Venice Arts seeks a versatile, accomplished, and committed Manager to lead its award-winning Media Arts Education + Mentoring (MAE) programs including workshops in photography, filmmaking, animation, narrative illustration, and mixed media, as well as its Creative Career Pathways programs.
ABOUT VENICE ARTS
Founded in 1993, Venice Arts empowers young people to discover their voices, develop their creativity, and build brighter futures through the arts. What began as a pioneering photography and filmmaking program has grown into a comprehensive media arts organization serving more than 1,000 youth annually.
Through our Media Arts Education programs, young people ages 10–18 develop artistic, technical, and storytelling skills in photography, filmmaking, animation, and multimedia arts while being mentored by professional artists and media makers. In 2021, Venice Arts launched the Center for Creative Workforce Equity (CCWE) to expand access to creative careers for low-income young adults ages 16–24. Through industry-aligned training, paid work-based learning, mentorship, and career placement support, participants gain the skills, experience, and professional networks needed to succeed in the creative economy.
For more than 30 years, Venice Arts has used the power of creativity and storytelling to help young people thrive, amplify their voices, and access pathways to education, employment, and economic opportunity.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Management
● Supervise the MAE team: Program and Outreach Coordinator, Administrative and Development Associate, Program + Media Assistant, and interns
● Interview, on-board, train, supervise, and evaluate all Teaching Faculty (hired and volunteers)
● Design and implement faculty trainings and assure regular/as-needed faculty check-ins
● Complete required reports from select funders, work with the Director of Institutional Giving to provide stories and data for grants and reports, and contribute to final reports to funders, as requested
● Analyze quantitative and qualitative data to assure the quality and impact of all programs, projects, classes, and events, providing informal updates to staff, and a formal data summary at least annually, and as requested
● Oversee day-to-day logistics for all MAE workshops (Fall, Spring and one-month Summer Camp) and Community events including management of equipment, calendars, budgets, and correspondence
● Sustain and cultivate partnerships with local schools and arts organizations for opportunities to provide satellite workshops, enhance our program offerings, or create expanded learning opportunities for our youth
● Track departmental goals and budget
● Prepare quarterly reports to be shared with the board of directors
● Maintain proper file management for the department and student artwork
● Oversee printing, framing, and displaying of youth artwork for events and other organizational needs
Curriculum Oversight
● Sustain and assure the continued excellence of experiential workshops that align with Venice Arts’ curricular goals and philosophy of teaching
● Maintain high-caliber Advanced Studies workshops in photography and filmmaking
● Collaborate with faculty to write compelling workshop descriptions that accurately describe the projects youth will be working on
● Approve workshop outlines and support teaching artists as-needed with syllabi revisions
● Conduct class observations to assure practices reflect Venice Arts’ philosophy and goals
● Support youth submissions for awards, festivals, and scholarships
● Approve and coordinate field trips
Creative Pathways
● Provide oversight for ongoing Creative Pathways activities including College Day, Career Day, and numerous summer opportunities
● Review youth artwork and oversee strong submission for awards, festivals, and competitions.
● Assure the coordination of 1:1 mentoring (by volunteers) for high-schooler looking for support on scholarships, college applications, portfolios or other opportunities
Communications
● Write and send a monthly educator newsletter highlighting free and low-cost professional development opportunities, programmatic updates, and community events and resources
● Oversee MAE social media content including designs visuals and writing captions for posting across platforms
● Design flyers for workshops and events
● Update the workshop pages on the website and send updates for other pages to our Communications Consultant
● Assure program documentation and archiving
SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS
An outstanding educator with at least five years of teaching experience with youth ages 9-18. We strongly prefer applicants who hold an artistic practice in still photography or filmmaking and who view teaching as an extension of their artistic practice. Applicants should have a basic understanding of the Los Angeles arts community and the K-12 school system. Applicants should have the following qualities:
● A demonstrated ability to teach from a human-centered approach that is trauma informed and culturally aware
● An understanding of a hands-on curriculum that builds creative, conceptual, and technical skills and knowledge
● Strong classroom management skills and the ability to mentor others in this task
● An understanding of visual arts standards specific to California
● A demonstrated ability to lead a team with humility and respect
● A demonstrated ability to create meaningful community centered experiences and events
● A creative individual with a believe if in the power of storytelling and knowledge about historic and contemporary artist practice
● Exceptional technical knowledge/skills specifically pertaining to photography and filmmaking
● Well-organized, highly detailed, and able to manage multiple deadlines successfully
● Knowledgeable about best practices for collecting and analyzing data
● Knowledgeable about best practices to protect the privacy of youth and their families
● Excellent verbal and written communicator
● Strong sense of responsibility and moral integrity
● Proficient in Google Suite, Adobe
Not essential but strong preference:
● Spanish speaking
● Skilled at printing and framing photography
● Knowledge of curatorial best practices
● Understanding of social media marketing and best practices
● Familiarity with Mailchimp and email marketing
● Familiarity with Airtable and data management
● Familiarity with Squarespace and website functionality
Ideal candidates should also have an interest and a passion for working with under-resourced and underserved youth as well as knowledge or interest in developing their ability to engage with youth from a trauma-informed and culturally competent lens. Finally, candidates will have a deep appreciation for diverse perspectives, and experiences, and will create a welcoming environment for all youth.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
This is a full–time, exempt position with an annual salary of $70,000-$74,000.
● 10 days of accrued vacation annually
● 13 paid holidays
● 8 days of sick time
● 100% Health insurance coverage
● Optional contribution to a 401(K)
TO APPLY
Using the link below, please send a resume and thoughtful cover letter in one PDF attachment and describe how your skills and experience meet the qualifications.
Application for Manager, Media Arts Education + Mentoring Programs
Applications are due no later than July 10. NO CALLS, PLEASE. Only applicants who meet our requirements for this position will be contacted. If you have any questions, please contact info@venice-arts.org
To apply for this job email your details to info@venice-arts.org