Managing Director

About ISH  

For 26 years, ISH has been bringing the street to the theater. Our performances center on hip-hop dance, often combined with urban sports but also with traditional art forms such as ballet, theater, and classical music. In 2025, founder and artistic director Marco Gerris received the prestigious Johannes Vermeer Prize for his groundbreaking work and his ability to reach a large and diverse audience of new generations of dance enthusiasts.  

ISH has four pillars: ISH Dance, ISH Talent, ISH Community, and ISH Academy, which together generate a wide range of activities. Marco Gerris’s main-venue productions form the core of ISH, often realized in collaboration with external partners such as the Dutch National Ballet, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Jakop Ahlbom Company, Meervaart, DeLaMar, and Carré. In addition to the 75–100 performances per year within ISH Dance, we support approximately 10 new and mid-career creators annually through ISH Talent, host about 10 different community events per year through ISH Community, and offer more than 300 classes and workshops per year to children, youth, and adults through the ISH Academy. ISH attracts over 40,000 attendees to performances and nearly 10,000 participants in programs each year. 

ISH receives multi-year funding through 2028 from the Performing Arts Fund, the Cultural Participation Fund, the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, and the ELJA Foundation. Our offices and studios are currently temporarily housed in the Talentenhuis in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, but in 2027 we will move back to the renovated Podium Lely and Broedplaats Lely locations next to Lelylaan Station in Nieuw-West. In 2031/2032, ISH will also receive a studio in the Nieuwe Meervaart.  

About the organization 

The Executive Director and the Artistic Director together form the management team of ISH. The Executive Director is responsible for day-to-day management, while the Artistic Director is responsible for the artistic vision and the organization’s creative direction. 

The organization also consists of three teams: production, marketing, and programming (Academy/Talent/Community). The team leaders, together with the executive board, form the management team. Each team has a core staff of three employees. In addition, there is an office manager who is responsible for all administrative processes. Accounting and ticket sales are outsourced to external organizations.  

The Executive Director reports to the Supervisory Board, which oversees the management’s strategy and policies, the execution of management duties, and the general course of business within the foundation. The board meets four times a year, and in addition, the members of the Supervisory Board serve as advisors to the Executive Director in their respective areas of expertise.   

Key policy priorities for the coming years are: 

• Give ISH a more prominent role in the national cultural infrastructure; 
• Develop Podium Lely into an urban hub for hip-hop dance; 
• Implementing objectives related to diversity and inclusion, sustainability, and digital transformation; 
• Audience and participant groups are growing in terms of composition and reach.  

Duties and Responsibilities 

• As Executive Director, you will have overall responsibility for strategy, human resources, finance, and all of ISH’s activities. You will implement the 2025–2028 strategic plan and, together with the Artistic Director and the Management Team, shape the strategic priorities starting in 2029;  
• You enthusiastically lead the team leaders and are actively involved in the broader organization and the ISH community; 
• You maintain contact with government agencies, foundations, and partners, and you passionately promote ISH’s mission; 
• You will monitor all financial and legal risks arising from the organization’s activities and ensure that ISH’s financial objectives and performance targets are met. 

What do you bring to the table? 

• You share the company’s artistic vision and can relate to the culture from which ISH stems; 
• You have extensive experience in finance and operations within a (cultural) organization, and you have a proven track record of leading a team, department, or organization of a similar size; 
• You have experience maintaining relationships with government agencies, foundations, and partner organizations, and have a relevant network in this area; 
• You are familiar with the Cultural Governance Code, the Fair Practice Code, and the Diversity & Inclusion Code, and you have a clear vision for how to implement and ensure compliance with these codes within the organization; 
• You have sufficient knowledge of production, marketing, and programming to serve as a valuable sounding board for the artistic director, team leaders, and office manager, and to take final responsibility for difficult decisions;  
• You possess a combination of substantive vision, strategic insight, operational leadership, and a pragmatic mindset. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, can quickly switch between different types of tasks, and have no trouble making decisions and motivating others; 
• You are empathetic and have a coaching leadership style, in which people are given the confidence to work independently and feel safe asking for help when needed; 
• You have a unifying personality and are able to inspire and motivate people. You are aware of the many different backgrounds and perspectives in our society and take pleasure in leading an inclusive organization where diversity plays a central role. 

We offer 

An inspiring role in a dynamic, thriving organization at the intersection of the performing arts, street culture, and youth culture. The position of Executive Director is compensated according to Scale XII of the Collective Labor Agreement for Theater and Dance (€6,155 – €8,702). We also offer attractive benefits, including participation in the PFZW pension plan, 27 vacation days, 12 compensatory time-off days, an 8% vacation allowance, and travel expense reimbursement for employees living outside Amsterdam. We also provide opportunities for training and coaching programs, and there is the option to work from home one day a week, depending on the organization’s needs. 

Comment 

Interested? Please send a cover letter and resume to vacatures@ishdancecollective.com by March 12, 2026.

Do you have any questions about the job opening? You can contact Anne Martine de Jong, Chair of the Supervisory Board, at voorzitter@ishdancecollective.com.

This job opening is intended for candidates; therefore, sales inquiries are not welcome.