Director of Arts Education & Partnerships

The Institute of Music for Children (IMC) seeks an experienced arts education professional ready to take on a broad leadership role spanning arts learning, teaching-artist development, community partnerships, and program growth.

This is an opportunity for someone who knows arts education from the inside and is ready to grow into a senior leadership role. The strongest candidate will bring enough experience to lead with confidence, while remaining curious, entrepreneurial, and excited to build new skills. We are less interested in finding someone who has already done every part of this job than in finding a thoughtful, motivated leader with a strong foundation in arts education and the capacity to grow.

The Director of Arts Education & Partnerships reports to the Executive Director and works closely with IMC's programming team. The Director will help strengthen the quality of teaching and learning across IMC programs while building school and community partnerships that expand the organization's reach and earned revenue.

About the Institute of Music for Children

Located in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the Institute of Music for Children engages children and youth in artistic expression and the creative process. IMC serves more than 1,500 young people annually through programs in music, dance, theater, visual arts, media arts, and youth development, offering more than 30 classical and culturally relevant art forms.

IMC is a BIPOC-led, growing organization that values teamwork, community, creativity, and personal and professional development. Its programs combine professional arts instruction, mentorship, family engagement, and youth development to help young people build creativity, confidence, leadership, and belonging.

It is an exciting period of growth for the Institute. IMC owns a three-acre campus in Elizabeth and is implementing a multi-phase Master Campus Plan that includes significant facilities development and expanded community programming.

The Position

Arts education and instructional quality. The Director will help ensure that IMC programs offer excellent, accessible, culturally responsive learning experiences. They will work with teaching artists and program staff to strengthen curriculum, support instructional practice, and create consistency across programs and sites.

Teaching-artist leadership and development. The Director will recruit, support, coach, and develop IMC's teaching artists. The successful candidate should understand the opportunities and challenges of teaching the arts to children and young people. Prior experience as a teaching artist is strongly preferred, although candidates with substantial experience leading and supporting arts educators will also be considered.

Partnerships and program growth. The Director will cultivate relationships with schools, districts, municipalities, colleges and universities, cultural organizations, and other community partners. A major priority will be expanding IMC's fee-for-service programs. The ideal candidate does not need to arrive as an experienced salesperson, but should be comfortable building relationships, understanding partner needs, developing programs and proposals, and turning good ideas into sustainable partnerships.

Key Responsibilities

Arts Education & Program Quality

• Work with program staff and teaching artists to strengthen curriculum and instructional practice across artistic disciplines.
• Support the development of curriculum frameworks, lesson-planning tools, instructional resources, and adaptable teaching strategies.
• Promote inclusive teaching practices that help teaching artists effectively engage neurodiverse young people and students with a wide range of learning, behavioral, and social-emotional needs.
• Develop and use practical assessment tools to support program improvement.
• Help ensure consistency, accessibility, and high instructional standards across IMC programs and locations.

Teaching Artist Recruitment & Development

• Recruit, interview, onboard, and support a diverse roster of skilled teaching artists.
• Develop orientation, mentorship, coaching, and professional-development opportunities for teaching artists.
• Facilitate or coordinate training in areas including classroom management, youth development, arts integration, social-emotional learning, inclusive instruction, and culturally responsive teaching.
• Observe programs and provide constructive feedback and coaching to teaching artists.
• Help develop pathways for emerging educators and artists to grow within IMC.
• Provide leadership and supervision for teaching staff and program assistants, with the potential for additional direct reports as the programming team grows.

Partnerships & Program Growth

• Build and maintain relationships with schools, school districts, municipalities, housing authorities, colleges and universities, cultural institutions, and community organizations.
• Grow IMC's fee-for-service school and community-based arts programs.
• Develop a pipeline of prospective partners and identify opportunities for new programs, renewals, and long-term collaborations.
• Meet with prospective partners to understand their needs and develop appropriate arts-education programs.
• Prepare program proposals, scopes of work, and budgets.
• Serve as a key relationship manager for partner schools and organizations.
• Monitor implementation and partner satisfaction and identify opportunities to deepen successful partnerships.

Organizational Leadership & Innovation

• Work closely with the Executive Director and programming team on organizational planning and program strategy.
• Identify, pilot, and evaluate new programs and partnership models that advance IMC's mission and financial sustainability.
• Stay informed about promising practices in arts education, youth development, inclusive learning, and community-based education.
• Contribute program information, outcomes, and data to grant proposals and reports.
• Represent IMC at community meetings, conferences, networking events, and other external opportunities.

What We're Looking For

We expect the strongest candidates to bring many - but not necessarily all - of the following:

• Approximately five or more years of progressively responsible experience in arts education, educational programming, youth development, community arts, or a related field.
• Meaningful experience as a teaching artist or arts educator, or substantial experience working closely with and supporting teaching artists.
• Experience developing, managing, or growing school, community-based, after-school, residency, or other arts-education programs.
• The ability to build strong relationships with educators, artists, institutional partners, families, and community members.
• Experience coaching, mentoring, supervising, or developing educators, teaching artists, or program staff.
• Understanding of effective curriculum development and instructional practice.
• Interest in growing partnerships and earned-revenue programs, even if business development has not previously been a primary responsibility.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational and project-management skills and the ability to balance long-term strategy with hands-on implementation.
• Experience creating inclusive learning environments for young people with different abilities, learning styles, and needs.
• A bachelor's degree in arts education, education, arts administration, fine arts, youth development, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of professional experience and education.

Above all, we are looking for someone who understands arts education, believes deeply in the potential of young people, and is ready to take on a broader leadership role. The right person will be strategic without being removed from the day-to-day work, comfortable building relationships inside and outside the organization, and eager to help IMC grow.

Position Details

Reports to: Executive Director

Status: Full-time, exempt

Location: Elizabeth, New Jersey

Work arrangement: Primarily in person, with flexibility for up to one remote workday per week

IMC's programs operate outside a conventional 9-to-5 schedule. September through May, regular Saturday availability is important, and weekday responsibilities may extend into the evening. Special events, performances, fundraising events, and community activities also require occasional evening and weekend work.

During IMC's six-week summer camp, programming staff work an intensive Monday-Friday schedule. Following summer camp, IMC typically closes for approximately two weeks in late August.

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a fingerprint-based background check.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Institute of Music for Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that a diverse and inclusive team directly supports our mission. We are committed to building a team that represents diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We encourage members of underrepresented groups to apply.

To best serve and support our diverse community, we are committed to building an inclusive workforce. We welcome and encourage applications from all qualified candidates, including members of underrepresented groups.

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The Institute of Music for Children provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Benefits include:

• Health and dental insurance
• Retirement plan with employer matching of up to 3% of annual salary after one year of employment
• 10 days of paid time off, inclusive of sick time
• Approximately 15 organizational holidays and holiday-related closure days, including a year-end office closure
• Professional development opportunities, including conferences and training
• Free tuition for staff children participating in IMC group classes