Organizational Overview:

Dancing Classrooms (DC) is a dance education provider to New York City schools and communities which cultivates essential life skills in young people through the joyful art and practice of social dance. Through standards-based, in-and-out-of-school residencies, we use the vocabulary of social and partner dance to cultivate essential social, emotional, cognitive and personal traits inherent in every child. Made famous by the acclaimed 2005 documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom”, Dancing Classrooms has been a leader in social dance education for 26 years, partnering with hundreds of NYC schools to deliver its Core Residency (DCNY) programs. DC has served over 600,000 children since its founding.

Emerging from a time of crisis and isolation, we at Dancing Classrooms strongly believe that our vision of schools and communities where every child is connected, respected and given an environment in which to thrive is more important than ever. This is why we quickly pivoted to offering remote, hybrid, and socially distant dance learning opportunities which build essential social and emotional skills for young people, while remaining grounded in the elements of the renowned Dulaine Method of dance instruction. 

Now, DC seeks to hire a Program Manager as part of its programming team, to support the growth, promotion, administration, logistics, and overall management of virtual and in-person programs.

Our Culture:

DC believes in the potential of every student and is dedicated to cultivating their artistic, physical, cognitive and social skills in order to support their long-term success. Our culture thrives by putting the young people we serve at the center of everything we do. Having worked remotely for several years, DC team members are proactive and self-driven, but also thrive in a collaborative environment where flexibility, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit are encouraged and celebrated. Kindness, compassion, empathy and respect are at the forefront of the way we treat each other, our students, our teaching artists, our educational partners, and our supporters. We strive to embrace our role as life-long-learners and to embrace inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and cross-cultural understanding.

Dancing Classrooms seeks a Program Manager (PM) to work in close collaboration with other members of the Program team and DCNYC Teaching Artists. Reporting to the Deputy Director, the PM is an administrative professional who values the customer service experience, looking to join a dedicated team and grow in their/her/his nonprofit career. Working with the Deputy Director to strategically grow DCs programs in out-of-school time (after school, school breaks, summer, weekends, etc.), the PM will be the main point-of-contact for schools, after-school programs and organizations engaging with DC, for teaching artists delivering out-of-school programs, and for families registering for programs directly with DC. With a good sense of humor and ability to remain graceful under pressure, the PM must be engaging, approachable, and able to navigate difficult customer service situations. He/She/They must be committed to maintaining the standards of excellence and joy for which Dancing Classrooms is so well known, and are at the heart of our pedagogical values, the Dulaine Method. With flexibility and willingness to pivot on a dime, the ideal candidate will have a strong work ethic and experience working in an energetic, fast-paced work environment. She/They/He must be passionate about Creative Youth Development and dance education, and dedicated to student success and social-emotional wellbeing.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• 3+ years of nonprofit or education administration, in particular program or youth development
• Demonstrated self-starter and proactive problem solver, able to elevate challenges and collaborate with leadership to develop solutions
• Strong organization and project management skills with ability to balance multiple priorities, high-volume case loads, and complex tasks
• Must be tech savvy and comfortable delivering high-quality customer service and communication through multiple channels
• Must be passionate about the mission and work of DC
• A knowledge of social dance practices, NYS Dance Standards and the NYC Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance encouraged
• Knowledge of and connections to NYC after school programs and community organizations strongly encouraged
• Experience working in or with NYC public schools and/or NYC after school settings a plus
• Demonstrated commitment to:
  • Culturally responsive and culturally sustaining education
  • LGBTQI inclusivity practices in education
  • Social emotional learning
• A willingness to learn new skills, try new things, and “dive in” will be of the utmost importance, as the entire organization continues to hone its skills in this new, virtual world. We encourage ongoing professional growth, and look for a candidate with experience in and/or willingness to develop expertise in the following areas:
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, Zoom, Google Suite (mail, drive, docs, sheets, forms, calendars, etc.), Slack, mailchimp, online video platforms (youtube, tik tok, Instagram Live, etc.), Google Classroom, Filemaker, Vimeo, Salesforce, Asana, social media
• Must be comfortable working remotely 
• Ability to travel (drive or public transportation) to schools for in-person visits / events (when safe)

Key Roles include:

Program Administration

• Schedule and support residencies in- and out-of-school in all five boroughs and Westchester. 
  • Schedule classes and meetings, communicating with teachers and school or program administrators by phone/zoom/meet/email, managing multiple calendars and keeping records of the services delivered
  • Keep meticulous records on residency scheduling, pricing, purchase orders, and more as needed to support Operations in accurate bookkeeping
  • Assist Finance and Operations departments as needed in residency billing, assist in the collections of residency receivables, and gather data necessary to generate calendars and payroll reports
  • Together with the Programming Department, work to assign teaching artists to residencies to help ensure productive and successful student learning
  • Lead (virtual and/or in-person) orientation meetings between teachers or staff and Teaching Artists (TAs)
  • Ensure that TAs are equipped with necessary program support materials, including videos, music, history guides, etc.
  • Support TAs as needed to set up and plan for Culminating Events, helping to ensure proper representation of DC
• Lead administrative and logistical support of all other out-of-school DC programs
  • Work with Deputy Director to identify new partnerships and opportunities for out-of-school programs
  • Provide scheduling, communication, billing and programmatic support as above
  • Work with Deputy Director and Associate Director of Curriculum & Teaching (ADCPD) to schedule TAs and classes for DC school-break programs (via zoom or in-person)
  • Oversee enrollment via eventbrite (or another online platform) and creation of class rosters
  • Work with TAs to determine technical needs
  • Provide all technical support as needed in setting up zoom, and ensuring TAs are utilizing technology accordingly
  • Oversee all communication to students and families, including but not limited to drafting copy, maintaining mailing list data in mailchimp, generating feedback surveys, and tracking media release forms
• Provide ongoing support, assessment and feedback for teaching artists
  • Together with ADCPD provide technical and program development support to TAs in Zoom, Google Classrooms and with Curriculum Connections for each residency
  • Together with ADCPD, support TA teaching practice through observations, regular check-ins, formal and informal assessments, and 360 degree feedback
  • Work with Deputy Director to address challenges with partners or residencies as needed
  • Provide support in the creation, distribution and collection of informal and formal feedback from school / community partners and families, including (but not limited to) creating and tracking surveys
• Additional administrative duties as needed

Marketing and Promotion

• Together with the Program Team and Communications Manager, lead efforts in promoting DC programs to new partners in NYC, NJ and/or Westchester, including after-school organizations, schools / summer schools, community organizations, faith-based organizations, and government-run programs
• Together with Deputy Director and Communications Manager, support marketing of DC programs, including creating and maintaining school contact lists, drafting copy for eblasts, website updates and social media, and proofing materials as needed
• Represent DC in all necessary communications with current and potential partners
• Cultivate positive relationships with school/organization administrators and teachers to inform and support multi-year partnerships with DC

Special Events

• Represent DC as needed at community and DC special events, including but not limited to DC’s Annual Gala and DOE vendor fairs
• Work with the Deputy Director, the Program and Operations teams to execute all elements of regular Colors of the Rainbow Team Matches and/or other cross-school celebrations
• Support annual TA training, TA auditions and DC Global convenings as needed

The Program Manager receives an annual salary ranging from $58,500 – $60,000, commensurate with experience, and a benefits package including health care coverage and generous paid time off.

Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter detailing your experience and expertise in the aforementioned qualifications. Please send application materials to jobs@dancingclassrooms.org, with the subject line Program Manager position. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, with a targeted start date no later than December 1, 2021.