Associate Director, Secondary Education
About The Position
The Associate Director, Secondary Education Programs leads the design, management, and continuous improvement of the San Francisco Symphony’s education programs and concert offerings for middle and high school students. The role serves as the primary operational lead for the Music and Mentors program, a cornerstone of the Symphony’s partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), managing implementation across 23 campuses and coordinating with site music teachers, school principals, district arts leaders, and teaching artists. The Associate Director recruits, contracts, trains, and supervises a faculty of more than 25 professional Teaching Artists; assesses campus resource needs; oversees instrument repairs and materials procurement; and manages student and teacher engagement opportunities at Davies Symphony Hall. The role also administers the Crescendo Scholarship Initiative and Bass Bash programs, manages program budgets and payroll, and leads data collection, analysis, assessment, and reporting to measure impact and support continuous improvement. The position represents the Symphony at school performances and community events and partners with the Development team on grant proposals and donor stewardship. The position reports to the Director, Education Programs and is part of the Education team within the Civic Engagement department. The role is based at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco and has a hybrid schedule. Regular hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m., with intermittent evening and weekend commitments.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in music, music education, arts administration, or humanities, or equivalent professional experience.
- Five to seven years of experience in arts education administration; music education backgrounds are preferred.
- Extensive knowledge of instrumental music.
- Strong familiarity with band and orchestral string instruments, including common maintenance, repair workflows, and instructional supplies.
- Familiarity with pedagogical principles of music instruction and adolescent social-emotional development.
- Demonstrated experience managing program budgets, accounting reconciliations, and hourly payroll processing.
- Strong interpersonal, diplomatic, and intercultural communication skills, with demonstrated success collaborating with K–12 educators, teenagers, parents, teaching artists, and orchestra musicians.
- Situational awareness, organizational rigor, and discretion when handling confidential student and personnel information.
- Ability to work regular office hours with intermittent evening and weekend commitments for concerts, community events, and school visits.
Nice To Haves
- Experience working in public schools and/or summer camps.
- Experience working with special education students.
- Familiarity with music history and orchestral repertoire.
- Experience with program evaluation, student assessment methodology, or educational research.
Responsibilities
- Direct the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of secondary education initiatives, including operational leadership of Music and Mentors across 23 SFUSD campuses.
- Serve as a key liaison to more than 25 site music teachers, school principals, and district arts leaders.
- Recruit, contract, train, supervise, and evaluate the pedagogical delivery of more than 25 professional Teaching Artists.
- Collaborate with Human Resources to ensure compliance with district and organizational requirements, including Live Scan fingerprinting, TB clearances, and Mandated Reporter training.
- Assess instrumental and technical needs at partner school sites; manage instrument repair workflows, supply procurement, vendor negotiations, and equipment distribution.
- Direct secondary student ticketing initiatives and concert engagement at Davies Symphony Hall, including Teen Night/Day, SF Symphony Youth Orchestra, Open Rehearsals, and cultural heritage concerts.
- Lead logistics for concert lobby activations and produce annual Music and Mentors events.
- Administer the Crescendo Scholarship Initiative, including candidate identification, student progress tracking, family communication, and quarterly updates for the Development team.
- Manage the secondary education program budget; oversee Teaching Artist hourly payroll, track expenditures, support monthly accounting closes, and contribute to quarterly financial projections.
- Lead quantitative and qualitative program assessments to measure educational impact.
- Partner with the Development department to provide narrative metrics, participant data, and collateral for grant proposals and donor stewardship.
- Represent the Symphony and Education Department at off-site school performances and community festivals, including the SFUSD All-City Music Festival.
- Administer the Bass Bash program.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
