Assistant Deputy Director, Education, Public programs & Visitor Experience at the New York Transit Museum
Job Title: Assistant Deputy Director, Education, Public programs & Visitor Experience
Job Status: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $114,000 to $124,000
Description:
SUMMARY:
Oversees and creates policies and strategy for all in-person, offsite, and virtual Museum experiences for individuals and groups, including both programming and general museum visitation, as well as related research, evaluation, training, and audience development and outreach strategies. Provides creative leadership and vision for wide-ranging, high quality, compelling, and robust educational and public programs that complement, enrich, and advance the Museum’s exhibitions, collections, and mission. Oversees a team of Visitor Experience staff and creates and manages policies and procedures for welcoming visitors to the Museum to ensure a comfortable, safe, enjoyable, and memorable experience. Promotes MTA’s and its agencies’ image, goals, accomplishments, initiatives, services, and public messaging; aligns education programs with NYC and NYS education standards, and teacher demand for STEM/STEAM, Social Studies, and Arts programming; designs inclusive programs and experiences with an eye to special education and access initiatives; and generally, expands and engages the Museum’s highly diverse audience.
Supervises and challenges the Education, Public Programs and Visitor Experience department’s staff and budget while leading the conceptualization, development and implementation of processes that shape the daily visitor experience, as well as educational initiatives for early childhood through adult visitors across three categories: in-person at the Museum’s two locations in Grand Central Terminal and Downtown Brooklyn; offsite at a variety of transit-related locations across New York City and surrounding areas; and in the virtual realm with a new, robust roster of online programs for early childhood through adult audiences. Education experiences include a variety of programs for children and families, seniors, people with disabilities, school and camp groups, and community partners. Oversees and manages staff and related training and scheduling across the department, including full- and part-time staff who manage and implement all programs and experiences.
In addition to educational programs and initiatives, this position oversees the Visitor Experience team, which is newly responsible for all admissions and ticketing procedures, including online advance ticketing and sales processes, checking vaccination and ID before entrance, responding to questions about ticketing both onsite and over email, troubleshooting point of sale system issues, assessing ticketing policies, helping visitors purchase or exchange tickets, and all floor staffing during open hours as necessary to open the Museum safely.
Establishes and evaluates performance metrics for all educational and visitor experience programs and processes on an ongoing basis, seeks opportunities for marketing and promotion of the Museum and its programs through strategic partnerships with other city organizations, community outreach, audience development initiatives, and creating content for digital and print marketing to maximize participation, and promote the Museum and MTA.
As an Assistant Deputy Director, the incumbent is also a key-holder for the facility, and as such, is responsible for addressing myriad facilities, operations, staff, and visitor issues as they arise, in addition to being responsible for financial transactions, safe access, etc. S/he is also central to the Museum’s visitors’ experience, not only because of the volume, diversity, and quality of the Education & Public Programs Department’s offerings, but also through her/his responsibility for a large percentage of the Museum’s front-line staff, and, as 1 of 3 administrators for the Museum’s point of sale system and database.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Excellence in Programming:
• Provide overall vision and goals (both short-term and long-term) for the Education Department. Steward excellence in all the Museum’s programs and ensure they are relevant to a diverse and expanding audience; and, where applicable, meet NYC & NYS education standards, teacher demand for STEM/STEAM, Social Studies, and Arts-related programs, NYCDOE standards for professional-credit programming, and the unique requirements of special education groups.
• Develop and apply evaluation tools and strategies that measure the effectiveness of programs to ensure that educational goals are being met. Work closely with Curatorial and Exhibits Department to integrate exhibition content and Museum collections into education programs; and in reverse, contribute to the content and presentation of Museum exhibits.
• Oversee all details of Education Department program execution, assuring safety and security compliance for programs in the Museum and on MTA properties, and ensuring maximum attendance for Museum programs.
• Focus on audience development for the Museum through programs and educational initiatives by creating long-term, strategic partnerships with city-wide organizations, developing compelling concepts for programs, providing content for both digital and print marketing materials, and using the programs and marketing collateral to expand and strengthen the Museum’s overall brand.
Visitor Experience, Ticketing and Admissions:
• Oversees a manager and team of Visitor Experience staff who are newly responsible for welcoming all visitors to the Museum.
• Manages ticketing policies and processes. Troubleshoots point of sale system and technology for ticketing. Is responsive to visitor inquiries and needs around ticketing and admissions.
• Develops and implements procedures for Museum entry including ticketing and vaccine and ID checks, as well as provides a staffing structure and plan for all areas of the museum galleries and exhibits during open hours to provide a welcoming and comfortable environment for visitors.
• Oversight of day-to-day visitor services policies including staffing during inclement weather, refunds for unforeseen circumstances, issues with the point-of-sale system, and other related issues that occur.
Virtual Programming and Resources:
• Developed and oversees the strategy and implementation of a brand new and extensive roster of virtual programming for the Museum. Virtual experiences include early childhood videos, online written materials, videos and lesson plans, school programs and workshops led by educators via Zoom, professional development classes for teachers, adult public programs including lectures, conversations, performances, and art making experiences, birthday parties, and corporate events. Assessment and staff training to align to best practices in this new realm are ongoing.
Museum & Departmental Leadership:
• As a member of the Museum’s senior staff and in close collaboration with the Museum Director, represent the Education Department within the larger context of the Museum, forging close collaborations with other departments, contributing to the Museum’s overall growth and planning, and communicating Museum-wide issues and initiatives to the Education staff. The department should be a model of excellence within the Museum.
• Institute and maintain efficient departmental systems for oversight and on-going professional development of staff to adhere to current best practices in informal learning, ensuring the highest standards for staff productivity, collaboration, and professionalism.
• Recruit and provide direction for the many part-time educators and independent contractors overseen, including providing professional development and new opportunities that integrate with and advance Museum goals.
• Find a wide range of contractors with areas of expertise that augment staff experience. Areas include accessibility, historians, scientists, writers, authors, musicians, artists, performers, and curriculum developers.
Increase Museum Accessibility:
• Oversee the creation, implementation, and expansion of inclusive programs to provide equal access to programs and experiences for people with disabilities. This includes developing new educational resources to accommodate different learning needs, making physical changes to educational and program spaces, working with curatorial and operations colleagues on museum-wide accessibility, training staff across all departments to work with visitors who have disabilities, and making sure all programs are as accessible as possible to the broadest audience.
Program Expansion:
• Direct significant expansion of education programs into schools, community organizations, and neighborhood and city-wide celebrations, which will require research, planning, and partnerships. New expanded programs will focus on the MTA’s goals for educating future riders and furthering MTA messaging, as well as assessing the learning landscape across New York City to better understand the needs and interests of visitors from families to schools to adults. Program growth outside the Museum’s walls will be done in close collaboration with MTA and a variety of city agencies and organizations.
Administrative Oversight:
• Establish and manage departmental budget and goals, both short-term and long-term.
• Review monthly spending and program achievements, assess priorities, and re-allocate departmental resources as necessary.
• Provide accurate statistics on program and visitor attendance and revenue for Museum monthly/annual reports and track the Education Department’s growth.
• Oversees the point of sale and ticketing processes (Altru) for general visitation online/advance ticketing, and virtual and in person group programs.
• Works in WordPress and manages website updates for all departmental initiatives.
• Creates and manages e-blasts in MailChimp for education programs and initiatives.
QUALIFICATIONS:
• With a small staff and limited resources, the Museum offers a wide variety of programs and experiences reflective of the Museum’s highly diverse audience. The Education, Public Programs and Visitor Experience Department oversees all public visitation to the Museum’s locations and around the city by individuals and groups of all ages, as well as implements all virtual online experiences for visitors around the world. Programs are offered to early childhood, Pre-K-12th grade classes, day camps, adults with disabilities, seniors, families, train enthusiasts and young urbanists, and NYC teachers interested in professional credit opportunities. The position requires superb understanding of these audiences, project management skills, excellent judgment, strong decision-making abilities, and a talent for staying ahead of the curve in the field of museum education and outreach.
• School group opportunities have expanded from in-person programs in Downtown Brooklyn, to a roster of online tours and workshops which will be offered throughout the week alongside in person visits. Additionally, popular, and frequent Public Programs events such as lectures and panels, Nostalgia Rides, tours of Old City Hall, family programs, and access programs are now also offered online. The Museum building itself constrains programming and the Museum’s ability to broaden its audience. Despite these constraints the Museum needs to continue to expand its reach beyond the Museum’s walls, to meet the already-existing demand, and to bring in new audiences, which is being done on walking tours and trips around the city, as well as online through virtual experiences. The incumbent will spearhead programs that promote the Museum’s mission and the MTA using resources outside the Museum’s walls to meet heightened demand.
• Since the Museum’s opening 40 years ago, museums around the city have adapted programs and outreach to reach even broader audience and build strong community bonds. The Transit Museum lags its peers in reaching communities farther afield and audiences that don’t already come to the Museum on their own. The incumbent will need to make concerted outreach efforts to become a go-to resource for families, schools, senior centers, service and religious organizations, and other community groups in all five boroughs through expanding programs. One way that the Museum has approached this expansion over the past two years is through a roster of online programs, with in some cases more offerings online for certain audiences than we were able to have in person. Online public programs such as lectures and panel discussions have accommodated 300 people for recent events, whereas similar in-person programs onsite in Downtown Brooklyn are restricted to no more than 150 participants due to space constraints.
• The Education Department has taken on planning and management of the Museum’s growing Birthday Party audience. Demand for birthday parties at the Museum has nearly doubled in the past year. This means that more staff time, facility resources, and materials are now spent on accommodating this heightened birthday party demand. The Education Department needs to meet this demand and ensure an excellent customer service experience that feels exclusive and valuable, while also accommodating the Museum’s hundreds of public visitors and programs that take place simultaneously. Over the past three years, birthday party processes have been evaluated and refined with new experiences to best meet expectations of families for a high quality, fun and educational experience. We have also started offering online virtual birthday parties and corporate team-building parties for all ages, which have been well-received, and we will continue to market these opportunities as another way for groups to comfortably celebrate when they cannot gather in person.
• While working to successfully implement programs for thousands of people on a weekly basis, the incumbent must think abstractly to plan for the long-term sustainability and growth of the department. Staff involved in the details of the day-to-day work must be inspired by the incumbent to focus on long-term plans.
• The incumbent has independence in setting direction and goals for the Education, Public Programs and Visitor Experience Department, developing content, structure, proposing and adhering to the departmental budget, identifying qualified consultants with specific program expertise, managing day to day operations of the Department, determining appropriate levels of service provision, devising, and applying effective evaluation tools, and staffing the department.
• The incumbent also has independence in identifying community partners, nourishing those relationships, and expanding programs to meet the needs of those communities. Oversight is provided by the Museum Director. The Museum Director also approves the departmental budget, all full-time hires, and the final design of promotional materials.
• The incumbent coordinates with numerous MTA agency managers to execute various programs. Specifically, agency managers provide access to MTA facilities for adult tours; join as guest presenters for myriad online public programs; MTA security assures tours comply with MTA safety and security standards; NYCT and MTA Bus provide vehicles and service for Nostalgia rides, block parties, and the Bus Festival; MTA internal communications staff design and produce promotional materials; Capital Construction and MTA Real Estate staff advise on tours of MTA properties; MTA Facilities staff provide venue services for public programs. On items of budget, the incumbent is supported by the Museum’s Finance Director. On items related to program development, content, and using Museum exhibits and artifacts, the incumbent is supported by the Museum’s exhibits and curatorial staff. On operations/facilities/technology issues, this position is supported by the Deputy Director for Operations & Retail Management and her/his staff and the relevant MTA department.
• Recognizable leadership skills in establishing goals and vision, motivating diverse teams to successful completion of tasks and projects.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and work independently with multi-department teams.
• Fluency with databases and Excel, and proven facility with software used by institutions to track attendance, reservations, and ticketing.
• The incumbent has responsibility for identifying programs for potential grant funding, writing content for grant applications and reports, and providing information to the Development Department to advance grant proposals.
• The incumbent must have excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills to work effectively with departments throughout the Museum and MTA, with stakeholders in the community, various NYC agencies, professional and trade associations, etc. Writing samples required with application.
• The incumbent must also be highly organized with superb time management and follow-up skills. S/he must have the ability to manage and motivate a team and maintain productive working relationships with other Museum and MTA departments, and community partners.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
• A bachelors’ degree or equivalent combination of experience and education may be considered in lieu of a degree. Master’s degree in education, museum studies, or other relevant area preferred.
• A minimum of 7 years relevant work experience in education and/or programming, project management and staff supervision.
• Experience/interest in the urban experience, sustainability, NYC history, transportation and non-traditional learning is a plus.
• Preferred candidates will also have strong professional alliances and a history of leadership in professional organizations such as NYCMER (New York City Museum Educator Roundtable), AAM (American Alliance of Museums) and MAC (Museum Access Committee) and a CV that lists presentations made to colleagues.
• Preferred candidates will be familiar with current issues in transportation and urban planning and have relationships with programmatic and policy organizations such as MAS (Municipal Arts Society) and RPA (Regional Planning Association).
To Apply
OTHER INFORMATION:
Pursuant to the New York State Public Officers Law & the MTA Code of Ethics, all employees who hold a policymaking position must file an Annual Statement of Financial Disclosure (FDS) with the NYS Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (the “Commission”).
Equal Employment Opportunity
MTA and its subsidiary and affiliated agencies are Equal Opportunity Employers, including with respect to veteran status and individuals with disabilities.
The MTA encourages qualified applicants from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and abilities, including military service members, to apply.