Director, Mobile Tour

Director, Mobile Tour

Job Title: Director, Mobile Tour

Department: Interview Collection

Division: Programs

Location: Brooklyn, NY or Remote

Reports To: Managing Director, Program Operations  

Status: Full Time, Temporary, Exempt, Non-Union

Salary: $68,000 - $78,000

THE ROLE

In 2005, StoryCorps converted an Airstream trailer into a traveling recording studio–our MobileBooth–and launched its first cross-country tour. Today, our national touring MobileBooth continues to operate year-round, making 4-6 week stops in cities and towns across the country. We partner with local public radio stations, cultural institutions and community-based organizations to get the word out and invite a diverse range of participants to record their stories at the Booth. The Mobile Tour is a key StoryCorps program that ensures the collection of voices and stories that reflect our nation’s diversity.

The Director, Mobile Tour is responsible for the successful planning and execution of the Mobile Tour.  The Director, Mobile Tour selects and designs the yearly ten-stop tour and travels to each tour location in advance of the MobileBooth’s arrival to meet with the host partner, local community groups, and other affiliated parties to lay the groundwork for successful execution of the tour stop.  The Director, Mobile Tour is responsible for planning and troubleshooting issues related to Booth siting, and works with the Site Manager to oversee the Booth’s stay in each town and its transition to the next tour stop. 

 The Director, Mobile Tour reports to the Managing Director, Program Operations and is responsible for leading the Mobile Department Team, which includes the Mobile Site Manager, the Manager, Mobile Tour Community Partnerships, Participant Relations Associate, and three Mobile Facilitators.

We seek to recruit and develop a staff whose diversity matches the diversity of the communities we serve, and we strongly encourage applications from people of color,  the LGBTQ+ community, from people of all ages, political beliefs, and cultures. StoryCorps records, shares, and preserves stories from a diverse range of American voices — from our Historias Initiative to collect the experiences of Latinos, to our One Small Step initiative to connect people across the political divide, and more.  

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Tour Planning (35%)

• Collaborate with the Managing Director, Program Operations, and National Initiatives Managers to create annual Mobile Tour plans
• Support the execution of  Letters of Agreement (LOA) for all NPR affiliate radio station partners
• Identify minority radio station partners to collaborate with tour locations, as possible
• Visit each tour location in advance of the MobileTour arrival.  Plan and             convene meetings, including Opening Day, community-based engagements (as requested), training sites, and Listening Events with station partners, community partners, and affiliated parties
• Scout and secure an appropriate MobileBooth site or on-site recording location, as needed
• Creates Advanced Briefing Reports for all Mobile tour stops to prepare Mobile staff to be deployed 
• Establish on the ground staffing schedule for facilitators and Site Manager during each tour stop 
• Manage and directly supervise the team of two senior-level Mobile staff responsible for outreach and engagement of community groups on each tour stop (Manager, Mobile Tour Community Partnerships), and for on-the-ground implementation of each tour stop (Site Manager, Mobile Tour)
• Supervise Participant Relations Associate, responsible for coordinating, scheduling and confirming recording appointments for each tour stop 
• Function as primary contact and sustain relationships with Mobile Tour public radio station; act as primary contact with station prior to, during, and after the Mobile Tour stop
• Strategize with stations to develop market-specific promotional plans to activate public radio listeners and ensure diverse participation
• Engage with local press until stop commences, including functioning as a StoryCorps spokesperson in interviews with the media, as needed 
• Oversee successful release and continued access of recording appointments during each stop
• Coordinate with Managing Director to make emergency adjustments, including reconfiguration of the existing tour, as needed 

Continuous Improvement and Operational Efficiency (20%)

• Ensure that community outreach and participant diversity targets are established and achieved for each stop; regularly review reports to identify areas of improvement and oversee adjustments to community outreach strategy, as needed
• Manage yearly interview projections to ensure compliance with requirements of multiple funders
• Create and monitor the annual Mobile budget, including monthly review of Budget Versus Actuals reports
• Compose, assess, and annually revise the Mobile Tour Manual for Station Partners as needed to maintain up-to-date policies and procedures
• Controls all participant appointment preparatory language and engages with Mobile team and external departments to ensure effective communication throughout 
• Manage special project consultants (content, training, etc), as needed
• Perform other duties to support the Mobile Tour and StoryBooths department, as assigned

Interdepartmental Collaboration (20%)

• In collaboration with the Managing Director, manage the relationship between the StoryCorps Marketing & Communications Department and public radio station partners to ensure the Mobile Tour stop is effectively promoted through local media outlets and social media.  Collaborate with Marketing & Communications on creation of an annual tour press release, station materials (including stations page for each stop), and on the ground materials
• Collaborate with StoryCorps’ Animation Department to promote the Mobile Tour with StoryCorps animated content through dual-licensed public media organizations, public television stations, and other public media outlets
• Manage the relationship with StoryCorps’ Production Department to ensure that National Public Radio affiliate partners receive on-air promo templates, schedules for content transfers, and instructions in producing radio content consistent with StoryCorps’ broadcast standards
• Liaise with the Recording and Archive department to ensure effective ongoing maintenance, inspection, and upkeep of the MobileBooth, staff vehicles, and recording equipment, ensuring responsiveness to any emergencies that arise on the road
• Partner with Finance & Administration and Development teams to oversee qualitative and quantitative funder reporting; tracks all press coverage, station content creation and local events, for reporting purposes

Hiring and Training (25%)

• Hire annually a Mobile Tour Site Manager as well as a diverse Facilitator Team, including Bilingual Facilitators
• Participate in the development and execution of the bi-annual training series for Mobile Facilitator staff
• Create and update training materials for all new staff, as required 
• Assist HR and Recording & Archive team with the planning and administration of facilitator training sessions, as needed

Travel Percentage: 10% of the job is dedicated to travel

Perform other duties to support the MobileBooth department/function as assigned.

ABOUT YOU

Required:

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills

• Solid organization skills, multi-tasking ability, and attention to detail

• Ability to be flexible and adaptable in order to contribute to problem-solving activities within a growing, changing organization

• Cultural competence/humility and the ability to thrive in a diverse work environment
• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in managing logistics, with strong multi-tasking and organizational skills and attention to detail
• Minimum 3 years’ experience working in diverse communities, including conducting outreach and engagement activities
• Proven experience as an effective leader, with strong team-building skills
• Ability to regularly travel one week per month, and for approximately two weeks per month on a quarterly basis
• Availability to respond 24 hours, 7 days a week to needs and issues of the Mobile Tour, as needed
• Excellent interpersonal, written/verbal communication, and public speaking skills
• Strong research skills
• Proactive problem-solving skills, and the ability to be flexible and adaptable to a growing, changing, fast-paced organizational environment
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team; excellent collaboration and conflict resolution skills
• Strong computer skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office word processing, spreadsheet, email, and database software
• Comfortability in assessing and adjusting programmatic budgets, as needed
• Proficient driving skills and a valid driver’s license
• Solid organization skills, multi-tasking ability, and attention to detail

Preferred:

• Are fluent in Spanish
• Minimum 3 years’ experience providing staff supervision and evaluation (strongly preferred)
• Knowledge of public radio community

Physical Requirements:

• Work is performed in an office environment and requires the ability to operate standard office equipment and keyboards. Must have the ability to walk short distances
• Work is performed in an office environment and requires the ability to operate standard office equipment and keyboards. Must have the ability to lift and small carry parcels, packages and other items
• Travel Percentage: 10% of the job dedicated to travel

ABOUT STORYCORPS

Founded in 2003, StoryCorps has given over 600,000 people, in all 50 states, the chance to record interviews about their lives. The award-winning organization preserves the recordings in its archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered, and shares select stories with the public through StoryCorps’ podcast, NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms, and best-selling books. These powerful human stories reflect the vast range of American experiences, engender empathy and connection, and remind us how much more we have in common than what divides us. StoryCorps is especially committed to capturing and amplifying voices least heard in the media. The StoryCorps MobileBooth, an Airstream trailer that has been transformed into a traveling recording booth, crisscrosses the country year-round gathering the stories of people nationwide. Learn more at storycorps.org.

In-Office Work: 

Working at the StoryCorps office is optional except in certain circumstances, such as in-person training, if your position requires some in-office presence, or if your manager needs an in-person individual or team meeting, COVID guidelines permitting.

For those who prefer to work in the office, that option remains.

COVID NOTICE:

All offers of employment requiring on-site/in-person work will be contingent on the candidate being Fully Vaccinated (at least two-weeks after last dose) prior to starting their new role. Reasonable accommodations can be discussed with HR personnel for individuals who cannot be vaccinated due to medical or religious reasons. Proof of vaccination status is required at the time of extending the offer.

We monitor NYC COVID-19 transmissions rates every week to inform staff of in-office protocols. This status is emailed to all staff every Friday and will include the rules to follow for each color code: Green, Yellow, and Red.  These codes will dictate the masking and gathering guidelines.

StoryCorps seeks to hire staff who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. All positions at StoryCorps are filled without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, HIV/AIDS status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. All are encouraged to apply.