About the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ)

Invest in the Imagination

The CALQ is a public corporation mandated by the Québec government to develop and promote arts and literature.

CALQ Clients

Firstly, the CALQ provides direct assistance to artists and non-profit arts organizations in the fields of visual arts, fine crafts, literature, performing arts, film and video, multidisciplinary arts, digital arts, and architectural research, in the form of financial aid such as prizes, and grants.

Secondly, the entire Québec population benefits from outreach programs and measures that raise audience awareness and development.

The CALQ’s support is allocated within the framework of financial assistance programs that it develops, adjusts, and periodically reviews in close collaboration with the artistic community involved in the management of decisions concerning it.

 

Mission & Values

The CALQ’s mandate is in line with the Québec government’s strategic orientations, which place culture at the heart of major societal issues and reiterate the importance of a globally connected province mindful of preserving and promoting its identity.

With a view to equitable, sustainable artistic development, the CALQ supports the creation, experimentation, and production of the arts and literature in all regions of Québec and promotes dissemination in Québec, Canada, and abroad.

Every year, the CALQ receives requests for support from over 1,100 organizations and more than 4,800 artists.

Three core values

The CALQ has been in existence for 30 years. Its three (3) guiding values are:

• Equity
• Excellence
• Integrity

 

Description

Under the authority of the Board of Directors, the President and Managing Director plans, directs, organizes, controls, and evaluates all activities related to the management, orientation, development, and growth of the Board.  The incumbent ensures the overall strategic and operational management of the institution within the framework of its policies and regulations and advises, informs, and supports the Board of Directors in defining orientations and policies, and in making decisions.

The President and Managing Director thus assumes the overall direction and management of the organization within the framework of its by-laws and policies and ensures its smooth operation and public representation.

The incumbent :

• Develops and maintains close relations with all stakeholders involved with the Minister of Culture and Communications, the CALQ, and the cultural scene.
• Liaises with the Minister of Culture and Communications, collaborates regularly on ministerial policy development, and is responsible for implementing ministerial and government policies relating to his or her sector.
• Ensures compliance with the Act respecting the CALQ and the decisions of the Board of Directors and is accountable for reporting to the various authorities.
• Contributes to the concerted realization of government priorities and exercises responsible management with integrity.
• Represents, listens actively to, and supports the cultural community and artists.
• Defines the parameters of the strategic plan, oversees its development, and ensures its implementation.
• Acts as the first point of contact for the CALQ’s strategic planning.
• Conceives the CALQ’s development perspectives in terms of outreach and development of artists, arts organizations, and works in Québec, Canada, and abroad.
• Participates as a member of the Board of Directors and provides the directors with the information they need to make informed decisions; acts as a “transmission belt” by following up on Board decisions with the Minister or various ministerial or government bodies, as well as within the organization.
• Acts as a member of the Board of Directors.
• Oversees consultations with the national and regional artistic communities, considering the orientations to be favored.
• Negotiates the CALQ budget requests with the Minister of Culture and Communications.
• Manages the organization’s internal operations in terms of policies, human, material, financial and information resources. The CLAQ’s total budget is in the order of $180 million.
• With the support of the management team, listens, mobilizes, guides, communicates, and demonstrates a commitment to the internal team.
• Acts as the organization’s official spokesperson and plays a public representation role:
  • Represents the organization at artistic events, public functions, conferences, government missions, and international meetings, giving speeches or making public appearances as required.
  • Acts as spokesperson and speaks on behalf of the organization to the media (interviews, television appearances, etc.).
  • Ensures ongoing relations with professional artists’ associations and national groups.
  • Establishes ongoing liaison with government departments, funding agencies, and private-sector partners whose actions have an impact on the organization ‘s clientele.
  • Represents the Minister of Culture and Communications at their request, at regional, national, and international events.
  • Establishes agreements with ministries or agencies of the government or of a government other than that of Québec, or with international organizations, intending to exercise the CALQ’s responsibilities; maintains close ties with the Canada Council for the Arts, municipal arts councils, and those of other Canadian provinces and other countries.
• Promotes the visibility and awareness of culture among the general public.
• Advocates, defends, and promotes, through opinions and briefs to parliamentary commissions, ministers, and the public, the issues, particularities, competence, and interests of the CALQ.
• Responsible to the community: supports Québec not-for-profit cultural organizations and artists appropriately and equitably, while respecting the areas of activity assigned to it by the Minister of Culture and Communications.

Other management responsibilities (nature, scope, degree of control exercised)

• Participates, as a member of the Management Committee of the Observatoire de la culture et des communications, in the work of the Observatoire and, in this respect, plays a major role in the development of orientations and the monitoring of its activities.
• Ensures the operation of the Observatoire des organismes en difficulté (watch group), which aims to adjust the Board’s approach to organizations in financial difficulty, and to implement support, follow-up, and accountability measures adapted to the organization’s financial or organizational situation.
• Participates in the work of OPSAC (Canadian Public Arts Funders).
• Participates in the work of the various ministerial committees responsible for developing, revising, or evaluating government or ministerial policies on culture. The incumbent plays a major role in these committees since he or she takes positions that guide the committee’s work and influence its results.

 

Required Qualifications

Education

• University degree requiring a minimum of 90 credits (bachelor’s degree).

Any other combination of relevant training and experience may be considered.

Professional Experience

• Minimum ten (10) years of experience in a management position.
• Good knowledge of the Quebec government system, its policies, rules of governance, laws, and regulations.

Skills

• Knowledge of Québec political life, cultural environments, and clientele.
• General knowledge of artistic disciplines and issues.
• Familiarity with accounting, financial analysis, and financing plans.
• Knowledge of the management contexts of NPOs and the entertainment and arts markets.
• Communication and public relations.
• Knowledge of management in a public administration context.
• Knowledge of digital and information technologies.
• Knowledge of the CALQ’s policies, orientations, programs, and services (an asset).
• Knowledge of arts funding structures and the CALQ’s operations (an asset).
• Knowledge of the regulatory and legal framework and government administrative policies applicable to the CALQ (an asset).
• Excellent oral and written French.

 Specific Abilities

• Professional credibility, effective communication, and active listening.
• Genuine and approachable.
• Establish trusting relationships, develop alliances, and build partnerships.
• Influential, unifying, mobilizing, and consensual leadership.
• Global vision, strategic management, and political agility.
• Structured and methodical; able to handle several files simultaneously.
• Negotiation skills.
• Versatility and ability to adapt to different type of stakeholders and a diverse clientele.
• Ability to anticipate and adapt to complex situations.
• Bold and creative developer: on the lookout for innovative, high-performance business models.
• Ability to analyze, synthesize, and make decisions.
• Rigor, transparency, and fairness.
• Tact and tactfulness.
• Integrity and a strong sense of ethics.

 

Among the Challenges of the Positions

• Embody and promote the CALQ’s mission in Québec society.
• Strengthen the capacity for cooperation between the cultural community (target clientele) and government bodies.
• Adapt the CALQ’s service offering to the evolving and emerging needs of the sector.
• Promote and strengthen the CALQ’s position in the cultural ecosystem.
• Support the collaboration and transversality of the CALQ’s management teams.
• Effectively manage external pressures while maintaining neutrality and independence of choice.
• Manage the delicate balance between accountability in the management of public funds, delegation of management to artists, and the articulation of the organization’s orientations with ministerial and government policies.
• Ensure the quality, rigor, and transparency of the organization’s customer-facing activities.

 

Why join the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ)

• Strategic position: mission of the organization, impact, and stimulating challenges of the position.
• The CALQ plays an important role in the social, economic, and cultural development of Québec and internationally.
• Dynamic, agile, and very active organization.
• Values promoted by the organization.
• Competent, collaborative, and highly professional team.

 

Main Contact at TALINKO – Recrutement de Cadres

Elaine Martineau – Executive Director – TALINKO – Executive Search

 

Follow TALINKO on LinkedIn

Only the people selected for an interview will be contacted. We support the principle of employment equity.

TALINKO is a recruitment firm of middle and senior executives also offering support in the recruitment of members of the board of directors or advisory committee. We operate in different business sectors.

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