Vice President of Operations
Listed on 2026-10-20
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Management
Project & Program Management
Position Closing:
November 18, 2026
At Creative West, we build equitable technology, funding, advocacy, and policy systems to generate creative capacity in the West and beyond. We offer direct, practical support to state arts agencies, advocacy groups, artists, culture bearers, and creative organizations, serving a region that stretches from the Arctic Coast to the Desert Southwest, and from the Great Plains to the Pacific Islands. By building systems that change systems, we advance equity, justice, and regenerative action - seeing these values as essential as creativity itself.
Position OverviewThe Creative West organization continues to grow within a virtual workplace. This growth presents tremendous opportunity as well as risk through deepening silos and increasing strain on work systems and culture. As development efforts expand, so too does this work demand more of the CEO’s dedicated attention. As Creative West re-imagines its covenant with State Arts Agencies, collaborates in national initiatives of the USRAO collective, and stewards key relationships with the NEA, NASAA, and AFTA, greater dedicated strategic attention from the CEO is required.
A newly conceptualized position, the Vice President of Operations (VPO) is the primary architect and manager of Creative West’s internal systems. In a 100% virtual environment, the VPO ensures that diverse departments—from grant funding to state arts agencies, advocacy to technology platforms—operate as a cohesive and efficient system. The VPO tracks projects, programs, services, and activities to ensure that all relevant parties receive communications updates and decisions stick, ensuring deadlines are met and budgets are maintained.
The VPO will bridge the gap between high-level vision and execution. They will do this by developing, implementing, and monitoring cross-departmental processes, ensuring that new and existing programs are vetted, funded, and technically supported before launch.
- a) Workflow Design:
Develop and enforce standardized "Inter-Departmental Agreements" (IDAs) – policies to ensure clarity when projects move from Development to Grants or from Tech to Marketing. - b) The "Buy-In" Gatekeeper:
Establish a formal vetting process for new initiatives, ensuring inter-departmental sign-off before resources are committed. - c) Virtual Infrastructure:
Oversee the auditing and optimizing of the Creative West tech stack to ensure seamless communication and project tracking across all departments.
- a) Public Policy & Advocacy:
Partner with Directors to ensure state arts agency programs, and state and federal advocacy efforts are operationally supported and aligned with organizational milestones. - b) Grants & Programs:
Oversee the operational lifecycle of grant cycles, ensuring the Grants, Awards, and Programs (GAP) team has the administrative and technical support needed for high-volume periods. - c) Revenue & Growth:
Work with Development and Finance to ensure fundraising targets are integrated into the operational budget and that Business is positioned as a sustainable revenue or service pillar.
- a) Budget Optimization:
Collaborate with the Finance Director to monitor departmental budgets and ensure operational spending aligns with long-term sustainability. - b) Silo Risk Mitigation:
Mitigate "Silo Risk" by establishing cross-functional syncs that prevent departments from developing programs lacking consensus, stakeholder buy-in, redundant tools, or conflicting schedules. - c) Legal & Compliance:
Identify and manage legal risk, including human resources, to determine when to prioritize or deprioritize specific concerns.
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