GrubStreet is the leading literary arts center in the country. We are a hardworking and creative bunch, and pride ourselves on a warm and supportive work environment. GrubStreet is seeking a Program Coordinator to join our team and help us run our Youth and Community program in advance of our transition to our new space in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood. This position will begin March 1, 2021.
The Program Coordinator will work closely with the Youth & Community Programs Manager and the Director of Community and Youth Programs to ensure smooth communications with a diverse pool of students and instructors, seamless enrollment processes for our classes, and will help maintain the high quality of our programming by administering and monitoring our class evaluation systems.
The ideal Program Coordinator will not only be passionate about writing and reading, but wholeheartedly committed to advancing equity and building safe creative spaces. They will be amazingly organized and have superb written communication skills, sharp attention to detail, flexible solutions to clunky problems, and a commitment to learning and using applications and technologies like Airtable, Zoom, and our website database.
Finally, the Program Coordinator should feel comfortable bringing their distinct personality to work with them. We work hard but we also encourage boldness, fun, and not taking ourselves too seriously. We hope the Program Coordinator is excited about joining the larger community of Grub writers in Boston.
We encourage BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color), LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and other communities historically underrepresented in arts administration spaces to apply. GrubStreet strives to dismantle every system, process, or structure that would discourage any person from working with us. We actively seek diversity, equity, and inclusivity because we know that all people are vital and that their stories are our stories.
Position Summary
Reporting to the Manager of Community and Youth Programs, the Programs Coordinator will help manage, evaluate, and develop GrubStreet’s Young Adult (YAWP) and Write Down the Street (WDtS) programs. Key areas of responsibility include:
Program Administration and Communication
Prioritizes commitment to access and equity across all programs for all classes and events.
o Committed to continuing education on DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) issues
o Maintains and refines processes to collect, track, and document demographic data toward improving DEI across YAWP and WDtS programs
o Develops and practices ways to model and support interns and other team members to handle DEI issues when and if they arise.
o Committed to centering marginalized communities and making sure they have equitable access to resources in the arts, especially at GrubStreet.
Assists in managing operations of Teen Summer Fellowship which includes:
o Coordinating and providing support for instructors.
o Administering application process
o Coordinating fellowship-related events, including the Muse & the Marketplace conference attendance.
o Overseeing production of annual anthology.
Scheduling and Operations
o Manages free lunch and transportation programs for teens (once back in-person)
o Distributes and logs all student surveys and attendance
o Supports Youth & Community Programs Manager in scheduling, planning, and implementing events with neighborhood, community, and school partners
o Manages inventory for program supplies. Supports partner sits and instructors to make sure they have the supplies they need for GrubStreet classes and events.
Programming support
o Collaborates with Youth & Community Programs Manager and rest of programs team to create annual class schedule.
o Manages class schedule updates and changes
o Assists in running YAWP Saturday Sessions (once a month during the school year) and any other additional YAWP programming during the school year.
o Problem-solves issues while Director and/or Manager are not available
Engagement
o Maintains YAWP and Write Down the Street web pages on the GrubStreet website
o Works with marketing to draft content and copy for flyers, ads, and other collateral material.
o Drafts bimonthly (and weekly) communication to teens and parents, and acts as the point person for all questions related to teen programming. This includes the YAWP and WDtS newsletters.
o As needed, plans and runs events.
Qualifications:
· Demonstrates GrubStreet’s commitment to anti-racism and equity
· Extremely detail-oriented, with very strong organizational skills
· Solid interpersonal and communication skills – both oral and written; comfort calling and/or emailing parents and students
· Skilled in Microsoft Office (Word and Excel)
· Comfort with learning and using software applications like Airtable
· Willingness to learn and work well within a team environment
About the Organization
We believe that narrative transforms lives, builds bridges, and produces empathy. By rigorously developing voices of every type and talent, and by removing barriers to entry, GrubStreet fosters the creation of meaningful stories and ensures that excellent writing remains vital and relevant.
GrubStreet, the largest creative writing center in the U.S., annually engages over 8,000 students – both teens and adults – in programs that range from two-hour workshops to year-long graduate-level seminars.
Our teachers are working artists who bring the highest quality instruction and mentorship to storytellers. We also host a major writing conference each year and public storytelling events. The education and networks we facilitate foster a richer local writing scene, with a strong focus on increasing opportunities for writers of color, low-income writers, and teen writers.
Our programs eliminate common barriers to participation in the arts and lifelong learning, and build community among participants. We continue to increase scholarships and provide free writing programs (including bilingual classes) for adults and teens in low-income communities across Boston.
Our programs and offices are currently operating remotely in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Once we are operating in person again, we will need the person in this role to be local to Boston.
Position Details
GrubStreet is an equal opportunity employer. We provide a competitive salary and benefits package and a dynamic, collaborative work environment. The salary range for this position is $45,000-50,000, commensurate with experience.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Please email your resume AND cover letter to jobs@grubstreet.org and please put “Program Coordinator” in the subject line. Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. No phone calls, please. We will begin interviewing candidates on Tuesday, January 19th, but will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled. We strongly encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.
Position Status: Full time, exempt
Position Level: Entry-level
Position Reports to: Youth & Community Programs Manager
Location: Boston