The view from the Ford’s Theatre stage looking out to the audience. To the left of the stage is the President Box with an American flag, a framed picture of George Washington and American flag bunting draped over the box. To the right is another box with yellow and white curtains. In the center of the stage is a wooden desk. The view includes two levels of seating and rows of lighting equipment on the third level.
View from the stage of Ford’s Theatre. Photo © Maxwell MacKenzie.

Manager of Arts Education

Ford’s Theatre Society is hiring a Manager of Arts Education to join its team. The position is full-time and based in Washington, DC.

Ford’s Theatre Society values and is committed to maintaining a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce and working environment. Fords’ is proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, family status, sexual orientation, disability, age, neurodiversity, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Ford’s offers a dynamic working environment steeped in culture and history along with a robust benefits package including highly subsidized health insurance, 401(k) contributions, and generous paid leave policies.

Manager of Arts Education oversees content development, partnerships, programming, logistics, outreach, and evaluation for on-site and virtual arts- and oratory-related education programs at Ford’s Theatre, in accordance with priorities developed by the Director of Education and in alignment with the institutional long-range plan. All Ford’s Theatre Society employees are required to actively participate in the Society’s ongoing efforts to become an anti-racist organization. These efforts include staff-wide conversations, new programming, development of new resources for staff and audiences, and an expectation that all staff will keep themselves informed of new resources and trends in the field of anti-racism and DEAI and how they can be applied to their own work on a day-to-day basis.

All Ford’s Theatre Society employees are required to actively participate in the Society’s ongoing efforts to become an anti-racist organization. These efforts include staff-wide conversations, new programming, development of new resources for staff and audiences, and an expectation that all staff will keep themselves informed of resources and trends in the field of anti-racism and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility and how they can be applied to their own work on a day-to-day basis.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Overseeing implementation and contributing to the vision for continued development of oratory and arts programs, including online resources and community, and expansion of program to serve adult learners, teachers, schools, and districts at multiple tiers of engagement.
  • Guiding and managing all aspects of the National Oratory Fellows program, including development, implementation, and quality assurance of:
    • Program curriculum, structures, and policies
    • Fellows’ and delegates’ visits to the campus
    • Live and virtual events
    • Teaching artists residencies, both virtual and digital Resources that disseminate the Ford’s Approach to Teaching Oratory
  • Overseeing all aspects of the local and national oratory programs, including the Oratory Festival, Lincoln Online Oratory Project and the Stand Up, Be Heard Podcast project and speech residency program, including:
    • Program curriculums, structures, and policies
    • Live and virtual events
    • Recruiting and training participating teachers
    • Overseeing logistics of residency visits, both in-person and digital, and of festival days, both on-site and online.
  • Recruiting, training and supervising teaching artists for all arts education programs, including student- and adult-focused oratory programs and education team programs and events related to theatrical productions.
  • Managing all elements of oratory events (virtual and in-person), including appropriate coordination with production, development, visitor services and communications departments.
  • Overseeing theatre exposure programs, including outreach and administration of teacher preview workshops and student matinees, as well as creation of online resources and programs to support student and teacher engagement with mainstage productions.
  • Developing and implementing tools for measuring each program’s impact, in coordination with appropriate outside consultants and the Director, analyzing data and sharing relevant findings
  • Cultivating and managing relationships with teachers and schools to support the long-term growth of arts and oratory programs.
  • Building and maintaining relationships with local and national professional associations and other appropriate partner organizations
  • Managing arts learning program budgets, including income, expenditures, and any related grant reporting, in coordination with the Director of Education and Interpretation and the finance department
  • Overseeing income and expense tracking for all Education Department programs.
  • Collaborating with the Director of Education and the development team to write, edit and report on funding specific to arts and oratory learning, as needed.
  • Other duties, as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

EDUCATION:

  • Bachelor’s degree in a related field

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

  • Substantial teaching experience required (need not be in a traditional classroom)
  • Excellent written and verbal communications skills
  • Commitment to creating youth and teacher development programs and learning opportunities of the highest caliber.
  • Fluency with Microsoft Office and comfort with Tessitura or Customer Relationship Management system
  • Familiarity with educational theory, school environments and an interest in history
  • Strong commitment to implementing programs that equitably serve diverse audiences inclusively and accessibly.
  • Willingness to live out the FTS values at work: Courage, Empathy, Equity, Inclusion, and Inspired Creativity

EXPERIENCE:

  • At least five years of experience in a museum, theatre or classroom setting.
  • Experience working with diverse student populations and communities of varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
  • At least three years coordinating or managing programs.

POSITIONS SUPERVISED:

  • Arts Education Coordinator
  • Arts and Oratory Program Teaching Artists

SALARY: Approximately 58,000 to 62,000 per year

SPECIAL NOTE
Ford’s Theatre Society has a mandatory vaccination policy for all employees.  The policy is designed to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

TO APPLY
Please send cover letter and resume to [email protected] and/or [email protected].