Application deadline: 10 June 2026, at 5 p.m. Guatemala time
Position Summary
La Nueva Fabrica seeks an Assistant Director to serve as an operational and programmatic partner to the Executive Director & Chief Curator and the LNF team. This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for supporting the day-to-day functioning of the organization, strengthening internal coordination, and ensuring alignment across exhibitions, public programs, residencies, curatorial processes, education initiatives, communications, maintenance, fundraising, and administration.
Working in collaboration with the whole LNF team, the Assistant Director will help cultivate, further refine, and implement La Nueva Fabrica’s institutional vision, operational systems, and public-facing programming. The role requires someone equally comfortable with curatorial and programmatic thinking, team coordination, production oversight, administrative management, and operational problem-solving.
The Assistant Director will help ensure that LNF has the structures, information, and support they need to carry out its work effectively. The role is designed to strengthen collaboration across the team. It is a senior leadership position rooted in care, clarity, accountability, and shared institutional purpose.
The role is designed to support institutional coherence, strengthen workflows, and ensure that staff have the structures, information, and coordination they need to do their work well. The Assistant Director will also work alongside the team to cultivate and further refine the vision and operations of La Nueva Fabrica as the organization continues to develop.
Key Responsibilities
Institutional Leadership and Day-to-Day Management
- Oversee the daily operations of La Nueva Fabrica across departments and functions.
- Support and coordinate staff and contractors, ensuring clear roles, responsibilities, deadlines, and reporting lines.
- Lead weekly workflow planning, internal check-ins, and cross-department coordination.
- Build and maintain effective systems for communication, planning, accountability, and decision-making.
- Monitor organizational priorities and help resolve operational bottlenecks before they affect delivery.
- Work closely with the Executive Director & Chief Curator and the team to further refine institutional systems, workflows, and operational practices.
Programming
- Oversee the implementation of all programming, including exhibitions, public programs, residencies, education initiatives, and related institutional activities.
- Work on curatorial development and production in collaboration with the Executive Director & Chief Curator and the programming team.
- Oversee timelines, production schedules, budgets, installation processes, contracts, interpretive materials, and public-facing logistics.
- Ensure strong integration between exhibitions, residencies, education initiatives, and public programs in keeping with La Nueva Fabrica’s institutional model.
- Maintain quality, accessibility, and consistency across all public-facing content and experiences.
- Support implementation planning for all current and new programming initiatives.
Staff and Workflow
- Serve as the primary coordinator for workflow, planning, communication, and follow-through.
- Support staff development through regular feedback, goal setting, and clear systems of responsibility.
- Oversee internal procedures, shared calendars, planning tools, and documentation practices.
- Ensure effective communication between curatorial, production, communications, front-of-house, maintenance, and administrative functions.
- Help cultivate a collaborative and supportive internal culture in which staff understand priorities, responsibilities, and shared institutional goals.
Operations, Facilities, and Visitor Experience
- Oversee the general management of the site, including maintenance, security, visitor flow, hospitality coordination, and day-to-day operational readiness.
- Ensure the physical space is functional, welcoming, safe, and aligned with programmatic needs.
- Coordinate practical requirements connected to exhibitions, events, residencies, institutional visits, and public programs.
- Work with relevant team members and contractors to ensure that facilities and visitor experience support the organization’s mission and public-facing activities.
Communications and Institutional Coordination
- Oversee and implement the execution of communications plans in collaboration with communications staff.
- Ensure alignment between programming calendars, communications rollout, public messaging, and audience development.
- Review timelines and materials related to newsletters, social media, invitations, announcements, and institutional presentations.
- Help ensure internal clarity so that communications are timely, accurate, and strategically sequenced.
- Support the articulation of La Nueva Fábrica’s institutional vision across public-facing materials, internal planning, and partner communications.
Administrative Coordination
- Oversee budgets, project spending, contracts, reporting deadlines, and administrative systems.
- Support the preparation of materials for the board, partners, institutional collaborators, fundraising, and internal planning.
- Ensure strong organizational follow-through across departments and initiatives.
- Work with the Executive Director & Chief Curator to strengthen administrative practices, institutional planning, and operational sustainability.
Candidate Profile
- Bachelor’s degree in art history, curatorial studies, arts administration, nonprofit management, cultural management, humanities, social sciences, or another relevant field required. An advanced degree in a relevant field is welcome but not required.
- At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in arts administration, cultural programming, contemporary art institutions, nonprofit leadership, project management, or a related field.
- Strong background in project management across multiple simultaneous programs.
- Demonstrated ability to support and coordinate staff while strengthening internal workflow.
- Experience overseeing exhibitions, public programs, residencies, and education initiatives.
- Excellent organizational judgment and the ability to move between strategic and practical work.
- Strong curatorial, writing, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Budgeting, reporting, and administrative experience.
- Ability to work calmly and effectively in a growing organization with evolving systems.
- Fluency in Spanish and English required.
- Experience working in Abya Yala or in organizations engaged in both local and international networks is strongly preferred.
- A collaborative work style rooted in clarity, care, accountability, and respect for the expertise of others.
How to Apply
Please send a complete CV, cover letter, two professional references, and a short writing sample (curatorial or development-related) to Ilaria Conti, Executive Director, ilaria@lanuevafabrica.org
Please include “Assistant Director Application” in the subject line. Applications should be submitted as a single PDF.
The deadline to apply is Wednesday, June 10, at 5 p.m. Guatemala time.
Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
La Nueva Fabrica is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from candidates of diverse backgrounds and experiences.
