Director of Youth & Family Programs

Chautauqua Institution is a ‘not-for-profit’ global convener of dialogue and debate on the most significant issues of the day through engagement across four pillars of arts, education, religion and recreation. The Chautauqua community is located on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in Southwestern New York State and comes alive each summer with a unique mix of visual and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship/programs, and recreational activities.

The Education Department offers a variety of programming for youth and families, including:

• Children’s School is a developmental preschool for youth ages 3 to 5 years, which has pioneered thematic programming for learning/activities in nursery school education.
• Group One is a program designed for children who will enter first grade in the fall and serves as a transition between Children's School and Boys' and Girls' Club.
• Boys’ & Girls’ Club is nationally recognized as the longest-running summer day camp in the United States and embraces both tradition and trends in youth education/recreational activities to help youth develop confidence and capability, while building lifelong friendships.
• Boys’ & Girls’ Club Plus expands on the traditional summer day camp experience with interdisciplinary curriculum in the arts and sciences to bolster talents of youth with academic curiosity combining STEM education, literary arts, visual arts and more. 
• CLSC Young Readers Program is a weekly curated reading list that incorporates book discussion and presentation or activity led by community leaders, local organizations and authors.
• Youth and Family Courses through Chautauqua’s Special Studies program, which offers elective specialized programming and engagement across the four pillars
• Recreational Opportunities include Youth Activities Center, Pier Club, Family Entertainment and sports (golf, sailing, swimming and tennis).

I. Position Summary

The Director of Youth & Family Programs will report to the Vice President of Education to plan and execute summer youth programming for pre-school, school-aged, young adult and family learners with focus on multi-generational, multi-disciplinary engagement across the four pillars. The incumbent will implement strategic initiatives to build upon a legacy of learning innovation while evaluating/reimagining programs for the ‘next generation of youth,’ which will honor the contribution of all children and instill a culture of curiosity, understanding, civility and civic participation.    

In addition to partnering with colleagues on program development, the Director of Youth & Family Programs will collaborate with Chautauqua’s Director of Arts Education in positioning the Institution as a year-round educational resource for youth and educators in Chautauqua County (rural county with 18 school districts) and the broader region of Western New York.  This partnership will advance performing, visual and literary arts education and maintain relationships with K-12 and higher education institutions, government officials and other regional partners.  

II. Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide strategic vision and working leadership for Youth & Family Programs, including: program evaluation, operational support, fiscal management and community engagement.
• Audit Youth & Family Programs to identify gaps in programming and engage consultants to research trends, opportunities, target markets and engagement strategies with current/potential stakeholders. 
• Analyze results of audits to design new educational programs that align with strategic goals, implement associated operational plans and track/report outcomes according to pre-established objectives. 
• Ensure educational programs advocate and support diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility. 
• Cultivate working relationships and business alliances with regional/national strategic partners and thought leaders to advance program development.
• Establish effective work processes and systems to maximize individual and collaborative performance.
• Create a synergistic team environment that consistently delivers positive results.  Provide systemic training and career progression programs to support successful operations.
• Establish a strong rapport through ongoing conversations and proactive sharing of information with seasonal/youth leaders and community members with intent to create collaborative support for reimagining youth education programs.
• Work with marketing to promote youth education programs, including creation and production of compelling brand identity, collateral materials and social/web content.  Access Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools and resources to gather data/analytics to build databases of existing program participants and establish research to direct future targeted marketing campaigns.
• Represent Department of Education at regional events and national conferences.
• Collaborate with Chautauqua Foundation to develop sources for youth program funding, participate in fundraisers and use competencies in grant writing to assist securing philanthropy.
• Prepare, review and approve annual operating budget/financial reports and provide input on capital expenditures or investments.  Analyze costs to understand performance outcomes versus budget and identify inconsistencies, taking corrective action as necessary.  
• Stay current on vital professional and non-profit employment needs in youth education areas, fostering development and delivery of pre-professional training programs critical for future employment. 
• Partner with Human Resources to direct the hiring processes for all management and staff, including review of applications, conducting interviews and completing corresponding paperwork.
• Supervise, set goals for and review performance of program staff dedicated to youth education.  Conduct routine coaching, annual performance appraisals, corrective action and terminations.
• Operate department in compliance with Federal and New York State Labor Laws, Company Policies/Procedures, Standard Operating Procedures and Service Standards. 

III. Formal Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s in Education, Public Administration or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.

IV. Formal Experience Requirements

• 10+ years’ experience in education, child development, education administration, curriculum design or youth programming in a public-school system or not-for-profit landscape.  Progressive management experience with departmental or functional area oversight strongly preferred.

V. Skills and Abilities

• Exceptional program administration and management skills, including, but not limited to: staff supervision, program evaluation, budget development/management, data gathering/analysis, communicating with stakeholders and population served.
• Experience in building age-appropriate, multi-disciplinary youth programs as well as multi-generational programs that engage the entire family with special consideration to ‘best practices’ for diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility.
• Advanced competencies in critical questioning, trust-building, networking, managing change/uncertainty, continuous improvement and mobilizing stakeholders as advocates of innovation within a traditional environment.
• Must enjoy working on a team in a participatory environment that respects varied opinions and diverse audiences. 
• Creative/imaginative abilities with capacity to envision new operational landscapes. 
• Ability to quickly adapt new skills in a constantly evolving, rapid pace culture of visionary thinkers.
• Expert oral and written communication skills to present often complex information, frequently with public speaking engagements or at board meetings.
• Functional knowledge and comfort within both the public-school system and non-profit landscape.
• Experience in technology innovation and deployment as key drivers of program development, implementation and evaluation as well as Microsoft Suite/Sharepoint as used in a work environment.

VI. Working Conditions and Environmental Hazards

• Normal levels of office noise from conversation, computers and systems.  Risk of eye strain due to heavy computer usage.  
• Travel required to various events, conferences and/or trainings using personal (or occasionally rental) vehicles.  Travel predominately in PA/NY within an approximate 100-miles radius.

• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends and holidays required and willingness to flex up in scheduled work hours (based on business need).

VII. Physical Requirements

• Combination of sedentary/standing work, periodic lifting/carrying loads and set up/tear down of equipment up to 25lbs.  85% of work is performed sitting at a desk; 15% of work is spent ‘managing by walking around’ campus (periodically in inclement weather, including: heat, rain, snow and freezing temperatures).
• Reaches for, handles, adjusts, or maneuvers when organizing and filling paperwork at floor, desk, and overhead levels.  Finger/hand manipulation approximately 90% of the time.

VIII. Contacts

Internal

• Executive Leadership Team, specifically Vice Presidents of Education and Strategic Initiatives
• Education Department Team, including Director of Literary Arts and Manager of Special Studies
• Senior Leadership Team, including direct collaboration with Director of Arts Education, Director of Recreation, Director of Human Resources and Director of Marketing
• Chautauqua Foundation
• Chautauqua Institution and Chautauqua Hotel Company Staff

External

• Children, parents, families and participants/graduates of Youth & Family Programs
• Public Schools and other Strategic Business Partners, including consultants
• Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees
• Community-at-large, including guests and visitors

IX. Supervision and Guidance

• Seasonal employees and leadership for Youth & Family Programs