Associate Director of Education, Library for the Performing Arts

The New York Public Library•New York, NY

20d•$135,000 - $150,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director of Education is a member of the Library for the Performing Arts (LPA) senior leadership team and provides strategic vision for education at LPA. The role oversees programs and staff serving learners from elementary school through post-secondary study and beyond, and helps ensure educational programming is equitably balanced across Dance, Music & Recorded Sound, and Theatre. The Associate Director will build and lead a newly forming department at a sustainable pace, align its activities with NYPL’s FY26–30 Strategy, and advance a unified approach to performing arts education that connects LPA’s collections with learning through primary-source inquiry. The position works closely with the Executive Director, NYPL’s Center for Educators and Schools, Branch Libraries Education, the other research libraries, curatorial and public services colleagues, Lincoln Center resident organizations, and the Strategy & Public Impact team. It leads school and student programs, teen programs, community outreach, curriculum development, partnerships, fundraising, and public engagement. The role also oversees departmental operations, staffing, budgets, grant-funded projects, and efforts to make LPA spaces and technical resources accessible to artists and community members. The role is largely onsite, with the possibility of two remote days. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 35 hours per week, with some evenings and weekends required. Some light lifting or moving may be required. The position is non-union and exempt.

Requirements

Master’s degree or higher in Education, Liberal Arts, Performing Arts, Library Science, or a related field.
10 or more years of related experience in education; classroom experience is helpful but not required.
5 to 7 years of demonstrated supervisory and management experience.
Deep knowledge of the history and current landscape of Theatre, Dance, and/or Music, with commitment to representing diverse voices.
Knowledge of NYC and NYS education standards for curriculum and instruction.
Ability to balance the needs and expertise of individual programs with broader institutional goals and strategic priorities.
Strong project management skills and demonstrated ability to lead complex programs, including partnerships with NYC Public Schools.
Experience developing curriculum and materials aligned with NYS and national arts standards, including digitally accessible curriculum across grade levels.
Ability to build lasting partnerships with schools, cultural organizations, and community-based organizations, and to engage diverse audiences from K-12 students to scholars and arts practitioners.
Ability to work across departments, build consensus, and resolve complex problems.
Collaborative and visible leadership, with the ability to build trust, inspire a team, develop and mentor talent, and guide staff through change with clarity, transparency, and care.
Demonstrated success in grant writing, donor cultivation, and securing support for educational initiatives.
Exceptional public speaking and writing skills, and ability to represent the Library’s educational programs with authority and passion.
Excellent problem-solving, advocacy, and decision-making skills.
Ability to provide leadership and direction to managers, supervisors, and professional staff across multiple medium-to-large educational programs.
Ability to direct and manage several medium-to-large educational programs and drive operational and strategic alignment within LPA.

Nice To Haves

Classroom experience is helpful but not required.
Experience with collections-based learning is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement an education vision for LPA aligned with NYPL’s goals, in collaboration with the Executive Director and building on the team’s expertise.
Promote equitable access to arts education by balancing programs across LPA’s disciplines while honoring their distinct subjects and histories.
Partner with the Center for Educators and Schools and Branch Libraries Education to integrate LPA’s archival focus into citywide K-12 and post-secondary curricula, and coordinate with education leads at Schomburg and the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Library.
Develop a strategy for integrating students who use LPA as a third space into programs, exhibitions, and archival access.
Work with the Strategy & Public Impact team to develop data-informed models for assessing the effectiveness and reach of education and outreach.
Oversee, structure, and scale TOFT in Schools, the Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab, student tours and programs, and the Teen Theatre Ensemble, and create additional K-12 opportunities at LPA.
Lead change management and structure the new department to support sustainable growth, efficiency, and impact in line with team capacity.
Supervise and mentor departmental staff, including early-career staff, and foster professional development and a patron-first mindset.
Oversee the departmental budget and grant-funded projects.
Direct the strategy for making LPA spaces and technical resources available to performing artists and local community members at free or highly subsidized rates.
Foster hospitality and inclusivity, coordinating service training and frontline staff support with the Director of Public Services.
Develop curriculum and instructional materials aligned with NYC, NYS, and national arts standards, and make them digitally accessible across grade levels.
Bring primary-source inquiry into education programs and negotiate access to collections for educational use.
Collaborate with the Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs & Collections to integrate curatorial expertise into educational initiatives and K-12 and post-secondary learning programs.
Oversee educational collaborations with Lincoln Center resident organizations, deepen existing relationships, and cultivate new partnerships across the performing arts ecosystem.
Work with the Executive Director and Development department to identify, pursue, and manage grants and philanthropic support, including project execution and reporting compliance.
Steward relationships with foundations and high-level individual donors focused on the performing arts.
Serve as a primary spokesperson for LPA Education to media, stakeholders, donors, educators, and the performing arts community.
Work with NYPL Communications to promote programs and success stories, develop social and digital content, and raise the profile of the archive.
Partner with Communications to identify and pursue press opportunities related to major educational programs and institutional achievements.
Perform other related duties as assigned.