Program Associate at The Brooklyn Rail
Job Title: Program Associate
Job Status: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $40,000 – $50,000
The Brooklyn Rail is looking for a Programs Associate to join our programs team full–time. Working with a part–time Programs Associate and reporting to the organization’s Director of Programs, this role is essential to the smooth delivery of the Rail‘s beloved New Social Environment conversation program.
Started in March 2020, The New Social Environment is a weekday conversation series delivered Monday–Friday at 1:00 PM ET on Zoom. Now at over 1,100 episodes, the program’s events vary widely, covering contemporary art, performance, poetry, publishing, social justice, activism, and more, with international viewership. What results is a unique, social art history and living organism that accumulates from the diverse wisdom and experience of its participants. The program’s archive may be viewed here: https://brooklynrail.org/events/
Program Production:
As an essential production support for the program, responsibilities are:
●Act as “MC” for up to two weekly events on Zoom. This includes:
○Public speaking: Introducing the public Zoom events following a script, as well as moderating the Q+A, and giving the concluding remarks as a representative of the Rail. Attend a read-through each morning with the Director of Programs
○Communication: Sending a thorough overview email to guests once they’ve been invited and confirmed by the Director of Programs; sending a morning email with the event link on the day of the conversation; sending the thank you email to guests following the event; creating artist dossiers, as requested, for hosts
○Meetings: Scheduling and running tech checks and run-throughs with all guests before their live events on Zoom, verifying name pronunciations, pronouns, and logging adjustments to slideshows
○Technology support: Supporting guests with technology before and throughout live events
● When supporting other team “MCs” on the program:
○ Recording support: Recording the program on Zoom and uploading to the organization’s YouTube archive
○ Audience support: Monitoring the audience and liaising across questions and technology questions; Posting links and gathering audience questions for MC review during the Q+A portion of the program
Program Website and Marketing:
● Create, edit, and maintain event registration pages for each program, as they are confirmed. Follow Rail editorial style in this process. Liaise with guests for their preferred headshots and biographies for these pages, upload their preferred materials to the website, and create registration links in AirTable
● In collaboration with the Director of Social Media, share social media assets with galleries, PR firms, and other communications partners linked with each guest on the program to ensure their support with outreach and attendance
● Twice weekly, create program newsletters in Mailchimp that draw attendance to the programs. Design header images for these newsletters in Photoshop using existing templates. Liaise with the Managing Director and Director of Advertising about any sponsored banners to be included in the newsletters each week
Program Curatorial Administration:
● In winter and spring, contact galleries and museums for their upcoming exhibition schedules for team review
● Attend monthly brainstorm meetings led by the Director of Programs, contributing ideas for new potential guests on the program
● Attend gallery and museum exhibition openings
Program Archive:
● From June–August, and during the month of December, the Rail’s New Social Environment program pauses its live program and the workflow shifts to managing and organizing its archive. With direction from the Director of Programs, follow archive best practices and label documents and recordings according to organizational standards
Qualifications:
● Bachelor’s degree
● Passion for contemporary art. 1-2 years experience in arts administration, program production, journalism, or radio a plus
● Confidence in public speaking, with exceptional verbal and interpersonal skills and discretion. Ability to liaise with people of all backgrounds, age levels, and communications styles with professionalism and lack of assumption is a must
● Meticulous attention to detail across the minutiae of production, as well as editing and written work
● Experience with Google Workplace, Microsoft Office, and Mailchimp. Adobe Suite and AirTable experience a plus
● Knowledge of at least one language other than English is beneficial in this position, but not required
Salary Range & Benefits:
● $40,000–50,000 salary range, commensurate with experience
● Competitive health, dental, and vision benefits; option to enroll in FSA, travel benefits
● 10:00 AM–6:00 PM workday, five days per week, with a one-hour paid lunch. Occasional evening events as required
● 10 days of paid vacation, with ability to accrue more days with each year worked. In addition to these days, the office closes for one week in the summer and one week in December each year
● Hybrid schedule
We seek to recruit and develop a staff whose diversity reflects our community, and strongly encourage applications from people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of all ages, political beliefs, and cultures.
About the Brooklyn Rail:
Founded in October 2000 and currently published 10 times annually, the Brooklyn Rail provides an independent forum for arts, culture, and politics throughout New York City and far beyond.
Our journal, in addition to featuring local reporting; criticism of music, dance, film, and theater; and original fiction and poetry, covers contemporary visual art in particular depth. The Rail further fulfills its mission by curating art exhibitions, panel discussions, reading series and film screenings that reflect the complexity and inventiveness of the city’s artistic and cultural landscape. Other Rail initiatives include our small press, Rail Editions, and our recently launched curatorial endeavor, Rail Curatorial Projects, and our beloved weekday conversation series The New Social Environment. The Rail is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The journal is distributed free of charge around New York City, and ships to a growing list of national and international subscribers.
Learn more about the Rail via our website: https://brooklynrail.org/