The Director of Learning and Community Engagement will be an innovative thought leader, strong collaborator, and skillful public advocate, with a fervent commitment to community engagement and relationship development. In addition to planning for the future of MTC’s Learning and Community Engagement Program, they will guide a multi-faceted operation of dynamic, innovative programs, serving more than 3,000 individuals annually. As the first education program created by a major New York theater company, the MTC program is rooted in the tenets of aesthetic education and focused on the values of community and connection, inquiry and reflection, and authenticity in storytelling. Equity, diversity, inclusion, and access are central to all aspects of programming. The Director will ensure that that work continues while expanding on its execution and heightening the program’s profile in the education, youth development, and philanthropic communities.

Roles and Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Program Development

• Develop, refine, implement, and evaluate the Learning and Community Engagement Program’s vision, mission, core values, and goals, working in collaboration and consulting with the Executive Director, the Artistic Director, department staff, and other department heads.
• Assess current programming for adherence to mission and core values and collaborate with department staff and teaching artists to conceive and implement new programming, including that which may generate income.
• Engage in partnership with the teaching artist faculty on the execution of programming.
• Ensure that all department activities support and enhance MTC’s EDI values.
• Embrace other strategic planning and program development duties, as needed.

School and Community Engagement

• Build and steward relationships and partnerships with community, social service, and government organizations as appropriate.
• Sustain and expand relationships with current and potential partner schools both in NYC and around the region.
• Create and plan appropriate curricula for in-school programs in collaboration with department staff, teaching artists, and in communication with the relevant partners.
• Explore and identify opportunities for additional programmatic activities serving current and future partners.
• Embrace other school and community engagement duties, as needed.

Team and Artist Leadership

• Cultivate a culture of openness, support, and mutual learning with the staff and teaching artists.
• Create and facilitate opportunities for professional development of staff and teaching artists in support of department programs.
• Participate as a full member of the senior leadership team with the other department heads, devising ways to mutually support each department’s activities.
• Embrace other team and artist leadership duties, as needed.

Fiscal Responsibility and Revenue Generation

• Develop the departmental budget for review and approval by the Executive Director, collaborating with appropriate staff.
• Collaborate with the development department on donor prospecting and cultivation, grant proposals, and reports.
• Supervise budget implementation, ensuring proper resourcing and maintaining fiscal responsibility.
• Report to the Executive Director and, if requested, to the Board, on departmental activities and progress, including financial updates.
• Embrace other fiscal responsibility and revenue generation duties, as needed.

Traits and Characteristics

The incoming Director of Learning and Community Engagement at MTC will possess a unique blend of skills in collaboration, analysis, decision-making, and self-awareness. They recognize the talents and contributions of others while demonstrating the capacity for inclusive leadership, forward-thinking, effective planning, creativity, and goal-oriented action. The role requires a leader who values and exhibits behaviors that center on relationship-building, active engagement, customer focus, adaptability, and effective communication and collaboration.

Other key competencies include: 

• Leadership and Influencing Others – Organizing and personally affecting other people to believe in a vision while creating a sense of purpose and direction.
• Planning, Organizing, and Goal Orientation – Setting, pursuing, and attaining goals, regardless of obstacles or circumstances while remaining answerable for personal actions.
• Futuristic and Conceptual Thinking – Imagining and envisioning what has yet to be realized, analyzing hypothetical situations, trends, patterns, and concepts to formulate connections and new insights.

Qualifications

Demonstrated leadership experience and proven success in the direction and strategic expansion of educational programs. Ability to effectively communicate impact with a wide variety of constituencies. Familiarity with New York City school systems is desirable, and a track record of community engagement is essential. Past experience as a teaching artist or in positive youth development with an understanding of current pedagogical theories and best practices is advantageous. Additional languages beyond English would be valuable. If you do not meet all the qualifications but possess transferable or equivalent skills, experience, or education, we encourage you to apply and highlight those areas.

Compensation and Benefits

MTC provides a competitive and equitable compensation package in the range of $120,000 to $140,000, with benefits that include paid time off and holidays; health insurance; long-term disability and basic life insurance; and an optional 401(k) retirement plan.

Applications and Inquiries

To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments (electronic submissions preferred), please visit https://artsconsulting.com/opensearches/manhattan-theatre-club-seeks-director-of-learning-and-community-engagement-2/.

Manhattan Theatre Club is committed to being an anti-racist organization that respects and honors all voices while upholding the values of community, equity, access, and belonging. We understand that the United States is a country founded on white supremacy and anti-blackness, and that these belief systems are tightly woven throughout American arts and culture. We recognize MTC’s place within that history and understand that uprooting biases requires ongoing work. To this end, we have been reviewing, and are continuing to review, our policies and practices in order to create an inclusive, anti-racist environment for our artists, staff members, and audiences. We wish to express solidarity with and gratitude towards those from historically oppressed communities whose voices have raised consciousness and encouraged action.

About Manhattan Theatre Club

ACG is the leading provider of hands-on interim management, executive search, revenue enhancement, strategic planning & community engagement, and facilities & program planning services for the arts and culture industry. ACG consultants are located in communities throughout North America to best serve the needs of our clients. ACG team members have decades of combined senior leadership experience in every artistic and cultural discipline and area of functional management expertise. As specialists in the management of arts and cultural institutions who are personally and passionately committed to the creative industries, we are recognized internationally for our expertise, personalized approach, and extraordinary results.

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