Associate Director of Public Programs

Reporting to the Director of Education + Curator of Kidspace, the Associate Director of Public Programs is a strategic and collaborative team player who serves as a confident, innovative, and knowledgeable advocate for the value of experiential public programming at the museum, online, and in the community to further the educational goals of the museum’s visual and performing arts programs. They will articulate a coherent vision with a clear set of priorities for the development of MASS MoCA’s dynamic public programming agenda with input and support from senior management, staff, and external constituents. Programming areas include a focus on Higher Education, Adult Learning, and Community Engagement. The Associate Director of Public Programs serves as a senior Gallery Teacher.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 

• Vision and Innovation: Develop and oversee public programming in distinctive and creative ways that are consistent with the museum’s mission and values. Spark visitors’ curiosity by creating meaningful personal experiences for all audiences, with a primary focus on adult audiences. Foster innovation and experimentation in developing and enhancing programs that actively encourage new and diverse audiences to explore and engage with art. Identify opportunities to leverage the uniqueness of  museum exhibitions and performances and the museum experience onsite, virtually, and in the community. Design a balanced portfolio of free and income generating programming.
• Community Engagement: Design programming initiatives in collaboration with the community and our cross-departmental efforts with a Community Advisory Network; serve as liaison to the visitor engagement department and assist with accessibility programming. 
• Adult Learning: Develop public programming that uses the museum as space for learning including through experiential, conversational-style tours for adult and senior groups and the general public; develop adult programs in partnership with programming team such as artist talks, artist interventions, and cross-departmental  festivals; work closely with curators and performing arts team to design artist-driven programming;  partner with WCMA, the Clark, and other Berkshire cultural organizations to design public programming opportunities; conduct workshops and tours, serving as a senior Gallery Teacher. 
• Higher Education Programming: Develop and maintain partnerships with local colleges and universities and further established programming.
• Management: Recruit, train, and supervise Gallery Teachers and train interns who conduct programs; work with Visitor Engagement team to train front-facing staff on gallery content and approaches to gallery engagement; write curricula and logic models for higher education and public programs; evaluate program impact; work on learning pedagogy and content development with the education team.
• Administrative: Write grants and create reports; develops budgets for specific programming areas; manages administration related to specific programming areas such as event summaries, invoices, and artist contracts.
• Advancing the Field: Works with the Director of Education and colleagues to initiate new education projects; which may include journal writing, presentations at conferences, and on-site and off-site professional development workshops.

• Highly personable, charismatic, and energetic; able to generate enthusiasm and have fun, motivate and direct others; mature, with good judgment and a sense of humor in order to maintain perspective and balance.
• Effective prioritizer with time management skills, able to work on many projects at once.
• Knowledge of current and emerging educational trends.
• Sensitivity to the needs, interests, and learning styles of museum audiences and of those that may feel excluded from participation.
• Deep understanding of and commitment to Anti-Racism and DEAI work in the arts.
• Demonstrated leadership ability to mobilize internal and external support for programs.
• Strong writing and communication skills; confident public speaker.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years professional experience in museum education departments, with extensive experience with gallery interpretation and programming for a range of audiences
• Prior experience working with multiple stakeholders, including Gallery Teachers, academic officials, community leaders, and museum-wide staff
• Advanced Degree in Museum Education preferred
• Art-making and mindfulness practices, a plus