Job description

DIRECTOR, AFTER SCHOOL ARTS FOR LEARNING ACADEMIES

About Us

Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) is devoted to enriching the lives and education of Maryland’s youth through educational and culturally diverse arts programs. Through Arts for Learning, professional teaching artists from all disciplines partner with educators, schools, and school districts to provide—on average—over 300,000 hours of learning in, through, and about the arts to more than 185,000 Maryland students annually.

Arts for Learning is a mission-driven organization that values community, innovation, and passion. The staff, board, and teaching artists have a shared commitment to advancing equity in the field of education by working tirelessly to generate opportunities for students to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts.

About the Arts for Learning Academies

The mission of the Arts for Learning Academies is to provide students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend the summer and after school hours learning from the best teachers and teaching artists our state has to offer. Through a dynamic, creative, and supportive environment, students will explore math and literacy in a unique arts-integrated environment that allows them to develop academically, socially, and emotionally; expands their personal creative process; and introduces them to many different art forms taught by professional artists. We offer students an opportunity to imagine, create, and express who they are through the arts and a variety of engaging activities.

Job Description:

Reporting to the Chief of Arts for Learning Academies, the Program Director is responsible for leading one of Arts for Learning’s largest programs—the After School Arts for Learning Academy (ASALA)—which is anticipated to have a budget of roughly $1.3M for FY2023. The ASALA Director will work closely with the Professional Development and Curriculum Director on all aspects of teaching and learning within the program; the Communications Director on all communications, marketing, and design projects related to ASALA; and the Data and Systems Manager on evaluation.

The ideal candidate has experience managing people and teams in a complex or multi-site organizational structure in which they have needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders and support staff through various tasks. Preference will be given to candidates that have strong skills in systems thinking drawn on the knowledge of the impact of racism in our city and state and an interest in applying that knowledge to their everyday work at Arts for Learning.

This position is exempt and is not eligible for overtime.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Program Planning, Preparation, and Implementation

• Constantly drive innovation and improvements in ASALA, bringing in best practices from previous experience as well as from the field as a whole, and being responsive to stakeholder needs.
• Develop long-term quality and growth goals for improving program quality, cost efficiency, sustainability, and student/teacher reach, etc.
• In partnership with the Chief of Arts for Learning Academies and Baltimore City Public Schools staff, identify and secure the best school site locations and cultivate those relationships with principals and other school-based staff to ensure a strong, meaningful, and lasting partnership.
• Develop and execute MOUs for host school partners, ensuring Arts for Learning has access to the facilities, personnel, and resources needed while supporting the needs of the individual schools and district.
• In partnership with the Chief of Arts for Learning Academies, develop internal and external program budgets, including creating quotes and invoices for K12Buy and grant budgets.
• Develop and maintain critical partnerships currently established within the program. These partnerships include Morgan State University, Urban Teachers, Reading Partners, and other non-arts-based afternoon enrichment providers (athletics, robotics, etc.) to develop highly engaging experiences for the program’s students.
• Regularly review the effectiveness of current partners to determine their overall value to the program.
• Identify and develop new and innovative partnerships that provide additional resources, services, and benefits to the staff, students, families, and communities we serve.
• Create systems for communicating with families via text, email, and phone, and ensure proper tracking and logging of communication.
• In partnership with the Manager of Data and Systems, oversee the development of the student application form (via Form Assembly and Salesforce).
• Disseminate student applications widely among Baltimore City Public Schools students and families to ensure high rates of applications are received.
• Oversee the procurement of supplies, texts, printed collateral, etc.

Personnel Recruitment and Hiring

• Work in conjunction with the HR department to complete the full lifecycle of the hiring process for programmatic positions.
• Create job descriptions, pay schedules, and other resources necessary to recruit the best staff for every position for ASALA.
• Develop a comprehensive staff recruitment plan to ensure broad and equitable dissemination using both traditional and nontraditional platforms and methods. In partnership with the Chief of Arts for Learning Academies and Chief of People, Equity, and Culture, oversee the hiring process for all ASALA staff, including Site Directors, Site Support, Teachers, Teaching Artists, Student Support, and Assistants.
• In partnership with the Chief of Arts for Learning Academies, oversee orientation of all ASALA staff, including Arts for Learning Program Coordinators.
• Along with the Professional Development and Curriculum Director, develop and deliver professional development and training for site directors and all other program staff.
• In partnership with our Finance Department, develop systems to accurately and efficiently ensure the timely payment of all staff and quickly address any issues and discrepancies.

Program Days

• Maintain contact with Baltimore City Public Schools district personnel and host school leadership regularly to ensure that Arts for Learning is a model partner to our host schools.
• When needed, provide onsite support to site directors, liaise between sites and Baltimore City Public Schools personnel, troubleshoot issues, oversee budget and personnel, and coordinate and chaperone field trips as needed.
• Provide leadership and oversight to ASALA’s full-time staff supporting program sites.
• Provide weekly reports on attendance and other progress monitoring to Baltimore City Public Schools and program stakeholders.
• In partnership with the Data and Systems Manager, develop systems to ensure that all data collected is thorough, timely and accurate, collected and stored efficiently, and easily accessible to staff that need this data to make program decisions.
• Collaborate regularly with various offices within Baltimore City Public Schools that support the program, including Food and Nutrition, Nursing Services, Special Education Services, Emerging Language Learner Services, and the Office of Achievement and Accountability.
• When needed, observe classrooms and provide feedback to ensure that high-quality rigorous instruction and a positive classroom climate is created with fidelity.
• Act as an emergency fill-in/substitute for any position on the summer staff. Evaluation and Data
• In partnership with the Chief of Arts for Learning Academies, the Professional Development and Curriculum Director, and the Data and Systems Manager, as well as an external evaluator, develop a comprehensive evaluation plan including goals and methodologies that evaluate the efficacy of the program and meet the needs of stakeholders including Baltimore City Public Schools and funders.
• Support an external evaluator in completing a thorough final evaluation in a timely manner.
• Work with the Professional Development and Curriculum Director to develop pre- and post-performance assessments for students.
• Further develop Arts for Learning’s proprietary Student Management System on the Salesforce platform. This may involve working with external contractors to develop new functionality and improve existing processes.
• In partnership with the Communications Director, develop collateral, reports, and other materials to distribute the results of evaluations.

Organizational Leadership

• Provide supervision and mentorship to direct and indirect reports within the ASALA team.
• Meet regularly with the Chief of Arts for Learning Academies to serve as a thought partner on strategic, financial, and operational issues.
• Serve as a vital member of the operational leadership team, modeling behaviors we seek in all of the organization’s leaders.
• Serve as a leader within the organization that people can go to for guidance and support to uphold the values and mission of the organization.

Qualifications:

While no one candidate will possess every quality outlined for this position, the successful candidate will fit many of the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:

• 5-10 years of experience working in nonprofit administration, education, or a related
• field.
• Experience creating and managing budgets in excess of $1M.
• Experience with Salesforce CRM platform.
• Experience hiring large numbers of temporary staff.
• Excellent partnership development skills.
• Experience working with Baltimore City Public Schools or other urban school systems.
• Extensive knowledge and experience directing programs in summer and out-of-school-time settings.
• Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Exceptional managerial experience, with an inclusive leadership style, skill in giving and receiving feedback, the ability to hold staff accountable, and drive continuous results and improvement.
• Commitment to race equity; preferred experience applying a racial justice and race equity lens to their work, and an ability to examine biases and an understanding of the concepts of institutional and structural racism and its impact on policies and practices, especially related to the administration of public education.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills, especially when working across differences, with demonstrated ability to form and maintain strong collaborative partnerships and to build consensus with colleagues, program staff, and other strategic stakeholders.
• Ability to thrive in a high autonomy/high accountability environment and to adapt to changing circumstances, working flexibly to handle multiple priorities.
• Excellent computer skills.

Compensation:

We offer a starting annual salary of $70,000 and an attractive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision healthcare coverage, retirement contributions, paid sick leave, and vacation time.

To Apply:

For consideration, please apply on our website, Arts for Learning Maryland. Please do not send applications that include headshots or photos of yourself. No phone calls or recruiters, please.

Arts for Learning Maryland is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to cultivating a diverse workforce and equitable workplace. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, veteran status, and disability. All qualified applications will be given equal opportunity

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $70,000.00 per year

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Baltimore, MD: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: One location

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