Director of Education

EPACENTER ARTS

JOB DESCRIPTION

Director of Education

Organizational Overview: Providing creative youth development programs in San Mateo County since 2018, EPACENTER amplifies the creative potential in every young person. EPACENTER's mission is to increase opportunities for youth and young adults, ages 6-25, to discover and amplify their talents, realize their potential, and impact the world through creativity. EPACENTER offers youth tuition-free classes during the school year and summer in animation, visual art, dance, music, video and digital media, internships in high-wage creative fields, and the opportunity to shape their community through leadership and community service projects. EPACENTER envisions a future where all young people develop their talents, apply their creative capacity, and change their lives and community—for the better. EPACENTER and partner programs serve 1100 youth per year and take place at the organization's 25,000 square foot multidisciplinary facility that includes visual, dance and recording studios, a gallery, a maker space, digital media labs, music practice rooms, a black box theater and an outdoor amphitheater.

Position Overview: Focusing on art, design and technology, the Director of Education oversees and manages EPACENTER’s educational and training programs, partnerships, special projects and initiatives for youth and young adults, ages 6-25, in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Reporting to the Executive Director, this position develops, implements, and evaluates high-quality programs that foster creativity, personal growth, and educational outcomes for historically underserved youth, and manages a team of adult instructors, instructors-in-training, staff, and young adult interns. The Director of Education is directly responsible for growing programs from their infancy and scaling initiatives upwards, increasing EPACENTER’s pool of participants, and for recruiting and maintaining youth participation. This position requires visionary leadership, strategic thinking, substantial program development and management experience, managerial skills, and a track record of creating and managing innovative art, music, design and technology programming.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Programmatic Leadership

• Leading and inspiring the youth development team and connecting their daily work to EPACENTER’s strategic goals, mission, and values
• In alignment with the strategic objectives of the organization, developing an innovative strategy and implementation plan for EPACENTER’s creative youth development programs that promotes curiosity, exploration, creativity, mastery, social-emotional growth and skills development in youth served
• Creating dynamic, forward-thinking, youth-inspired programs, partnerships, special projects and initiatives based on trends, markets and constituent interests and funding opportunities
• Overseeing all arts education, job training, teacher training, educational partnership, and youth leadership functions within the organization
• Establishing and maintaining positive and effective working partnerships with school districts, institutions of higher education, non-profits, government agencies, corporations, public and charter schools, and other entities to build pipeline of youth participation, establish employment pipelines for interns, and establish essential connections for EPACENTER’s programs
• Representing the organization to funders, partners, parents, the press, and the community-at-large
• Serving on the organization’s executive leadership committee

Program Development

• Collaborating with the executive team, youth stakeholders and faculty to establish long-term strategic goals and objectives for the organization’s curricular creative youth development programs
• Designing and developing innovative program models and classes that align with long-term strategic goals and objectives

Program & Partnership Management

• Overseeing the implementation of programs, partnerships and classes that align with long-term strategic goals and objectives
• Directing EPACENTER programs on the organization’s campus and overseeing partnership programs onsite partner sites
• Developing relationships with partners and overseeing partnership programs offsite
• Managing the student registration and tracking process
• Ensuring educational and partnership programs support diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility
• Constructing an annual schedule of classes, programs and workshops
• Guiding the development of class catalogs and registration materials
• Ensuring program reports are completed accurately and in a timely manner

Student Recruitment & Community Engagement

• Increasing youth participation in EPACENTER programs, trainings and initiatives
• Creating, managing and implementing strategies for deepening student engagement
• Attending community meetings and representing EPACENTER at community gatherings
• Developing systems to track, monitor and improve student progress
• Organizing and conducting successful open houses, demonstrations, workshops, presentations and events to increase public awareness of educational programs
• Managing the maintenance of a database of student participants
• Engaging parents and volunteers as programmatic ambassadors
• Responding to youth, parent and community inquiries and concerns

Staff & Instructor Management

• Recruiting, developing and supervising an accomplished cohort of faculty, temporary teaching artists, and teachers-in-training
• Setting performance goals, conducting routine coaching and evaluating instructor performance
• Preparing contracts and teaching assignment notifications
• Creating schedules for teaching staff and approving number of hours worked
• Creating and managing quarterly training programs for all instructors
• Managing and leading direct reports
• Addressing HR issues, employee disputes, and disciplinary actions as needed

Financial Management

• Managing the departmental budget for arts education, job training, teacher training, educational partnerships, and youth leadership functions within the organization
• Preparing an annual budget request and managing the annual program budget allocation
• Overseeing expenses, analyzing programmatic expenditures, and ensuring cost-effectiveness within the division
• Providing recommendations on capital and equipment expenditures

Building & Maintaining Campus Culture

• Creating a vibrant educational and communal culture on campus for families, teens, and young adults
• Developing and fostering a welcoming atmosphere in the program welcome center
• Ensuring a positive learning environment for learners of all ages
• Determining space allocation needs for educational programs
• Ensuring that the condition of education and training studios are well-maintained

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 10+ years of demonstrated experience in a similar senior level role in a creative youth development or arts education organization
• Direct supervisory experience (8+ years preferred) in successfully leading and managing a large workforce, including faculty, teaching artists and artists-in-residence, and youth workers
• Proven record of building organizational reputation, establishing programs, and building demand for youth services required
• Successful experience managing government-funded programs
• Exceptional presentation, written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working in historically under-resourced communities of color

POSITION DETAILS

• Full-Time Work Week: 37.5 hours per week
• Work Mode: In Person
• Schedule: Able to Work Weekdays and Weekends as Needed

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required

WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

(include but are not limited to the following:)

• Office Environment with exposure to toner, white out, cleaning fluids, office equipment noise, and talking
• Prolonged periods of sitting 
• Frequent periods of walking and standing
• Lifting and carrying 5-25 lbs
• Reaching at, above or below shoulder level for equipment, files, or materials
• Manipulation of computer keyboard 
• Use of computer monitor, telephone, copier machine and other office equipment
• Pushing/pulling open and closed doors, cabinets and drawers

DISCLOSURES

EPACENTER is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by EPACENTER’s nondiscrimination policy.

EPACENTER is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. Applicants with a disability who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process can contact EPACENTER at the information included in this job posting. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Please be advised that employment with EPACENTER is “at will.” Employees are free to terminate their employment with EPACENTER at any time, with or without reason, with or without notice. Likewise, EPACENTER has the right to terminate an employee’s employment at any time with or without reason, with or without notice. No employee of EPACENTER can enter into an employment contract for a specified period of time, or make any agreement contrary to this policy without written approval.