Chief People Officer, Jacob’s Pillow

Jacob’s Pillow has spent more than 90 years building one of the world’s most distinctive and beloved performing arts institutions, a place where the art form of dance is presented, studied, celebrated, and preserved. Under Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge’s leadership since 2016, the organization has grown significantly. The year‑round staff has grown from 36 to 53 people, the budget has expanded in kind, and the reach of Jacob’s Pillow has extended well beyond its Berkshires home through online programming, international partnerships, and a major new investment in its digital platform through the Bloomberg Digital Accelerator.

The completion of the new Doris Duke Theatre’s construction in 2025 stands as a marker of both institutional confidence and the remarkable generosity of the community that embraces “the Pillow.”

That growth has also created new demands. A team of 50-plus (that grows to 130 staff in the summer with seasonal staff) is a fundamentally different organization than a team of 30, and a year‑round institution is a fundamentally different culture than a summer festival. The Pillow is now closing out its current five‑year strategic plan and preparing for the next one, and the leadership structure is evolving to meet the moment.

Adding a Chief People Officer (CPO) to the senior team is a clear signal that people, their development, their wellbeing, and the culture they share, are a strategic priority and central to how the organization operates.

This is a meaningful distinction. Our Talent, Inclusion, & Culture Director manages the HR function, including policies, compliance, and day‑to‑day operations. The Chief People Officer will shape the environment in which the work happens. Sitting at the senior leadership table, the CPO will bring a people lens to organizational decisions before those decisions are made, and take responsibility for culture as an ongoing, intentional practice.

At an organization navigating the shift from summer festival to year‑round institution, with a largely early‑career staff, that distinction matters enormously.

Jacob’s Pillow seeks a Chief People Officer to serve as a senior leader and trusted partner to Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge and the senior leadership team. The CPO will bring sophisticated operational discipline together with genuine, finely tuned people acumen, guiding all aspects of the employee experience across a workforce that includes full‑time staff, seasonal employees, interns, students, contractors, and visiting artists.

The successful candidate will need to bring exceptional communication skills rooted in empathy and compassion, alongside the resolve to make and enforce difficult decisions. This is a role for a leader who can hold both rigor and care, who builds infrastructure that scales, and who is known for steady, fair, and thoughtful judgment in moments that matter.

The Chief People Officer is a visible, trusted, and relationship‑driven leader, responsible for shaping a people‑centered culture within a highly collaborative and uniquely complex performing arts environment. The CPO partners closely with the Executive and Artistic Director and serves as a peer to the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and Associate Artistic Director, ensuring that the organization’s commitments to its people are reflected in clear policy, sound process, and consistent day‑to‑day practice.

The CPO works closely with department heads to support the workforce throughout the employee lifecycle, with particular attention to the dynamics between full‑time, seasonal, intern, and contracted staff, and the realities of an organization where many employees live on campus during the Festival.

Reports to:

Executive and Artistic Director

Status:
Full‑time, year‑round, exempt

Direct Reports:
Talent, Inclusion & Culture Director, Special Projects Manager;
Office Administrator / Alumni Coordinator, Wellness Consultant

Key Partners:
Leadership Team that includes:
Chief Financial Officer;
Chief Philanthropy Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and Associate Artistic…