Lead Teaching Artist

SFJAZZ • San Francisco, CA

69d

About The Position

The SFJAZZ Lead Teaching Artist collaborates in the creation of curricula, develops and leads middle and high school residencies, facilitates professional development workshops for teaching artists, and develops content for in-school, extracurricular and other SFJAZZ Education programs. The Lead Teaching Artist is also responsible for supporting Teaching Artists with curriculum and classroom facilitation, leading Professional Development workshops with classroom teachers and school administrators, regularly observing and evaluating on-call Teaching Artists, cultivating site partnerships, and engaging the organization across departments to execute program goals. This Lead Teaching Artist position will be primarily responsible for stewardship of the Jazz In Session program—which provides support to middle and high school jazz band programs—with other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Minimum four (4) years experience developing residency-length music education curricula and teaching creative content to middle and high school students.
• Direct experience supporting educators through mentorship, coaching, and leading professional development workshops.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, and collaborative work ethic.
• Minimum of five (5) years professional experience as a jazz music educator and performer.
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of African Diaspora, jazz history and repertoire, and performance practice.
• Knowledge of age-appropriate teaching methods and best practices in the context of music education.
• Experience with collaboratively overseeing a team of on-call Teaching Artists.
• Experience in jazz composition and arranging techniques.
• Must pass fingerprinting and TB test before hire.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual in Spanish is desirable.
• Experience with culturally responsive, trauma-informed or healing-centered teaching practices is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with SFJAZZ staff and classroom/band room teachers within partner schools to support a standards-based curriculum in jazz music performance and literacy.
• Conduct regular reviews and audits of curricular plans, pedagogical methodology, teaching tools, etc.
• Design and gather curriculum guides, instructional materials, lesson plans, assessments tools, and other learning resources.
• Provide instruction for Jazz In Session residencies as needed throughout the school year.
• Develop and modify curricula designed to help students explore and immerse themselves in jazz music study, appreciation, and performance.
• Lead regular check-ins with classroom teachers and school administrators.
• Support on-call Teaching Artists with curriculum and content development for in-school, extracurricular, and other programs.
• Lead pre-residency meetings with school site staff and on-call Teaching Artists.
• Support on-call TAs with classroom management strategies and solutions.
• Problem-solve any school site or Teaching Artist issues under the guidance of the School Programs team.
• Collaborate on maintaining and updating on-call Teaching Artist expectations.
• Participate in on-call Teaching Artist hiring and onboarding process.
• Facilitate annual Teaching Artist orientation.
• Conduct regular in-class observations/assessments of TA’s classroom management skills.
• Participate in on-call TA performance review processes.
• Attend school site meetings throughout the year and mandatory professional development sessions.
• Facilitate professional development sessions on best curriculum-building and teaching practices.
• Cultivate school site partnerships and engage the organization across departments.
• Maintain timely communication with SFJAZZ Education staff and program sites.
• Conduct classroom visits for possible partner schools.
• Assess and determine SFJAZZ School Programs alignment with potential school site partners.

Benefits

• Flexible work policy.
• 8 weeks off, with 2 weeks in the wintertime and 6 weeks off in the summertime.
• Schedule closely reflects the monthly schedule of teachers in the school district system.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees