Learning & Engagement Manager

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Position:  Learning & Engagement Manager

Department:  Evaluation and Learning & Engagement

Reporting to:  Director of Awards & Cohorts, Evaluation and Learning & Engagement at Art Bridges Foundation

Location:  Bentonville, AR

Salary Range: $65,000 – $75,000

Status:  EXEMPT

Art Bridges seeks a driven, collaborative, and detail-oriented emerging professional to join our growing team. The Learning & Engagement Manager will support the Learning & Engagement department and the foundation’s strategic initiatives. This position is ideal for an individual who enjoys hands-on learning, developing processes, and finding efficiencies to support long-term goals.

The Learning & Engagement Manager will be committed to advancing Art Bridges’ diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) priorities.

Applications must include an updated resume and a cover letter that explains how previous experiences have prepared you for this role and why this position aligns with your career goals. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

About Art Bridges

Art Bridges is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. The mission of Art Bridges is to expand access to American art in all regions across the nation. Since 2017, Art Bridges has been creating and supporting programs that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of nearly 220 museums of all sizes and locations to provide financial and strategic support for exhibition development, loans from the Art Bridges collection, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local audiences. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices.

About the position

The Learning & Engagement Manager will be responsible for managing a team of Learning & Engagement Specialists, designing and executing the strategic vision of the department in alignment with organization-wide priorities, facilitating planning discussions with museum applicants in order to design thoughtful, imaginative, and innovative programs to draw in new and diverse audiences and collaborating across Awards & Funding, Marketing, Traveling Exhibitions, Curatorial, Collection Loan Partnership, Cohorts and Fellows and Evaluation departments to successfully steward museum partners and projects from start to finish.

This individual will be responsible for designing new award programs, analyzing data, providing ongoing 1-1 support to partners, preparing presentations and reports to stakeholders and managing project timelines and budgets.

Responsibilities

Program Management

  • Hires, supervises, mentors, and provides professional development opportunities for direct reports.
  • Assesses, prioritizes, assigns, and manages department workflow including implementation and delegation of the responsibilities outlined below.
  • Tracks spending against project budgets, makes suggestions for keeping projects on budget, and alerts Art Bridges staff and partner museums to potential budget and/or timeline issues.
  • Schedules timely meetings, prepares agendas, and facilitates positive and productive meetings.
  • Generates financial reports as requested; ensures project-related invoices and payments are handled in a timely manner.

Project Management

  • Collaborates with partners to develop meaningful, and innovative museum programs in relation to art object loans and exhibitions that will engage new, diverse audiences. This includes co-developing program themes, goals, and intended outcomes, helping to identify field experts, presenters, performers and vendors, coaching applicants on writing strong application materials and program copy, and advising on museum education best practices.
  • Encourages partners to engage with local communities to build collaborations, program diversity and audience interest, and to cultivate effective collaborative relationships with area artists, institutions, and organizations to help develop quality public programming.
  • Works closely with cross departmental teams at the partner museum and internally at Art Bridges to manage the Learning & Engagement project process
  • Develops expertise in Art Bridges Collection Loans and Traveling Exhibitions to support the creation of presentations and engaging and content-rich, educational, and interpretive materials.
  • Creates content about projects and partners to share on Art Bridges Website and social media
  • Represents the Foundation at public meetings and conferences
  • Provides support on new Foundation initiatives as needed
  • Participate in internal and external professional development opportunities, including Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Access learning and roundtables
  • Other duties as assigned

Attributes that support your success

  • Enthusiasm to join a new foundation that is evolving and poised to have a major impact on the museum field
  • A commitment and passion for the power of art to transform lives
  • Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds, including age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, and lived experiences
  • Creativity, flexibility, and curiosity
  • Ability to anticipate and solve problems proactively
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and people skills (in-person, online, and phone)
  • You have a network of peers in the industry that you can leverage as a resource
  • Ability to maintain the highest levels of confidentiality and discretion

Qualifications and skills

  • Bachelor’s Degree required.
  • 7+ years of work experience in museum education or in a cultural setting, foundation, or non-profit organization in the capacity of managing high performing teams and developing and implementing public programming and communicating impact. Equivalent combination of relevant education and/or experience will satisfy the minimum requirements.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • Excellent project management experience, including creating new or improving existing systems.
  • Working knowledge of arts administration practices.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Zoom and other web-based solutions.
  • Ability to travel regionally and/or nationally 2-3 times per year.

Physical demands and work environment

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical demands: Position requires utilizing a computer and telephone for prolonged periods of time, good eye/hand coordination, verbal, and written conversation with others, and lifting/carrying up to 10 lbs. Vision abilities required by the job include close vision.

Work environment: Work will be performed in an office environment full-time (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) The noise level in the work environment is typically low to moderate. Some overnight travel may be necessary.

Vaccination policy

In accordance with our duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards, and to do our part in safeguarding the health of our co-workers and their families as well as the community at large from COVID-19 that will be reduced by vaccination, we are requiring all Art Bridges staff and interns to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by their start date as a condition of employment. According to the CDC, “fully vaccinated” means it has been two weeks since a person received the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna or the single dose of Johnson & Johnson.

In accordance with all federal, state, and local rules and regulations, Art Bridges recognizes that there may be certain circumstances exempting an employee from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Employees in need of an exemption from this policy due to a disability, advice of a medical provider, or religious beliefs inconsistent with vaccination, must contact the HR group at AWE to initiate the interactive review process within the deadlines expressed in this policy.

We strongly hope this policy decision will help to change the current landscape of infection rates in our community by creating a sense of urgency and proactivity. Our desire is to continue to fulfill our vision of transforming lives through Art Bridges mission. To do this, our priority is to create a safe workplace.

Art Bridges and DEAI

At Art Bridges, diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are central to all work and decisions within our organization. We support our colleagues and our partners in learning and growing together to make this important work part of our daily lives.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Art Bridges is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building and maintaining a culturally diverse workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. We encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.

Contingencies

All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement, background check, and verification of being fully vaccinated for COVID-19. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States on your first day of work.

How to apply: Email cover letter and current CV to: recruitingats@weioffice.com