Park.  The DVFFF’s considerable philanthropic history extends to several other New York City parks and arts organizations including The High Line, The Statue of Liberty Museum, Signature Theatre, Carnegie Hall Society and the Central Park Conservancy. Little Island is open to the public year-round and offers both educational and artistic programming in three unique performance and gatherings spaces during 4 months of the year. The Little Island team includes approximately 50 year-round employees, which increases in size seasonally to support both programming activity and increased visitor numbers.  

Chief Operating Officer 

Little Island seeks a mission focused, seasoned and process-minded Chief Operating Officer to join the senior leadership team. The COO leads the Administrative Department which includes Finance, Human Resources, and Business Affairs teams, as well as serves as a key liaison with the Foundation, Vice Board Chair, Board Chair and Hudson River Park Trust. This role partners with the Executive Director to deliver budgets, operational plans, and all necessary infrastructure to ensure a stable organization and a positive visitor, artist and staff experience. The COO is responsible for the continual assessment of policies and practices in service to identifying, mitigating, and reporting the organization’s exposure to risk. The COO fosters a sustainable yet performance-based culture, that capitalizes and develops a diverse staff in support of the organizational mission. 

The ideal Chief Operating Officer has an excellent track record of strong fiscal planning and management, a deep understanding of cultural venue and/or and performing arts administration, and a demonstrated knowledge of nonprofit compliance regulation. They must offer a balance of entrepreneurial thinking and strategic planning coupled with rigorous process-oriented skills to support maintaining an organization that is fiscally and operationally sound. This role is full-time, year-round and reports directly to the Executive Director who is a co-executive leader of Little Island, in partnership with the Artistic Director.  

• Salary Range: $185,000 – $200,000/year 
• Job Type: Full-Time, Year-Round 
• Exempt Status: Exempt  
• Schedule Expectations: Weekday office hours; Occasional scheduled evening and weekend hours for the summer season may be required. 

• Projected Start Date: October 15, 2023 
• How to Apply: Please visit our website www.littleisland.org/employment for more information about the role and click the ‘Apply Here’ button to submit your application. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please let us know at jobs@littleisland.org 

• Qualifications:

  What You Bring 

  • 10-15 years’ experience in senior operations roles with management experience, ideally in a non-profit setting 
  • A leadership style that connects with Little Island’s values of trust, hospitality, collaboration, problem-solving, and excellence and a genuine interest and investment to contributing to our culture in support of the values 
  • Exceptional capacity for managing and leading people; a team builder with the capacity to enforce accountability and develop and empower top-notch leaders from all levels of the organization 
  • Results-proven track record of the ability to consistently make good decisions through a combination of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement 
  • A thorough understanding of and personal involvement with systems and methodologies of finance, legal, HR, IT, and office administration  
  • A high level of business acumen including successful financial oversight and the ability to balance the delivery of programs against the realities of a budget 
  • Demonstrated ability to think strategically, anticipating future consequences and trends and incorporate them into organizational planning 
  • Experience successfully managing competing priorities in complex, often fast-paced settings with discernment and a systems-thinking approach, translating priorities and goals into actionable insights and plans 
  • A keen eye for details and proven experience developing, implementing, and maintaining organizational systems and policies 
  • Knowledge of the public spaces and arts industries in NYC 
  • Strong written and persuasive communication skills, with the authenticity to effectively lead, support, and develop staff 
  • Ability to work in U.S. 
• Salary: $185,000 - $200,000 Annually
• How to Apply:

  How to Apply: Please visit our website http://www.littleisland.org/employment for more information about the role and click the ‘Apply Here’ button to submit your application. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please let us know at jobs@littleisland.org 

• Posting Ends On: 08/28/2023
• Job Level: Senior-Level | Full-time
• Institution Type: Arts Organization | Performing Arts
• Department: Operations | Other
• Venue Name: Little Island
• City: New York
• State: NY
• Zip Code: 10014