Director of School and Teaching Programs

Description

Department: Education

Reports to: Esther Stiles Eastman Curator of Education

Classification:  Exempt, full-time with benefits

Salary range:  $81,000-$90,000 depending on experience

This is an onsite, Boston-based position. Local candidates preferred. No agencies, please.

Note that many programs take place on Thursday evenings, weekends, and on some holidays so availability to work those events is required.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Core Values

Isabella Stewart Gardner believed that art had the power to change lives and she built a beautiful, personal, and immersive Museum setting to do so. Today the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM) is a living embodiment of her bold vision; it’s a dynamic place where ideas and creativity in all its forms inspire visitors. Through exhibitions, music, programs, and performances we strive to tell new stories and challenge assumptions by engaging diverse voices and community members.

Our Core Values are:

• Creativity is our Legacy
• Community is our Purpose
• The Collection is our Catalyst
• Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion are our Commitments

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum seeks to connect past with present, develop and sustain mutually beneficial partnerships with our local communities and artists, expand and diversify our audiences, and generate opportunities for creativity. We are firmly committed to creating both an inclusive work culture and a welcoming visitor experience. Our five-year Strategic Plan outlines the Museum’s core values, goals, and initiatives that serve as a renewal of Isabella’s promise for the Museum to be a place for “the education and enjoyment of the public forever.”

Position Summary

The Director of School and Teaching Programs serves as a member of the Museum’s Education department leadership with particular emphasis on meeting Museum goals for teaching and audience engagement and diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion. The Director of School and Teaching Programs serves as the institutional lead for programming for a range of PreK-12 school and higher education audiences that align with our Strategic Plan, embody our brand and history, enhance our visitors' understanding of our collection and exhibitions, and build relevance for audiences of all ages. Designing strategy and vision for both onsite and online teaching and learning activities, this position makes the Museum welcoming and relevant to contemporary school and teacher audiences.

The Director of School and Teaching Programs helps steer the strategy, pedagogies, and also the recruitment and training of all staff who teach across the Museum, to create Museum-wide learning opportunities to promote exhibition, public program, K-12, and Palace interpretation objectives and to advance staff cultural capacity. 

Working cross-departmentally, the Director of School and Teaching Programs continues to advance the learning of staff and visitors, promotes multiple perspectives into storytelling, and develops resources to deepen visitor engagement with the Gardner. A skilled museum educator, the Director of School and Teaching Programs will direct all school and teaching programs and growing partnerships with Boston Public Schools (BPS) administrators, maintaining connections with the needs and interests of school audiences. This position manages the teaching team, including teaching programs full-time staff (currently three) and about fifty Museum Teachers (and research associates, as needed for evaluation projects), and works in strategic partnership with other teams and stakeholders, as well as external partners. The Director of School and Teaching Programs is aware of best practices in the field, and looks for opportunities to share and promote the Gardner’s innovative work in teaching strategies and engaging target audiences. 

The programs under the purview of this position include, but are not limited to the Thinking Through Art partnership with Boston Public Schools, Museum Teachers (paid educators who lead tours), general public and private tours, university partnerships and Gardner Ambassadors paid internship program, as well as K-12 audience research studies and/or evaluation projects. The Director of School and Teaching Programs will bring a track record of imaginatively generating and effectively executing, evaluating, and managing programs and events, a preference for working collaboratively across disciplines with a variety of stakeholders, and a keen interest in connecting with schools, teachers, students, and their families. 

Many training programs take place on Thursday evenings and weekends, so availability to work during those events will be required. Teaching and learning experience in inquiry-based methodologies (particularly Visual Thinking Strategies or VTS) in the humanities or arts discipline is preferred. Logistics and other administrative/programmatic duties as needed are also a function of this position.

Essential Functions and Primary Responsibilities

• Leads the institution-wide program K-12 and academic program planning strategy, including all tours, Thinking Through Art program with Boston Public Schools and local school district, Museum Teachers, tours, University Memberships and Gardner Ambassadors, ensuring purposeful and effective integration with the Strategic Plan and department goals, exhibition content, visitor engagement objectives, and operational parameters.
• Develops efficient systems for setting and communicating goals, implementation, and evaluation of multiple types of innovative K-12 and academic programs that are distinctive within Boston’s cultural landscape.
• Responsible for arranging curatorial trainings and additional learning opportunities for staff and volunteers in conjunction with upcoming exhibitions. In coordination with the Curator of Education, the DEAI Staff Working Group, and other relevant staff, chooses trainers and facilitates training meetings.
• Oversees and implements all logistics of school and teaching initiatives, including budgets, contract design, grant and funding reporting, and the communication of program impact.
• Actively works to diversify teaching staff, program formats, and curricula.
• Recruits, trains, maintains and evaluates a diverse cohort of museum educators who effectively lead workshops, coach teachers and facilitate inquiry-based teaching and learning, both onsite and online with audiences of all ages.
• Develops sustainable, collaborative partnerships with individuals, academic institutions, and community agencies and collaborators, including Boston Public Schools (BPS), that further institutional and audience goals; and, establishes relevant key performance indicators across all academic programming areas to ensure success. Initiates and cultivates relationships with BPS leadership and education funders to promote and support Gardner programs.
• Increases awareness, support, resources, and revenue for K-12 and academic programs and the institution by actively building sustainable external partnerships with individuals, academic institutions, and community agencies and collaborators.
• Strategizes with the Director of Marketing and Communication and the Membership Manager, ensuring that programs are driven by and consistent with audience development objectives, institutional and exhibition messages, and in line with the brand.
• Maintains close partnership with the Development department to identify new, and maximize current, foundation, corporate, and individual sponsorship and funding opportunities for Education. Works with Education staff and Development to develop funding proposals and reports to fund agencies.
• Serves as a key Gardner Museum program and audience ambassador for offsite presentations, conversations, and events both locally and nationally, cultivating new partnerships and growing existing relationships.
• Consults with the Curator of Education and Director of Interpretation on volunteer recruitment, selection, and training. Applies knowledge of the Museum’s collection and visitor experience to guide interpretation priorities and related evaluation.
• Contributes to the Interpretation team, supporting strategies to conduct audience research and enhance the visitor experience, including evaluating and assessing audience engagement and evaluation goals.
• Represents the Education department in diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion planning and recommends institutional initiatives. Priority activities include: Leading Inclusive Community/Implicit Bias trainers group(s); co-designing institutional staff professional development with DEAI Staff Working Group co-chairs, the Director of Human Resources, and the Interpretation team.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree and four or more years of demonstrated experience designing programs that connect scholarly, academic, and community perspectives with audiences’ lived and learned experiences.
• Experience with creating effective strategy, implementation, and evaluation of art education programs and content within art museum context.
• Existing connections with Boston Public School K-12 families, collaborators, and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated engagement in and responses to the K-12 and higher education social issues within the City of Boston.
• Established and actively nurturing relationships throughout the K-12, academic, arts, culture, and museum fields at both local and regional levels.
• Prior development of teaching and learning strategies that support and drive positive visitor experiences, including program messaging, ticket purchase, and onsite and online programs.
• Track record of effective leadership, training, and teaching skills, as well as leadership in K-12 and academic programs, managing teaching and administrative staff, and exceptional interpersonal skills.
• Strong computer skills, including Google Workspace.
• Commitment to advancing the ISGM’s diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) initiatives.
• Ability to work Thursday evenings, some weekends, and specific holidays.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.
• Must complete a pre-employment background check to the Museum's satisfaction.

Desirable

• Museum experience.
• Bilingual language skills desired; Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean Creole, or Portuguese a plus.

Our ideal candidate will also have:

• A passion for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s mission, our 2019-2024 institutional strategic plan, and the intersection of art and social justice.
• An ability to articulate strategy and effectively direct the implementation of that strategy while leveraging the strengths and abilities of the team.
• A proactive approach to making decisions, identifying problems, creating solutions, and driving projects to conclusion.
• Demonstrated cross-organization leadership and team-building skills with a collaborative management style.
• Excellent analytical, interpersonal, organizational, and writing skills.
• Strong public speaking and presentation skills, including with (prospective) funders and the Board.

COVID-19 Protocols

All employees of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are required to provide their COVID-19 vaccination status. If you are not vaccinated, you will need to participate in an interactive process to request a religious or medical accommodation and to submit weekly test results, in addition to following other federal, state and CDC recommendations.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion is one of the core values we hold close to our business practices. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is committed to affording equal opportunities to qualified individuals regardless of race, color, gender, gender identity, genetics, military/veteran status, pregnancy, religion, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable laws.

Request an Accommodation

Applicants with disabilities who are unable to fully access ISGM's online application system may contact us at hr@isgm.org for assistance with a reasonable accommodation.

Salary : $81,000 - $90,000