Position Specification

In August 2025, the Barnes Foundation became the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage’s new operating partner. In this capacity, the Barnes oversees the Center’s operations, while the Center retains its name, brand, and all grantmaking activities.

The Executive Director of the Pew Center will report directly to the Executive Director and President of the Barnes Foundation and will serve as a key member of the Barnes leadership team. As a leading arts organization with an expansive mission that includes deep expertise in education and community engagement, the Barnes will provide opportunities for innovative, collaborative programming.

In particular, alignment with the Barnes offers increased access to an established community of practicing artists, as well as collaborations within and outside the sector. The partnership also enables the Center to extend its longstanding commitment to convening arts institutions and artists to address shared challenges and provide resources to strengthen the fields of arts and heritage.

For more information on Barnes Foundation, please visit:

To learn more about the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, please visit:

The Role

The Executive Director (ED) holds primary responsibility and accountability for carrying out The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage’s vision and mission as a grantmaker and thought leader. The ED sets the strategic agenda for the Center and partners with its funder, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and its administrator, the Barnes Foundation.

The ED is responsible for the development, evolution, and implementation of organizational strategy. Additionally, the ED creates a strong and sustainable organization by fostering a highly effective leadership team, aligned and productive staff, and positive organizational culture.

Key responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to

• With the Center’s funder, leadership team, the Barnes Foundation and key stakeholders, create, define, establish, and refine the Center’s vision and corresponding strategy ahead.

• Act as the Center’s lead relationship-builder, deepening connections in the Philadelphia community while also viewing and positioning the Center and its work in a global context.

• Leverage the Center’s partnership with the Barnes and other organizations to create unique opportunities that reflect the diversity of Philadelphia’s community and cultural practice.

• Lead the Center’s work in providing the best possible experience to a diversity of grantees, fellows, and community members; ensure an approach of listening, partnership, and elevating the work of others.

• Consider how to best activate the Center’s physical space and make it a welcoming and productive space for grantees and the community more broadly.

• Direct and lead a highly integrated senior staff in creating, executing, monitoring, evaluating and refining the strategies and tactics needed to generate a high level of long-range success for the Center.

• Oversee the Center’s budget and financial reporting; present the Center’s annual renewal proposal to the Pew Charitable Trusts Board.

• Direct, lead the evolution of, and coordinate the evaluation and formulation of all grantmaking strategies, budgets, and Center-wide capacity-building programs.

• Ensure that the Center measures and maximizes the returns on the dollars invested in its strategies and carefully stewards all funds.

• Lead the adoption, implementation and continual refinement of organization-wide systems and infrastructure to sustain maximum efficiency.

Expand the use of shared or “virtual” resources, encouraging an overall spirit of teamwork and collaboration within the Center.

• Develop organizational policies to coordinate functions and operations across the organization; establish responsibilities and procedures for attaining long-range and short-term objectives that engage the organization’s employees at every level.

• In collaboration with The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Barnes Foundation, ensure the development and effective implementation of public relations strategies and policies designed to create an overarching identity and accompanying robust brand for the organization.

• Foster and maintain the Center’s positive image and relationship with the regional, national, and global cultural community, employees, funders, other grantmaking organizations, governmental entities, the media and the general public.

• Work with the Center’s team to enhance the visibility of the Center’s grantees and the Center’s work as a thought leader on issues critical to a diversity of cultural practice.

• Act as lead spokesperson for the Center in all public communications; represents the Center at public functions, as necessary and appropriate.

• Guide the Center’s continual evolution as it works to achieve its ambitious mission and vision.

Candidate Profile

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Strategic and Visionary Leadership

• The ability to articulate an inspiring vision for an organization and set ambitious goals

• Proven experience conceptualizing, developing, and delivering key initiatives, including organization- or division-wide strategies

• An entrepreneurial, creative, and cross-disciplinary approach to developing new ideas that can stretch an organization to even greater heights

• The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions

• Excellent judgment that balances a variety of factors and points of view; resilience and creativity in the face of ambiguity and change Influence and Relationship Building

• An approach of servant leadership; a focus on listening, partnership, and elevating the work of others

• The ability to build relationships with and inspire people from all walks of life and varied constituent groups

• The necessary skills to serve as a public face and ambassador for the Center across a wide array of settings

• A track record of engaging with local community and elevating an organization’s presence globally

• Proven success forging and maintaining mutually productive relationships with peer institutions and partners to further an organization’s impact

• A high degree of emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively

Team Leadership

• A demonstrated ability to retain, empower, recruit, and develop top talent while nurturing a strong organizational culture

• An attitude of self-reflection and awareness; an openness to feedback and orientation towards leading by example

• The ability to delegate effectively and ensure proper allocation of resources to accomplish lofty goals

• An “institution-first” approach, with a focus on promotion of the team, organization, and mission above self

• Proven experience effectively leading a team of relevant scope and scale

Business and Operational Acumen

• The ability to balance strategic risk-taking with fiscal responsibility; an understanding that strategy must be tied to sound financial planning

• The business acumen necessary to allocate resources wisely and ensure efficient operations

• Experience securing resources (financial or other) and ensuring sustainable operations in the short- and long-term

• Willingness to maintain transparency of financial data and ensure clear and regular communication with operating and funding partners Mission-Alignment and Programmatic Fluency

• Fluency in arts and culture; an ability to credibly set strategy for the Center and lead its programming and grantmaking efforts

• An understanding of trends shaping the arts and culture field, the curiosity to engage in conversations around the future of the field

• A commitment to innovation, providing the best possible grantee and community experience, and ensuring that the Center remains relevant and field-leading

• A global orientation balanced by a deep commitment to community; experience expanding an organization’s reach locally, nationally, and/or globally

• Experience in or willingness to learn about grantmaking and the Philadelphia community

Contact

Russell Reynolds Associates has been exclusively retained for this search and prospective candidates are invited to contact Russell Reynolds Associates directly at …@russellreynolds.com. Applicants should include a resume and brief expression of interest.

All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.

Position Specification

In August 2025, the Barnes Foundation became the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage’s new operating partner. In this capacity, the Barnes oversees the Center’s operations, while the Center retains its name, brand, and all grantmaking activities.

The Executive Director of the Pew Center will report directly to the Executive Director and President of the Barnes Foundation and will serve as a key member of the Barnes leadership team. As a leading arts organization with an expansive mission that includes deep expertise in education and community engagement, the Barnes will provide opportunities for innovative, collaborative programming.

In particular, alignment with the Barnes offers increased access to an established community of practicing artists, as well as collaborations within and outside the sector. The partnership also enables the Center to extend its longstanding commitment to convening arts institutions and artists to address shared challenges and provide resources to strengthen the fields of arts and heritage.

For more information on Barnes Foundation, please visit:

To learn more about the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, please visit:

The Role

The Executive Director (ED) holds primary responsibility and accountability for carrying out The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage’s vision and mission as a grantmaker and thought leader. The ED sets the strategic agenda for the Center and partners with its funder, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and its administrator, the Barnes Foundation.

The ED is responsible for the development, evolution, and implementation of organizational strategy. Additionally, the ED creates a strong and sustainable organization by fostering a highly effective leadership team, aligned and productive staff, and positive organizational culture.

Key responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to

• With the Center’s funder, leadership team, the Barnes Foundation and key stakeholders, create, define, establish, and refine the Center’s vision and corresponding strategy ahead.

• Act as the Center’s lead relationship-builder, deepening connections in the Philadelphia community while also viewing and positioning the Center and its work in a global context.

• Leverage the Center’s partnership with the Barnes and other organizations to create unique opportunities that reflect the diversity of Philadelphia’s community and cultural practice.

• Lead the Center’s work in providing the best possible experience to a diversity of grantees, fellows, and community members; ensure an approach of listening, partnership, and elevating the work of others.

• Consider how to best activate the Center’s physical space and make it a welcoming and productive space for grantees and the community more broadly.

• Direct and lead a highly integrated senior staff in creating, executing, monitoring, evaluating and refining the strategies and tactics needed to generate a high level of long-range success for the Center.

• Oversee the Center’s budget and financial reporting; present the Center’s annual renewal proposal to the Pew Charitable Trusts Board.

• Direct, lead the evolution of, and coordinate the evaluation and formulation of all grantmaking strategies, budgets, and Center-wide capacity-building programs.

• Ensure that the Center measures and maximizes the returns on the dollars invested in its strategies and carefully stewards all funds.

• Lead the adoption, implementation and continual refinement of organization-wide systems and infrastructure to sustain maximum efficiency.

Expand the use of shared or “virtual” resources, encouraging an overall spirit of teamwork and collaboration within the Center.

• Develop organizational policies to coordinate functions and operations across the organization; establish responsibilities and procedures for attaining long-range and short-term objectives that engage the organization’s employees at every level.

• In collaboration with The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Barnes Foundation, ensure the development and effective implementation of public relations strategies and policies designed to create an overarching identity and accompanying robust brand for the organization.

• Foster and maintain the Center’s positive image and relationship with the regional, national, and global cultural community, employees, funders, other grantmaking organizations, governmental entities, the media and the general public.

• Work with the Center’s team to enhance the visibility of the Center’s grantees and the Center’s work as a thought leader on issues critical to a diversity of cultural practice.

• Act as lead spokesperson for the Center in all public communications; represents the Center at public functions, as necessary and appropriate.

• Guide the Center’s continual evolution as it works to achieve its ambitious mission and vision.

Candidate Profile

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Strategic and Visionary Leadership

• The ability to articulate an inspiring vision for an organization and set ambitious goals

• Proven experience conceptualizing, developing, and delivering key initiatives, including organization- or division-wide strategies

• An entrepreneurial, creative, and cross-disciplinary approach to developing new ideas that can stretch an organization to even greater heights

• The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions

• Excellent judgment that balances a variety of factors and points of view; resilience and creativity in the face of ambiguity and change Influence and Relationship Building

• An approach of servant leadership; a focus on listening, partnership, and elevating the work of others

• The ability to build relationships with and inspire people from all walks of life and varied constituent groups

• The necessary skills to serve as a public face and ambassador for the Center across a wide array of settings

• A track record of engaging with local community and elevating an organization’s presence globally

• Proven success forging and maintaining mutually productive relationships with peer institutions and partners to further an organization’s impact

• A high degree of emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively

Team Leadership

• A demonstrated ability to retain, empower, recruit, and develop top talent while nurturing a strong organizational culture

• An attitude of self-reflection and awareness; an openness to feedback and orientation towards leading by example

• The ability to delegate effectively and ensure proper allocation of resources to accomplish lofty goals

• An “institution-first” approach, with a focus on promotion of the team, organization, and mission above self

• Proven experience effectively leading a team of relevant scope and scale

Business and Operational Acumen

• The ability to balance strategic risk-taking with fiscal responsibility; an understanding that strategy must be tied to sound financial planning

• The business acumen necessary to allocate resources wisely and ensure efficient operations

• Experience securing resources (financial or other) and ensuring sustainable operations in the short- and long-term

• Willingness to maintain transparency of financial data and ensure clear and regular communication with operating and funding partners Mission-Alignment and Programmatic Fluency

• Fluency in arts and culture; an ability to credibly set strategy for the Center and lead its programming and grantmaking efforts

• An understanding of trends shaping the arts and culture field, the curiosity to engage in conversations around the future of the field

• A commitment to innovation, providing the best possible grantee and community experience, and ensuring that the Center remains relevant and field-leading

• A global orientation balanced by a deep commitment to community; experience expanding an organization’s reach locally, nationally, and/or globally

• Experience in or willingness to learn about grantmaking and the Philadelphia community

Contact

Russell Reynolds Associates has been exclusively retained for this search and prospective candidates are invited to contact Russell Reynolds Associates directly at …@russellreynolds.com. Applicants should include a resume and brief expression of interest.

All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.

Position Specification

In August 2025, the Barnes Foundation became the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage’s new operating partner. In this capacity, the Barnes oversees the Center’s operations, while the Center retains its name, brand, and all grantmaking activities.

The Executive Director of the Pew Center will report directly to the Executive Director and President of the Barnes Foundation and will serve as a key member of the Barnes leadership team. As a leading arts organization with an expansive mission that includes deep expertise in education and community engagement, the Barnes will provide opportunities for innovative, collaborative programming.

In particular, alignment with the Barnes offers increased access to an established community of practicing artists, as well as collaborations within and outside the sector. The partnership also enables the Center to extend its longstanding commitment to convening arts institutions and artists to address shared challenges and provide resources to strengthen the fields of arts and heritage.

For more information on Barnes Foundation, please visit:

To learn more about the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, please visit:

The Role

The Executive Director (ED) holds primary responsibility and accountability for carrying out The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage’s vision and mission as a grantmaker and thought leader. The ED sets the strategic agenda for the Center and partners with its funder, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and its administrator, the Barnes Foundation.

The ED is responsible for the development, evolution, and implementation of organizational strategy. Additionally, the ED creates a strong and sustainable organization by fostering a highly effective leadership team, aligned and productive staff, and positive organizational culture.

Key responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to

• With the Center’s funder, leadership team, the Barnes Foundation and key stakeholders, create, define, establish, and refine the Center’s vision and corresponding strategy ahead.

• Act as the Center’s lead relationship-builder, deepening connections in the Philadelphia community while also viewing and positioning the Center and its work in a global context.

• Leverage the Center’s partnership with the Barnes and other organizations to create unique opportunities that reflect the diversity of Philadelphia’s community and cultural practice.

• Lead the Center’s work in providing the best possible experience to a diversity of grantees, fellows, and community members; ensure an approach of listening, partnership, and elevating the work of others.

• Consider how to best activate the Center’s physical space and make it a welcoming and productive space for grantees and the community more broadly.

• Direct and lead a highly integrated senior staff in creating, executing, monitoring, evaluating and refining the strategies and tactics needed to generate a high level of long-range success for the Center.

• Oversee the Center’s budget and financial reporting; present the Center’s annual renewal proposal to the Pew Charitable Trusts Board.

• Direct, lead the evolution of, and coordinate the evaluation and formulation of all grantmaking strategies, budgets, and Center-wide capacity-building programs.

• Ensure that the Center measures and maximizes the returns on the dollars invested in its strategies and carefully stewards all funds.

• Lead the adoption, implementation and continual refinement of organization-wide systems and infrastructure to sustain maximum efficiency.

Expand the use of shared or “virtual” resources, encouraging an overall spirit of teamwork and collaboration within the Center.

• Develop organizational policies to coordinate functions and operations across the organization; establish responsibilities and procedures for attaining long-range and short-term objectives that engage the organization’s employees at every level.

• In collaboration with The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Barnes Foundation, ensure the development and effective implementation of public relations strategies and policies designed to create an overarching identity and accompanying robust brand for the organization.

• Foster and maintain the Center’s positive image and relationship with the regional, national, and global cultural community, employees, funders, other grantmaking organizations, governmental entities, the media and the general public.

• Work with the Center’s team to enhance the visibility of the Center’s grantees and the Center’s work as a thought leader on issues critical to a diversity of cultural practice.

• Act as lead spokesperson for the Center in all public communications; represents the Center at public functions, as necessary and appropriate.

• Guide the Center’s continual evolution as it works to achieve its ambitious mission and vision.

Candidate Profile

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Strategic and Visionary Leadership

• The ability to articulate an inspiring vision for an organization and set ambitious goals

• Proven experience conceptualizing, developing, and delivering key initiatives, including organization- or division-wide strategies

• An entrepreneurial, creative, and cross-disciplinary approach to developing new ideas that can stretch an organization to even greater heights

• The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions

• Excellent judgment that balances a variety of factors and points of view; resilience and creativity in the face of ambiguity and change Influence and Relationship Building

• An approach of servant leadership; a focus on listening, partnership, and elevating the work of others

• The ability to build relationships with and inspire people from all walks of life and varied constituent groups

• The necessary skills to serve as a public face and ambassador for the Center across a wide array of settings

• A track record of engaging with local community and elevating an organization’s presence globally

• Proven success forging and maintaining mutually productive relationships with peer institutions and partners to further an organization’s impact

• A high degree of emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively

Team Leadership

• A demonstrated ability to retain, empower, recruit, and develop top talent while nurturing a strong organizational culture

• An attitude of self-reflection and awareness; an openness to feedback and orientation towards leading by example

• The ability to delegate effectively and ensure proper allocation of resources to accomplish lofty goals

• An “institution-first” approach, with a focus on promotion of the team, organization, and mission above self

• Proven experience effectively leading a team of relevant scope and scale

Business and Operational Acumen

• The ability to balance strategic risk-taking with fiscal responsibility; an understanding that strategy must be tied to sound financial planning

• The business acumen necessary to allocate resources wisely and ensure efficient operations

• Experience securing resources (financial or other) and ensuring sustainable operations in the short- and long-term

• Willingness to maintain transparency of financial data and ensure clear and regular communication with operating and funding partners Mission-Alignment and Programmatic Fluency

• Fluency in arts and culture; an ability to credibly set strategy for the Center and lead its programming and grantmaking efforts

• An understanding of trends shaping the arts and culture field, the curiosity to engage in conversations around the future of the field

• A commitment to innovation, providing the best possible grantee and community experience, and ensuring that the Center remains relevant and field-leading

• A global orientation balanced by a deep commitment to community; experience expanding an organization’s reach locally, nationally, and/or globally

• Experience in or willingness to learn about grantmaking and the Philadelphia community

Contact

Russell Reynolds Associates has been exclusively retained for this search and prospective candidates are invited to contact Russell Reynolds Associates directly at …@russellreynolds.com. Applicants should include a resume and brief expression of interest.

All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.