Chief Executive Officer
Creative BC

The Search Committee recognizes that no candidate is likely to meet all of the following criteria in equal measure. Nevertheless, the following qualifications, characteristics, experience, approach and personal qualities are seen to be highly desirable:

Priority Criteria

1. Leadership: An authentic and trusted leader with a demonstrated ability to guide organizations through periods of transition and change. Creates clarity around purpose, priorities, and accountabilities while building organizational capability, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, inclusion, and high performance. Empowers senior leaders to succeed within clearly defined mandates and leads with integrity, transparency, and sound judgement while inspiring confidence among employees, the Board, government partners, and external stakeholders.
    
2. Strategic Thinking: A strategic and forward-looking executive who can navigate complex policy, economic, and industry environments while balancing immediate operational priorities with long-term organizational and sector objectives. Demonstrates the ability to anticipate emerging trends, assess risk, identify opportunities, and position the organization to deliver sustainable impact in a rapidly evolving environment. Demonstrates the ability to translate strategic vision into measurable organizational and sector outcomes.
3. Experience: Has held senior executive leadership roles within complex, multi-stakeholder organizations, ideally spanning the creative, cultural, economic development, public, private, or not-for-profit sectors. Brings experience leading organizations responsible for program delivery, funding administration, organizational transformation, and external representation within environments characterized by public accountability.
    
4. Government & Public Sector Acumen: Possesses a strong understanding of operating successfully within publicly accountable organizations and at the intersection of government, industry, and community. Demonstrates experience navigating policy environments, government accountability frameworks, funding relationships, and Board governance while building trusted partnerships with elected officials, senior public servants, and agency partners.
    
5. Stakeholder Relations: An exceptional relationship builder who establishes credibility with diverse stakeholders, including industry associations, creators, Indigenous communities, government, funding partners, and community organizations. Demonstrates diplomacy, political acuity, and the ability to align diverse interests around shared outcomes and strengthening collaboration across the creative ecosystem. 
    
6. Business & Financial Acumen: Brings strong organizational and financial management capabilities with experience overseeing complex budgets, funding programs, operational performance, governance, and organizational risk. Demonstrates sound business judgement and an ability to ensure operational excellence while maximizing economic and community impact.
    
7. Innovation and Change: Demonstrates the ability to lead organizations through changing market, policy, and technological environments while fostering innovation, continuous improvement, and organizational adaptability.
    
8. Sector Knowledge: Possesses an understanding of the creative economy and the factors influencing creative industries, cultural organizations, and economic development, or has developed comparable expertise within adjacent sectors. Demonstrates the intellectual curiosity and learning agility to effectively represent the interests of the sector provincially, nationally, and internationally.
    
9. Communications: An accomplished communicator with strong executive presence and the ability to represent the organization with confidence before government, industry, media, and international audiences. Communicates with clarity, authenticity, and influence, adapting messaging to diverse stakeholder groups and bringing the credibility to serve as one of British Columbia's leading advocates for the creative economy.
10. Style: Collaborative, approachable, and values-driven, with high emotional intelligence and sound judgement. Builds trust through authenticity, thoughtful decision-making and respectful engagement.  Creates environments in which people feel empowered, accountable, and connected to a shared purpose.  Demonstrates resilience, curiosity, and adaptability while advancing reconciliation, equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion as integral components of organizational leadership.
     
11. Education: Post-secondary education in business, public administration, arts and culture, economic development, public policy, or a related discipline is preferred. An equivalent combination of education and senior executive experience will also be considered.
     
12. Travel: Willingness and ability to travel throughout British Columbia, across Canada, and internationally to support stakeholder engagement, government relations, industry partnerships, and business development opportunities.