Public Programs Coordinator

Strong National Museum•Rochester, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Strong offers programs for individuals of all ages to learn about the power and importance of play in their lives. The public programs coordinator is responsible for collaborating with team members on creative brainstorming, program coordination and communication, and general administrative tasks relating to the planning and execution of all public program events. This position develops guest-centered, hands-on programs with playful, educational themes that celebrate diversity, inclusion, and exploration at every age. This position requires a dynamic individual who is passionate about crafting fun, engaging, and educational experiences for guests and members, is comfortable and able to experiment with creative ideas, and is highly organized and consistently able to meet strict program deadlines. The public programs coordinator is required to expend such personal efforts as may be needed to keep up with advances in subject matter information related to this position. The employee must learn the constraints, with particular consideration of the budget, within which this job must be performed, and work within those parameters.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in education, museum studies, event management, or related field.
Experience successfully working in event planning, coordination, or other programming, preferably in an educational environment or at a museum.
Experience working with children and families.
Flexibility to work both weekday and weekend shifts as job duties require.
Conflict Management: Ability to use appropriate interpersonal skills and methods to reduce tension and resolve conflict in difficult or complex situations to achieve resolution or adherence to policies and/or procedures.
Extraordinary ability to communicate matters and resolve issues face-to-face with patience and good judgment.
Creativity: Strong creative thinking and the ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for educational program and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Enthusiasm: Must be able to maintain a high level of energy throughout the workday, especially when interacting with guests.
Hospitality: Strong customer service background.
Social perceptiveness to assist in executing successful interactions with guests and creating a welcoming environment for all.
Interpersonal Tact: Frequent contact with individuals within the museum in situations where considerable tact and initiative are needed.
Excellent listening skills, a high degree of diplomacy and maturity, and the ability to balance empathy and objectivity.
Organization: Remain highly organized and pay close attention to each detail to ensure all programmatic activities and related materials contain appropriate and accurate content.
Ensure that all projects are planned, organized, and properly executed.
Program Evaluation: Skilled in identifying measures or indicators of event or program success and the actions needed to improve or correct execution, relative to the goals of the institution.
Public Speaking: Enthusiastic presentation and public speaking skills and comfort engaging with diverse audiences.
Collaboration: We work in a team-oriented environment, so it is vital that our employees maintain effective interpersonal relationships.
Team members must be good at active listening, conflict management, cooperation, facilitation, negotiation, and be open to feedback.
Communication: Our employees should always communicate and act in a respectful manner when working with others, including those from outside the museum.
The ability to process and handle confidential information with discretion and to handle difficult and stressful situations with professional composure is vital for this position.
This job requires the ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written form using the English language.
Guest Service: All museum employees provide extraordinary service to our guests.
People are filled with anticipation when they visit. When they leave, they feel enriched, are glad they came, and look forward to returning.
The public programs team’s work should contribute to these sentiments every day.
Problem-Solving: Things don’t always go as planned.
This job requires the ability to understand and follow instructions while recognizing, analyzing, and solving a variety of problems.
The public programs coordinator should exercise sound judgment when making decisions.
Time Management: The ability to work well under pressure and handle several projects at once in order to meet the varying needs of the museum is fundamental to this role.
The employee must be self-motivated, well-organized, and flexible.
A strong ability to multi-task and work with competing deadlines and varying priorities without compromising attention to detail or quality of work is essential.
Computer Proficiency: This position requires work on a computer, in databases, and with related equipment.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Word), various document processing applications, and internet search engines.
Comfort using online platforms and web-interfaces, such as Pinterest.
Must consent to and pass a drug screen and criminal background check as conditions of employment.

Nice To Haves

Marketing or public relations skills.
Bilingual written and verbal skills

Responsibilities

Collaborate with the Vice President for Education and Public Programs, the Public Programs Manager, and other public programs coordinators to establish a full-year schedule of diverse and inclusive public programming that includes signature events, themed summer weeks, and recurring themed series.
Develop and implement public programs from the idea stage through program delivery and analysis that are accessible, inclusive, and inspiring for all guests.
Conduct web-based background research for programs and related activities.
Think broadly and systematically about how programs and events fit into the museum’s mission and how such programs can and should relate to museum collections and interpretation.
Arrange all program logistics for scheduled and assigned programs, including securing and managing supplies, booking rooms and spaces, ensuring appropriate set-up and AV support, coordinating external talent and entertainment, and training or guiding program staff as necessary.
Monitor the progress of assigned events and troubleshoot issues as they arise.
Hire diverse and inclusive actors, musicians, performers, and vendors.
Manage their relationship(s) with the event or program on behalf of the museum and maintain good communication throughout all phases of development and execution.
Develop an operations plan for each assigned event to be used by all teams to assist in the set-up and take-down of events and programs.
Serve as the main point of contact for each event.
Develop a schedule of diverse and inclusive activities for each assigned event for the purpose of providing visitors with an engaging, educational, and fun visit.
Plan and develop programs within budgetary parameters.
Obtain quotes and setup new contracts for upcoming events and performances.
Oversee, in coordination with the guest services team and Public Programs Manager, appropriate staffing for public programs and events.
Provide quality service to guests, both onsite and offsite, regardless of specific program assignment.
Understand the importance the museum places on extraordinary guest service and treat everyone with dignity and respect.
Greet, welcome, and interact with museum guests on behalf of public program activities.
Provide answers to guests’ questions, including information regarding daily events, programs, and museum membership.
Support public programs’ publicity and outreach activities as needed.
Record and maintain documentation of procedures and processes related to program development and implementation, including contact information for all assigned events.
Regularly reflect on event facilitation and implementation.
Research new program ideas and make suggestions for improvements to signature events.
Take initiative to identify and solve problems.
Publicly support team decisions, even if they conflict with personal opinions.
Provide day-to-day administrative support to the Vice President for Education and Public Programs for multiple projects, interacting regularly with other project participants, partner organizations, and various internal teams.
Welcome new staff and create a positive work environment.
Identify and act on opportunities to help and support the efforts of coworkers and staff from other teams.
Assist with training and overseeing public programs interns and volunteers.
Participate in all required museum trainings.
Attend public programs team and general staff meetings, and others, as needed.