General Manager — Growth and Operations
Artshine Mobile Art School and Social Enterprise
Location: Kitchener, Ontario — In person
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: $60,000–$65,000 per year, plus performance-based bonus
Schedule: Monday to Friday
Help Lead Artshine’s Next Stage of Growth
Artshine is a growing mobile visual art school and social enterprise delivering art programs, camps, parties, workshops, and creative products to communities across Canada.
Our mission is to create a community where participation in the arts is not limited by income, ability, or life circumstances.
We are hiring an experienced General Manager who can turn that mission into measurable, sustainable growth.
This is not simply an administrative position. We need a confident business leader who can lead a distributed team, strengthen operations, grow revenue, improve profitability, and ensure people follow through on their responsibilities.
Reporting directly to the Founder and CEO, the General Manager will oversee Artshine’s regional, program, and administrative teams while helping develop and execute the company’s growth strategy.
What You Will Be Responsible ForBusiness Growth and Financial Performance
- Develop and execute practical plans to increase revenue across Artshine’s school programs, camps, birthday parties, workshops, subscriptions, and product sales.
- Identify opportunities to expand within existing communities and launch successfully in new markets.
- Establish measurable sales, revenue, enrolment, retention, and profitability targets.
- Review financial results regularly and take action when programs, territories, or departments are underperforming.
- Prepare and manage annual and departmental budgets.
- Monitor cash flow, expenses, margins, contracts, and monthly profit-and-loss results.
- Ensure resources are invested where they will produce the strongest operational, financial, and social-impact results.
- Work with the CEO to turn strategic ideas into clear plans, assigned responsibilities, deadlines, and measurable outcomes.
Team Leadership and Accountability
- Lead, coach, and hold accountable Artshine’s Regional Managers, Program Managers, Coordinators, and office team.
- Establish clear expectations, priorities, performance measures, and reporting processes for each department.
- Conduct effective management meetings and ensure commitments are completed on time.
- Delegate responsibilities appropriately without losing visibility or accountability.
- Develop managers so they can make sound decisions, solve problems, and lead their own teams effectively.
- Address performance concerns and workplace conflicts promptly, fairly, and professionally.
- Build a culture of ownership, communication, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Recognize strong performance while dealing directly with missed expectations.
Operations and Organizational Development
- Oversee the consistent delivery of high-quality Artshine programs across all operating regions.
- Strengthen systems, procedures, documentation, and internal communication as the company grows.
- Identify operational bottlenecks and implement practical solutions.
- Ensure teams have the staffing, training, supplies, technology, and information required to succeed.
- Improve coordination between sales, programming, marketing, customer service, curriculum, and administration.
- Oversee recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training, performance management, and employee records.
- Ensure Artshine’s policies, procedures, service standards, and organizational values are consistently followed.
- Protect the quality of the customer experience while improving efficiency and profitability.
- Provide the CEO with concise, accurate reports on financial performance, enrolment, sales activity, staffing, operational challenges, and growth opportunities.
What Success Will Look Like
The successful General Manager will:
- Build a capable, accountable management team that does not require constant direction from the CEO.
- Produce measurable growth in registrations, school partnerships, camps, parties, workshops, subscriptions, and product sales.
- Improve operational efficiency and financial performance.
- Ensure managers understand their targets and consistently follow through.
- Create systems that allow Artshine to expand without sacrificing program quality or customer service.
- Use data and financial information to make decisions—not instinct alone.
- Balance Artshine’s social mission with the commercial discipline required to sustain and expand it.
Qualifications and Experience
You should bring:
- At least five years of progressive management experience, including direct responsibility for leading managers or multidisciplinary teams.
- Demonstrated experience growing a business, business unit, territory, or revenue-generating program.
- Strong business and financial judgment, including experience with budgets, forecasts, margins, expenses, and profit-and-loss reporting.
- A record of setting measurable goals and holding people accountable for results.
- Strong strategic thinking combined with the willingness to manage day-to-day execution.
- Excellent communication, delegation, coaching, conflict-resolution, and decision-making skills.
- Experience improving systems and processes within a growing or changing organization.
- The ability to prioritize competing demands and make sound decisions without waiting for constant direction.
- Confidence working directly with a founder while providing honest analysis and constructive pushback when necessary.
- A bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and leadership experience.
- Fluency in English.
Experience in education, children’s programming, franchising, multi-location operations, social enterprise, recreation, or a service-based business would be valuable but is not required.
French is considered an asset because many Artshine programs are offered in French.
Who This Role Is Not For
This position will not suit someone who:
- Avoids difficult conversations or struggles to hold others accountable.
- Needs detailed instructions before taking action.
- Focuses only on maintaining existing operations.
- Cannot comfortably interpret financial and performance information.
- Generates ideas but does not drive them through to completion.
- Treats social impact and financial sustainability as competing priorities.
Compensation and Benefits
- Annual salary of $60,000–$65,000.
- Performance-based bonus tied to agreed-upon company growth, profitability, and operational targets.
- Dental care.
- Extended health care.
- The opportunity to help shape the future of a growing Canadian social enterprise.
How to Apply
Please email your résumé and a short application video to [email protected].
We genuinely want to get to know the person behind the résumé. Your video does not need to be overly formal or professionally produced -just be yourself. Let your personality come through and help us understand what it would be like to work with you as a leader.
In a video of approximately three to five minutes, please tell us:
- A little about who you are, what motivates you, and the kind of leader you strive to be.
- About your experience leading a team and holding people accountable while maintaining positive working relationships.
- About a time you helped an organization grow revenue, improve profitability, or strengthen its operations.
- What you would want to learn or examine during your first 90 days at Artshine.
- Why Artshine’s business model and social mission interest you.
We are interested in your relevant experience, but we also want to see your energy, communication style, authenticity, and personality. Artshine is a creative, community-focused organization, so we are looking for someone who brings both strong business leadership and a genuine ability to connect with people.
Please submit your video as an MP4 or MOV file or include a direct link in your email.
Only applicants who submit both a résumé and video will be considered.
Artshine is an equal-opportunity employer. We welcome applications from qualified candidates of all backgrounds and experiences who share our commitment to making meaningful art experiences more accessible.
Join Artshine and help us build a stronger company, reach more communities, and create greater access to the arts.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $60,000.00-$65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Profit sharing
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Kitchener, ON N2G 4P3: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Application question(s):
- Did you send a video of yourself to [email protected] telling a bit about yourself and why you feel you can help Artshine achieve its mission. (MP4/MOV files or a direct link should be included in your email) Note: Only applicants who send this video will be considered.
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree (preferred)
Language:
- English (required)
- French (preferred)
Work Location: In person
