Program Manager, In School Programs

About the Organization:  

For over 45 years ArtsConnection (AC) has been one of New York City's most comprehensive arts education organizations with programs in the performing, visual, and media arts. We provide arts education that taps into students' individuality and creativity to help them forge new pathways in their education while building critical thinking, creative problem solving, heightened self-esteem, literacy, and strong communication abilities. Programs are led by over 100 racially, ethnically and culturally diverse teaching artists whose distinctive and varied artistic perspectives inspire, guide and support students. Each year, AC partners with over 80 NYC public schools (grades pre-K through 12) across the five boroughs, providing artist residencies, professional development for teachers and artists, and family arts events under a Liberated Learning Environment Framework, encouraging student autonomy through the artistic process.  Out-of-school-time (OST) Teen Programs link the city’s cultural resources to the developmental and educational needs of teens, while providing space for artistic expression, experiential learning, career and leadership development. Our work, while rooted in New York City, has been an award-winning and sought-after model on a national scale.   

We are intentionally building a path towards equity by:  

• Using the arts as a platform to imagine an alternative future, activating ArtsConnection’s Curricular Framework. 
• Integrating the processes developed by the organization-wide Community Care and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access Committee and understanding that we all have a place in this work 
• Identifying and uplifting the assets that exist within our community of young people, artists, educators and arts leaders/administrators 
• Transforming policies procedures, practices and programs (I.e. shifting our artist and staff hiring processes to be more equitable) 

About the position: 

The Program Manager, In School Programs reports to the Director of In School Programs and works as a key member of the team that facilitates programs at our partner school sites throughout the city. They directly manage the partnership with several school sites, including overseeing programming, facilitating administration, logistics, and scheduling, and supervise, evaluate, and support teaching artists. Beyond school-based programs, they lead special projects in collaboration with the Professional Learning team and other departments.          

 Responsibilities include: 

• Collaborate with school administration to create, plan and implement programs, with a focus on deepening partnerships over time 
• Facilitate planning and reflection meetings among teachers and artists; manage program logistics including residency schedules, student performances, family events, and other related activities 
• Maintain program records, data, and documentation 
• Create budgets, administer bookings, and review payroll for in-school programs 
• Proactively and effectively facilitate communication among artists, school partners, and students/ families, adjust communication approach for various audiences and purposes  
• Supervise and evaluate teaching artists’ work and participate in hiring, training, and assessment of teaching artists; effectively provide feedback to artists to support improvement of their practice 
• Collaboratively plan and lead Professional Development work for teaching artists and classroom teachers 
• Observe and participate in ArtsConnection’s research to investigate the nature of teaching and learning in and through the arts 
• Special Projects, including support with the implementation of programming for specialized grant opportunities, including communicating the parameters of the schools’ partnership with various stakeholders, supporting the successful execution of programs, and the accurate reporting of data and documentation 
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor and/or executive leadership 

 Qualifications: At least 2 years of professional and supervisory experience managing arts programs with schools (multiple art forms and in NYC public schools preferred); Understanding of current issues in K-12 education; ability to manage and complete multiple administrative tasks with attention to detail; excellent verbal, e-mail, and phone communication skills; problem solving skills and ability to work well under pressure; bilingual Spanish a plus; computer proficiency a must. Ability to work in alignment with ArtsConnection’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access Values: https://artsconnection.org/diversity-equity-inclusion-values/; NYC Department of Education Fingerprint Clearance required. 

In-person office attendance is required at a minimum of 2 days per week, Tuesdays are standard in-office days for the In School Programs team. Must travel for in-person engagements at schools throughout NYC as needed.