Executive Director
Apply by: 10 July, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
About Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery
The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery (KWAG) is the leading public art museum serving Waterloo Region. With a mission of connecting people and ideas through art, this nationally recognized and award-winning art gallery is a vibrant centre of artistic and social activity, providing audiences with the highest calibre of visual art exhibitions and maintaining standards consistent with leading public art museums. With a focus on contemporary art, the Gallery stewards a permanent collection of over 4000 objects and delivers art education and community-focused programming for audiences across our region and beyond. As KWAG enters its next chapter, we are seeking an Executive Director who can build on a period of strong organizational renewal and lead the Gallery into a bold, community-rooted future.
The Gallery is located in a region recognized for its manufacturing and insurance industries, cutting-edge technology sector, and culture of innovation. The area's intellectual and practical knowledge base is shaped significantly by two universities — Wilfrid Laurier and the University of Waterloo — and Conestoga College. Waterloo Region is also situated within the Haldimand Tract, in close proximity to Six Nations, and is home to a richly diverse population: it is the fourth most popular destination for immigrants in Canada outside the GTA. This diversity continues to shape the region's growth, with residents contributing to an evolving demographic landscape in terms of age, language, and cultural composition. Waterloo Region currently has a population of over 700,000 and is projected to reach one million by 2050.
Position Statement
The Executive Director (ED) is the chief executive of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, accountable to the Board of Directors for the artistic vision, strategic leadership, operational management, financial sustainability, and community presence of the organization. The ED sets and stewards a unified vision across all departments (Curatorial, Programs, Development, Marketing and Communications, and Finance and Administration), ensuring the Gallery fulfills its mission, cares for its collection, and serves the diverse communities of Waterloo Region.
Reports to: The Board of Directors, through the Chair
Location: Kitchener, Ontario. KWAG strongly prefers a candidate who will live in, or relocate to, Waterloo Region. Presence in the community is central to this role.
Direct reports: Development Officer, Manager, Marketing and Communications, Curator, Exhibitions and Programs, Director, Finance and Administration
Projected start date: 2 January, 2027. This position is vacant as of 31 December, 2026.
Strategic Priorities and Key Responsibilities
KWAG's strategic plan is organized around six interconnected priorities. The Executive Director defines and leads the Gallery's progress in each area, working in close partnership with the Board, staff, members, artists, and the broader community.
1. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Reconciliation
• Build trusted relationships with community partners and cultural workers, and ensure KWAG remains a welcoming, accessible space for all.
• Embed EDI principles in governance, HR practices, vendor and partnership decisions, and Board recruitment.
• Demonstrate a deep, lived commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation, and an understanding of how these priorities apply to contemporary art institutions and public art museums.
2. Artistic Leadership
• Bring experience from comparable public art museums or galleries, and a strong understanding of curatorial practice, art history, museum ethics, codes of conduct, and the care and stewardship of collections.
• Articulate a coherent institutional vision in grant applications, public communications, and partnerships — the kind of vision juries, funders, and peers will recognize.
• Engage as a respected peer with directors and curators in the regional, provincial, and national art sectors (including CAMDO and similar networks).
3. Engaging Communities
• Champion KWAG as a vital public art museum, with a demonstrated commitment to art education and community-focused programming.
• Develop and execute a clear communication strategy that increases the Gallery's profile across Waterloo Region and connects new audiences to its programs.
• Grow audiences in size, diversity, and frequency of engagement, and serve as a visible, accessible advocate for KWAG in the community.
• Build relationships with municipal, regional, provincial, and federal stakeholders, and represent KWAG on panels, committees, and in the media in concert with the Board.
4. Our People
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of approximately 10 full-time staff, fostering a positive, healthy, safe, and inclusive work environment.
• Manage staffing requirements, recruitment, retention, performance management, and succession planning, including timely orientation and ongoing professional development.
• Lead through change with care and clarity, supporting staff through evolving priorities and external pressures.
• Maintain current HR policies and practices, and uphold an organizational culture grounded in respect, collaboration, and accountability.
5. Financial Sustainability
• Lead fundraising and development, playing an active, visible role in cultivating donors, securing major gifts, building corporate sponsorships, and meaningfully growing membership.
• Build and steward relationships with current and prospective individual donors, foundations, corporate sponsors, and government and arms-length funders.
• Oversee the preparation of grant applications and grant reporting, ensuring that funded work demonstrates clear institutional vision and impact.
• Guide staff and the Finance Committee through the preparation, monitoring, and reporting of a comprehensive annual budget, and steward the Gallery toward long-term financial sustainability.
• Ensure sound bookkeeping, accounting, and internal controls; administer funds within the authority delegated by the Board.
6. Our Places
• Bring ambition for the future of KWAG's physical presence and an appetite to help shape the Gallery's facilities for the long term.
• Ideally, contribute experience with capital projects — renovations, extensions, new builds, or significant facility planning — including the partnerships, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement they require.
• Identify and evaluate facility-related risks and opportunities, ensuring compliance with health, safety, accessibility, privacy, and regulatory requirements.
Qualifications and Experience
We are looking for candidates who bring most of the following. If you meet some — but not all — of these and feel this role is a strong fit for you, we encourage you to apply.
Required
• A minimum of 5 years of senior management experience in an arts, cultural, or comparable mission-driven institution.
• In-depth knowledge of the visual arts sector and best practices for art gallery or museum management, including curatorial and educational programming, collection care, museum ethics, and codes of conduct.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation, and a clear understanding of how these priorities shape contemporary art institutions.
• Exceptional communication skills (interpersonal, written, public-speaking, and strategic) with a track record of raising an organization's profile.
• A demonstrated track record in fundraising and donor development, including cultivating major gifts and growing membership or audience revenue.
• Strong financial literacy, including the ability to read and interpret financial statements, oversee budgets, and steward an organization's long-term financial health.
• Proven leadership in team building, staff development, facilitation, conflict resolution, and change management.
Ideally
• A Master's degree in visual arts, art history, arts administration, museum studies, or a related field — or an equivalent combination of education and senior-level experience.
• Experience working with a Board of Directors in a not-for-profit or charitable context.
• Familiarity with the Canadian public art museum landscape and national networks (e.g., CAMDO, CMA, Galeries Ontario).
• Experience with capital projects, facility renovations, or building expansions.
• Proposal leadership experience, with an ability to lead a team to identify, strategically prepare, acquire and report on ambitious public grants and other funding opportunities.
• A clear sense of how you would integrate into the Waterloo Region community, and what support you would seek from the Board in your first 100 days.
• Residence in, or willingness to relocate to, Waterloo Region.
Compensation and Benefits
This is a full-time position with an estimated base salary in the range of $125,000 to $140,000. A comprehensive health benefits package that includes health, drug, and dental coverage is also provided.
Application Process
Stage 1 — Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
Interested candidates are invited to submit a cover letter and CV. Please use your cover letter to address how your experience and approach align with the key priorities outlined above, including:
• Your artistic and institutional vision for a regional public art museum.
• Your approach to EDI and reconciliation in a contemporary art context.
• Your communications strategy and approach to raising the Gallery’s public profile.
• Your fundraising and development track record.
• How you would approach your first 100 days at KWAG, including community integration.
Stage 2 — Interview
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview with the Search Committee. Candidates under consideration may also be invited to meet with staff and Board members at the Gallery. More details about this stage of the process will be shared with shortlisted candidates.
Search Committee
The Search Committee is an arm's-length body that reviews applications, conducts interviews, and recommends finalists to the Board for decision. It includes Board members, a Board/Artist representative, a peer Executive Director in the field, and a long-standing KWAG supporter.
How to Apply
Please submit a cover letter and CV as a single PDF to EDhiring@kwag.on.ca by 10 July, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.
KWAG is committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and members of other equity-deserving groups. Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery is an accessible venue that has been recognized with Gold Certification from the Rick Hansen Foundation. Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process — please let us know how we can support your full participation.
Note: AI will not be used to screen, assess or select applicants for this position.
