Program Manager

The Mural Arts Institute is looking to recruit an Initiative Manager. This position will dedicate significant time to the third iteration of the Art & Environmental Justice Co-Learning Initiative supporting cohort-based workshops and consultations with environmental justice organizations across the country through 2025. The initiative manager will share other Institute related administrative tasks with members of the full MAI team including assisting with public programming at significant points throughout the year, providing technical assistance and managing teams composed of staff specialists, artists and contracted consultants.

About MAI

The Mural Arts Institute (MAI) is dedicated to advancing the development of socially-engaged public art practices across the globe. We work in service to a larger movement that values equity, fairness, and progress across all of society and center our intentions on building relationships and strengthening collaboration between artists, community members and other partners through community driven public art practices. 

We share with others the Mural Arts approach to building public/private partnerships; community engagement and artist development; murals, mosaics, and other public art production techniques; project management tools and guidelines. Our philosophy to sharing is that ‘people learn best from doing the work’ meaning that we embrace an experiential, reflective process of resource sharing, one-on-one and group training, in-person, remote workshops, and webinars to support and broaden the abilities of our learning partners and clients.

We collaborate with artists, activists, planners, organizations, cultural institutions, municipal governments, universities and many others to help design projects and programs. Since 2017, eighteen (18) cities across six (6) countries have participated in deep learning engagements customized to their specific goals and needs. 

Responsibilities

Facilitation of the Art & Environmental Justice Co-Learning Initiative:

Co-facilitation of meetings and learning agenda design and production

Support tracking of funding and expenses

Assist with the design of agendas for learning partner engagements

Contribute to curriculum development, newsletter content, presentations, and toolkits for trainings, workshops, symposia, and other group convenings

Develop trip itineraries for visits to partner cities or agendas for remote consultations

Travel to partner cities to coordinate and support colleagues, and co-facilitate meetings

Manage contracts, payments, stipends and travel expenses.

Documenting meetings with detailed notes and summaries as needed, providing reminders for next steps

Writing letters, emails, meeting notes, quarterly newsletters, following up with certain contacts and seeking information as requested

Creating, sharing and collecting evaluations post public events or programs

Support in coordinating teams of staff and contractors in scheduling meetings and reminders

Reserving spaces, travel, lodging, and meals and finalizing itineraries and info packets

Manage and Contribute to Mural Arts Institute Communications Tools & Strategy

Assist MAP’s Communications Department and consultants in developing promotional materials

Arrange photography, recording and filmmaking for special events

Assist MAP’s Communications Department in creating accessible content such as captioned media

Review and edit documents as needed

Seek ways to reduce communication barriers through coordinating written translation of documents as well as event and conference interpretation

Research marketing materials and department branding

Strategy implementation in collaboration w/the MAI Team:

Participate in routine team meetings to brainstorm, assess cohort feedback, monitor progress, share challenges, and discuss implications for the future of the Institute

Represent Mural Arts and the Institute at professional gatherings

Support or collaborate with MAP staff to present at local, national or international conferences.

Consulting Support:

Co-facilitate and/or co-lead consultations, workshops, and/or coaching sessions with clients or learning partners

Manage contracted consultants hired to support specific aspects of the work

Compile and share, or create, resources that may assist clients, including resources developed outside of Mural Arts

Produce and co-curate Symposia and public programs

Collaborate on other symposia, programs or conversations as opportunities arise

The IDEAL CANDIDATE will be most successful if they have

EXPERIENCE in project management or program development or community planning or community outreach or environmental justice or community engagement or public art engagement or teaching and/or curriculum development. Above all, being an empathetic listener with the goal of approaching this work from the perspective of environmental justice organizations rooted in frontline communities is essential. Lived experience as (or demonstrated deep allyship with) BIPOC, LGBTQ+, person(s) with disabilities, and/or working class folks is also key.

CURIOSITY As a connector for people and organizations, you are curious, thoughtful and attentive with a strong desire to share planning and decision-making responsibilities with others.

ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS The candidate must be highly organized and able to work both independently and collaboratively in a hybrid working environment.

STRONG COMMUNICATION skills in both written and verbal contexts whether through email, in public presentations, coaching, slide decks, or event descriptions. 

COMMITMENT. The candidate should be committed to supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging through how they approach this work overall. 

FUN. Finding joy in the work we do together as a team and with our learning partners is essential to our ethos of centering our relationships to people and places.

SUPPORT Travel may be required for the purposes of connecting with environmental justice organizations in their home cities, attending professional development conferences, or leading public workshops, mostly nationally. Trips are frequently organized in 2 to 4 day periods. Travel may cross weekends and, on occasion, holidays to accommodate meeting schedules. Given the ongoing constraints of COVID-19, plans  are  based on CDC guidelines and internal MAP protocol to prioritize staff wellbeing and overall public health.

Compensation  & Specifications

Full-time, exempt salaried position, 40-hours per week

Annual Salary between $50K and $52K

Mural Arts is pleased to offer a competitive and comprehensive health and dental benefits package.

Grant funded through 2025 with continuation based on subsequent funding opportunities

Based in Philadelphia, PA, hybrid (remote with plans to return to the office in February 2023 at least 2 days per week)

Immediate start date

Application Process
Please provide cover letter, resume, two to three references, and acknowledgement of the salary range offered, in one pdf document, to institute@muralarts.org. Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted on a rolling basis so we encourage interested applicants to apply early. Please include “MAI Initiative Manager Position” in the subject line. No telephone calls or recruiters please.

Mural Arts Philadelphia is the nation’s largest public art program, dedicated to the belief that art ignites change. For over 35 years, Mural Arts has united artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives. Mural Arts Philadelphia exists to provide transformative experiences, progressive discourse, and economic stimulus to the City of Philadelphia.

Our mission: Through participatory public art, Mural Arts Philadelphia inspires change in people, place, and practice, creating opportunity for a more just and equitable Philadelphia.

Mural Arts seeks candidates who value and demonstrate the following core competencies: committed problem solving, deep thinking and fearless creation, inquisitive learning, thoughtful communication, mindful collaboration, personal accountability, and a commitment to actively prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace. Mural Arts Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity Employer.