Associate Director of Cultural Development - City of Newton

Job Description

Primary purpose:

Primary purpose is to assist the Director in designing, implementing, maintaining, and evaluating public policy and programs that nurture a culturally rich community, offering Newton residents opportunities to participate in cultural programs that support the activities of Newton artists, musicians, and cultural organizations. 

Nurture strong working relationships within the Department/City, especially those departments that participate in the activities of the department i.e.: public works, police, building, fire, health, law departments and others. Foster strong working relationships outside the Department/City: including but not limited to the Cultural Council, performers, parents, volunteers, and citizens at large.

Supervision:

Supervision Received: Works under the policy direction of and reports to the Director of Cultural Development. Follows department rules, regulations, and policies, requiring the ability to plan and perform operations, and to independently complete assigned tasks according to a prescribed time schedule.

Supervision Given: May provides general supervision of part time program staff, vendors, volunteers, and performers as needed.

Essential Functions:

• Participate in a culture of ongoing learning, collaboration, innovation, creativity, and community engagement.  Act as an advocate for the arts community championing arts/culture causes and working towards enhancing the vibrant arts environment in Newton.  Position includes work on evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Day to day operations of the Cultural Development office i.e.: phone, email, website, social media, postal mail 
• Performing project management and handling multiple projects at a time including curating city hall gallery space, public art programs, Family Funfest, 4th of July Celebration, Summer Concerts, Halloween Window Painting, Mayor’s Holiday Celebration, Time for Partners program, and other events/programs deemed necessary and appropriate throughout the year.
• Cultivating and managing a vibrant data base of volunteers and artists. 
• Creating and delivering engaging social media content and other marketing materials. 
• Envisioning and delivering a high standard of care to all individuals who interact with the department, including city workers (elected and staff), residents and non-residents alike. 
• Choosing, supervising, and evaluating performers, entertainers and groups for festivals, concerts, and special events.
• Choosing, supervising, and evaluating quality of craftspeople for festivals and craft shows.
• Choosing, supervising, and evaluating prospective faculty members and lecturers.
• Sourcing and investigating new exciting and relevant programs and events for our city.
• Writing/creating press releases and flyers, brochures, social media content and other promotional materials for all events. Distributing brochures and flyers: Managing public relations and advertising with print and electronic media.
• The maintenance of the centralized Newton Arts Calendar, collecting data and troubleshooting.
• Maintaining registration records, confirming registrations of events and programs. 
• Financial management of the department’s income/expense reporting and invoicing.
• Maintaining calendar of bookings for War Memorial/Cultural Center auditorium and other city locations, and communicate appropriate needs with custodians and IT.
• Preparing and administering contracts with entertainers.
• Planning and preparing event sites with the cooperation of various city departments. 
• Administrative work for Newton Cultural Council.
• Supervising events (includes evening, weekends and holidays). 
• Recruiting, organizing, and managing volunteers to help with events.
• Providing needed support to the Mayor’s Office when needed.
• Performing similar or other duties as directed by senior management.

Qualifications:

Education, Training and Experience: A self-motivated, creative, and dynamic professional with a minimum two years of education from an accredited college or university with major course work in the arts/humanities or public administration, with some previous experience performing work related to arts and culture administration, program development and implementation. 

Knowledge, Ability and Skill:   A minimum of two years of non-profit or public-sector/governmental administrative experience, or any equivalent combination of education and experience.  Ability to deliver results, facilitate and influence others and problem solve beyond temporary solutions.  Knowledge of the community, especially in the arts and culture, event planning experience, outstanding communication and computer skills are required. 

Work Environment

• When in the office, work is performed under typical office conditions; the noise level is quiet to moderate at most times. 
• When working or overseeing programs and events, work may be indoors or outdoors in Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall in temperatures and weather conditions consistent with those seasons.  Programs may include large groups, amplified sound, bright lights, and noises consistent with sports, special events, children’s programs, etc.  Multi-tasking with directing and leading participants, staff, parents, etc. is a key function when managing programs and events.
• Operates computers, printers, copier, calculator, telephone, and standard office equipment. 
• Has frequent contact with other City departments, current employees, and vendors/service providers. 
• Has access to all department-level confidential information, which requires the application of appropriate judgment, discretion, and professional office protocols. 
• Errors in judgment or omissions could result in considerable confusion and delay, have a continuing adverse effect on the department’s ability to deliver services, be costly to correct and cause significant adverse public relations, including legal liability. 
• Tasks require the ability to exert light physical effort in sedentary to light work, which may involve some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of light to medium weight (5 - 50 pounds). Tasks may involve extended periods of time at a keyboard or workstation, or extended periods of time standing or moving around at a program. Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds and visual cues or signals. Some tasks require the ability to communicate orally. Requires the ability to operate, maneuver and/or control the actions of equipment, machinery, tools, and/or materials used in performing essential functions..

Physical skills and effort

(The physical demands described here represent those requirements that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

Tasks require the ability to exert light physical effort in sedentary to light work, which may involve some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of light weight (5 - 10 pounds). Tasks may involve extended periods of time at a keyboard or workstation. Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds and visual cues or signals. Some tasks require the ability to communicate orally. Requires the ability to operate, maneuver and/or control the actions of equipment, machinery, tools, and/or materials used in performing essential functions. 

Performance Standard

Employees at all levels are expected to effectively work together to meet the needs of the community and the City through work behaviors demonstrating the City’s values. Employees are also expected to lead by example and demonstrate the highest level of ethics.

Company Description

THE CITY:

The City of Newton is a wonderful place to live and work. Newton has safe and attractive neighborhoods, an excellent public school system, an active community life, multiple transportation systems, proximity to Boston and a well-managed and financially strong City government. The City of Newton has a population of approximately 88,900, with 32,600 housing units and occupies a land area of 18.3 square miles. Newton is principally suburban-residential in character. Unlike many other communities that are established around a single Main Street or downtown, Newton is comprised of thirteen distinctive villages. Newton has a diversified economic base with approximately 4,700 establishments employing approximately 79,500 people. Newton is special in many ways. It is home to a variety of private secondary and post-secondary schools including a portion of Boston College, Lasell University, William James College, Hebrew College, and the UMass Amherst – Mount Ida Campus.  The longest stretch of the Boston Marathon runs through the City, including the well-known Heartbreak Hill. Newton-Wellesley Hospital, part of the Mass General Brigham health care system, serves as an important partner to the City. In September 2018, Newton was again ranked #1 in Massachusetts as the best place to live and #12 in the U.S.

OUR GOVERNMENT:

Newton has what is known as a “strong Mayor” form of government with the Mayor having the executive and administrative powers of the City. The legislative branch is comprised of 24 City Councilors. Mayor Ruthanne Fuller was sworn in on January 1, 2018 after serving on the City Council. She ran on a platform of providing Newton’s children with a top-notch education in an inclusive environment where empty nesters, seniors, young families, and people of diverse incomes can live together in vibrant villages and neighborhoods. Mayor Fuller is committed to keeping Newton safe, improving the city’s infrastructure, addressing climate change, providing excellent and responsive city services, and fostering art, culture and community life. The first female Mayor of Newton, she is a tireless advocate for all the city’s residents and is committed to making sure the city is welcoming, inclusive and diverse. The City of Newton was evaluated by Moody’s Investors Services in February 2020 and assigned its highest rating of AAA. Newton was thus well-positioned to weather the pandemic and economic downturn.

AS AN EMPLOYER:

The City of Newton believes that its employees are its greatest asset.  To that end, we are committed to supporting our employees by providing competitive wages and growth, a comprehensive benefits package which includes a defined municipal pension plan, quality health and dental insurance plans, generous paid leave benefits, paid holidays, and access to supplemental benefits such as deferred compensation, short term disability plans, flexible spending accounts, and other employee benefits.  We also provide access to an Employee Assistance Program and access to employee training and professional development opportunities.  We continuously work to review and expand upon our benefit offerings.  We encourage you to visit our Human Resources Department website to learn more about our organization and benefits which are available to our employees.  And as always, you are encouraged to reach out to our dynamic HR Team by emailing hr@newtonma.gov.

Human Resources Diversity Statement

We recognize our workforce is a source of strength that is vital to our ability to effectively serve the City of Newton’s diverse community. We will:

•   Actively recruit, develop, and retain a diverse and talented workforce.
•   Proactively address discrimination through education and in partnership with other departments and leaders.
•   Serve as a role model to celebrate and nurture diversity.
•   Foster inclusion by staying curious and clarifying assumptions.
•   Evaluate and develop policies and practices that reflect the diverse nature of our workforce.
•   Build and strengthen accountability at all levels to support diversity efforts.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• 457 Deferred Compensation plans
• Metro Credit Union
• Verizon Wireless discount
• Employee Assistance Program
• Generous paid leave time benefits and paid holidays.
• City Retirement (Mandatory)
• Weekly Direct Deposit
• Opportunity to serve the public and join a dynamic team of dedicated employees