General Manager

Job Title: General Manager

Employment Status: Part Time Employee - Average of 80 hrs/mo 

Salary: $30,000/year ($60,000 FTE)

To Apply: Email a cover-letter and resume to Cat Ramirez at Cat@obvious-agency.com. We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis, with interviews for select candidates happening in March 2025. We aim to have the new staff member beginning work in mid-April 2025.

About Obvious Agency 

Obvious Agency creates interactive, experiential art that ranges from the personal, to the institutional, to the ridiculous. Blending theatrical and digital arts, we create spaces where participants can co-create their own experiences through first-hand exploration of the worlds we create. Always serious, always silly, we believe that by helping create and define culture, we can create systemic and interpersonal change. In addition to making live performances, we also do knowledge sharing work around workplace democracy with other arts organizations, and consult with other cultural institutions to create programs for audience engagement. 

Obvious Agency is a worker-owned cooperative and an LLC, which means that we do business a little bit differently than other arts organizations. This means we use some words to describe how we organize our work that might need some definition. Our organization is broken into “Circles,” many of which function like departments at other larger organizations, but work with more autonomy and authority over the tasks delegated to them. Our General Circle consists of our worker-owners and is similar to a Board of Directors or Executive Director at other organizations. The General Circle makes decisions collectively - every worker-owner has one vote. Finally, within our organization we provide each other with non-hierarchical supervision and support through a program we call “Stewardship.” 

Job Description 

The General Manager’s role is to provide day-to-day management and high-level direction to keep the internal administration and finances of the cooperative running smoothly. Their responsibilities include pro-active policy and systems development, as well as implementation of day-to-day operations tasks. The General Manager leads Obvious Agency’s Operations Circle, and is supported by an Operations Assistant for operations tasks and People Assistants for HR and policy tasks. In their leadership roles, the General Manager provides strategic oversight and direction to other staff, but relates as a peer rather than a direct supervisor. The General Manager reports to the General Circle and is supervised by a peer-steward. The General Manager is a critical, but non-voting, member of our “General Circle,” which is responsible for maintaining the overall health and vision of the business. 

The General Manager is currently a half-time position, working 20 hours per week with the intention of an increase in hours longer-term. The position is currently funded through the end of 2025, with confidence that position will continue on into 2026. While some remote work is possible, this role does require some in-person meetings in West Philadelphia. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

Operations Circle - Circle Leader 85% 

Business Operations

• Lead the creation, development, and maintenance of the cooperative’s internal infrastructure and administrative systems.
• Develop and maintain operations support policies and documentation. 
• In collaboration with the General Circle, ensure legal compliance of the cooperative.
• Provide project management and/or project management support for major operational or policy projects that involve the entire company.
• Organize and plan bi-annual company retreats, and assist in preparation of materials and agendas for those meetings
• Timely response to administrative emails and Discord messages. 

Financial Management 

• Lead the creation and management of the cooperative’s annual budget in collaboration with the organization’s other circles.
• Create and maintain budget for the company’s general operations
• Create and provide financial documentation to support the Development Circle in grant applications and reporting.
• Serve as primary contact and oversight for accountants and bookkeepers, including the tax filing process.
• Manage and oversee payroll and accounting (and their respective contract hires)
• Approve major purchases.

People Circle Leadership - Benefits, Stewardship, and Employee Well-Being 

The People Circle is a subcircle of the Operations circle and is responsible for employee benefits, wellbeing, and peer supervision through a program we call “Stewardship.” 

• Maintain existing policies concerning employee benefits and develop and document new ones as necessary, in collaboration with all worker-owners. 
• Manage health benefits, act as the primary liaison to our health benefits providers, and ensure communication to benefits participants about important plan information
• Facilitate and manage the annual review process for worker-owners and staff
• Coordinate work of People Assistants to support the Stewardship (Peer Supervision) process.

General Circle - Non-Voting Member  (15% time, 12 hrs/month) 

• Attend all general circle meetings. 
• Provide operations information to inform all essential business and creative activities of the company.

Required Skills / Experience / Qualifications 

• Candidates must live in the state of PA
• 2+ years of operations and/or finance related managerial experience
• Effective planning and strategy development skills that incorporate an openness to try new things, collect and receive feedback, work collaboratively, and adjust plans
• Strong skills in financial and budgetary processes
• Comfort and experience in facilitative leadership
• Keen organization, delegation, and multitasking skills with strong ability to keep yourself and others organized and prioritize a high-volume of competing tasks
• Strong communication and collaboration skills and the ability to provide consistent and thoughtful written and oral communication among diverse team members
• Ability to organize and present complex information to support stakeholders in making informed decisions
• Comfortable balancing flexibility and personal/professional boundaries in an emergent workplace
• Interest and openness to learning new systems, technology, and business practices
• Active participation and engagement in movements for collective liberation/social justice

Additional Qualifications

• Previous experience in arts organizations, democratic workplaces,  and/or cooperatives
• Interest and engagement with the Philadelphia arts community as a supporter, artist, or administrator.
• Knowledge of small business loans, grants, and growth strategies
• Knowledge of human resources and labor law
• Familiarity with the following digital platforms:
• Quickbooks
• Google Suite
• Gusto
• Discord

Compensation

We expect this position to maintain an average of 80 hours/month. While some of this work can be completed remotely, we generally have General Circle meetings in person in West Philadelphia and have shared co-working hours on Mondays from 1-5pm ET. We regularly have events that require in-person attendance. 

All Obvious Agency staff are compensated at the same base annual salary of $60,000. As a half-time position, the General Manager will receive an annual salary of $30,000. Employee will be paid bi-monthly. This is a W-2 position. 

Benefits 

• Paid Wellness Time: Staff have access to a bank of 10 days of wellness time each year. For full time staff, each “day” of wellness time is equivalent to 8 hours, and each “day” of wellness time is prorated for part-time staff based on this (ex. for staff working 20 hours per week, a “day” of wellness time is equivalent to 4 hours).
• Unpaid Wellness Time: While paid time off is limited, staff have access to unlimited unpaid wellness time that follows the same guidelines as paid wellness time.
• Floating Holidays: All staff have access to 5 days of paid time off for Holidays. These Holidays are “floating” meaning they can be used whenever a staff member wants, in order to avoid organizationally valuing any particular holidays more or less than any other.
• Vacation Time: Staff members start with 10 days of vacation time annually, which is prorated based on hours worked weekly and start date. New staff are able to take up to 2 days of Vacation Time within the first 3 months of their employment, and the remainder beginning their fourth month of employment.
• Health Benefits: Obvious Agency strives to offer competitive health benefits. This includes a monthly Health Stipend: Obvious Agency provides a $3,000 per year ($250 monthly) reimbursement allowance for individual employee’s qualifying medical expenses, including health insurance.
• Coworking Space: Obvious Agency rents coworking space at The Fire Works in West Philadelphia which is available to all staff.