Program Coordinator, Arts Internship Program (NYC)

About the Arts Internship Program

Rooted in a Positive Youth Development framework, ETA's Arts Internship Program (AIP)mission is to offer support to students who face structural barriers with paid work experiences and mentorship opportunities in the arts that empowers their self identity and builds valuable skills to propel them through their future endeavors.

AIP achieves this mission by placing students from ETA Partner Schools as paid interns in two-year mentorships (their 11th and 12th grade years, and the summer in between) with professionals (mentors) working at arts and cultural organizations. Students receive arts training, participate in arts management projects, attend shows, and practice setting and achieving realistic goals with the support of caring, trusted adults. Student participants deepen their arts learning, hone transferable skills applicable to college and career, begin to build their professional networks, and identify potential careers that include viable pathways in the arts. Most importantly, they gain a stronger sense of direction, self-knowledge, and possibility for their futures. 

Current NY arts partners in the program include, among others: BRIC Arts Media, Bronx River Art Center, Groundswell, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Paul Taylor Dance School, and Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater.

For more information about ETA please visit www.exploringthearts.org

Position Summary

Exploring the Arts (ETA) is seeking a Program Coordinator to join the Arts Internship Program (AIP) team. The PROGRAM COORDINATOR will work closely with the Student Program Manager, AIP (NY) on all aspects of this student-centered program. This is a newly created position, designed to increase the program’s capacity and support continued strong student outcomes. The AIP Program Coordinator will assist the Student Program Manager in supervising a portfolio of 40-42 students at 22 host arts/cultural organizations throughout the City during the 23-24 school year. This portfolio is likely to grow over the coming years as additional Partner Schools join ETA’s roster. 

Primary duties include:

• Design, plan and share the facilitation/staffing responsibilities for monthly AIP Workshops, typically on Saturdays. Each of these programs is designed to address one or more of the program’s objectives in youth development through an arts lens. 
• Ensure all necessary program paperwork is updated, distributed and submitted in a timely manner (student contracts, w-9s, workpapers; partner contracts, COIs; family contracts, etc.)
• Coordinate and support annual student recruitment cycles and help select the new cohort of interns from the existing network of Partner Schools. This will include visiting schools to speak about the program and subsequent administration, coordination and shared facilitation/staffing of school and family information sessions, and interviews.
• Support the planning and coordination for larger cohort-wide student and family events (i.e. Community Art Day, Spring Culmination )
• Assist in the administration of assessment practices for students and arts partners, including issuing pre- and post-program surveys, documenting site visits, and capturing testimonials.
• Coordinate with the finance team for vendor, intern, and partner payments
• Serve as one of the primary points of contact for program administration with interns, families, and arts partners (i.e. internship and workshop attendance, logistic/travel concerns, troubleshooting as needed). 
• Manage relationships so that all stakeholders are well-supported, both cohorts of interns develop a strong affinity and vibrant culture, and interns and families see each other and ETA as valuable resources.
• Foster external partnerships with arts organizations so that the program develops a roster of possible collaborators for internships, workshops and other program opportunities.
• Manage program data in Salesforce, ETA’s cloud-based database system.
• Assist with the collection of program information, pictures and documentation to support ETA social media and grant writing efforts.
• Collaborate on refining systems and protocols for ongoing program management (incl. attendance, inventory, site visits, etc.).
• Participate in staff-wide strategy discussions on all student programs and identify opportunities for continued programmatic improvements.

Important: The anticipated start date for this position is Monday, September 18, 2023. The Program Coordinator will be traveling throughout NYC’s five boroughs to participate in recruitment at Partner schools as well as program activities and site visits.

Candidates should have reasonably flexible schedules during the school year (September-June) and summer session (July-August), including availability on some Saturdays to staff Arts Internship Program workshops. Recruitment and program orientation activities may happen in the evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate students and their families, and program staff may be asked to support other ETA programs’ events in addition to AIP. Staff may use flex/discretionary time during standard business hours, to balance these extra hours worked in the evening and/or on weekends.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree preferred or equivalent work, personal and/or volunteer experience. 
• Demonstrated work, personal and/or volunteer experience working with teenagers. 
• Demonstrated experience in any arts discipline whether as a practitioner, student and/or teacher. Familiarity with the New York City arts education landscape a plus but not required.
• Championing the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion as they apply to youth development settings and striving to ensure that programming embodies these values.
• Understands, values, and reciprocates effective, clear, and timely communication.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills, with utmost attention to detail and ability to develop and follow calendars and benchmarks for deliverables. 
• Demonstrated effectiveness at working collaboratively.
• Ease with managing competing demands, calendars, and determining priorities.
• Fluent in Google Suite (especially Docs, Sheets and Slides); familiarity with Salesforce, Jotform, Canva and/or Form Assembly a plus but not required.
• Fluency in Spanish a plus.
• ETA requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. Being fully vaccinated means that an individual is at least two weeks past their final dose of an FDA or WHO authorized COVID-19 vaccine regimen. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees will be required to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination. 

Note: Because programming takes place primarily in-person, candidates for this position must live in or within commuting distance of NYC by the September start date.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Belief that high quality arts instruction should be an integral part of every student’s high school education, and that all students deserve equitable access to college and conservatory.
• Desire to hold oneself accountable for results and be transparent about successes and challenges. 
• Respectfully managing relationships, communication and deadlines in a way that reflects an understanding that all parties’ time, priorities and needs are important.
• Highest integrity. Sense of responsibility and stewardship for all funds provided to operate Exploring the Arts. 
• Eagerness to pitch in and help beyond one’s immediate responsibilities on an as-needed basis.