Education Program Coordinator - Community Ventures

The Old Town School of Folk Music is seeking a reliable and detailed Program Coordinator for its Community Ventures Department. 

The Community Ventures Department consists of grant-funded programs that operate in partnership with Chicago Public Schools and community partners primarily located in Chicago’s south and west side neighborhoods. Our School Partnerships Programs work with over 2,500 youth each year through in-school, after school, and pre-school programming. Music Moves is Old Town School’s Arts & Community Wellness Initiative: a youth-focused, intergenerational program that aims to provide individuals and organizations with creative resources necessary to build healthy, intentional arts-based communities . 

Target Start Date: January, 2026

Essential Functions

• Coordinates and builds relationships with partner schools, including school administration and partner-school teachers to deliver residency-based programming. 

• Develops programming with directors based on Community Ventures initiatives.

• Coordinates in-school schedules with partner school and teaching artists. 

• Coordinates Mariachi Summit and Mariachi Camp, along with other out-of-school-time educational opportunities that arise including after school.

• Works with teaching artists and school to plan unique culminating events after each program, attending and presenting at each event. 

• Contributes to and maintains program budgets. Works with schools to assess funding and to help process billing, invoices, and POs. 

• General administrative tasks, including reporting of teaching artist hours for payroll and administering program assessment tools; ordering classroom materials; maintaining instrument inventory

• Implements program evaluation assessments at the direction of the Director of Administration, including distribution and collection of surveys, testimonials, and other data

• Contributes to grant proposals and reports, including narrative content, evaluation results, and budget reports.

• Provides content for marketing and support material, including annual brochure/catalog of residency options and other materials as needed.

• Assists with planning professional development sessions in collaboration with community ventures team

• Assist with maintaining website and current information about programming 

• Coordinates documentation of programming.

• Collaborate with Community Ventures team on department-wide projects and events

Required Skills/Competencies

• Must be able to multitask, work independently and plan workload

• Flexible and a dedicated problem solver

• Must have excellent administrative, computer, communication skills, initiative and confidence in problem solving.

• Proficiency with Google Suite required.

Required Education and Experience

• 2 years experience coordinating educational programs are required. 

• Must be highly organized with excellent communication, leadership, and presentation skills, and able to work and motivate independently. 

• Must be able to visit locations throughout the city.

• Must be connected to a music and/or dance artistic discipline. 

Preferred Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in related area or equivalent work experience.

• Familiarity and experience with the Chicago Public Schools is highly preferred.  

• Youth arts teaching experience is desired but not required.

• Some management or supervisory experience is preferred but not required.

• Familiarity and previous experience with working in CPS desired. 

• Program documentation skills desired.

• Bi-lingual Spanish is helpful. 

• Deeply connected to South side communities and/or West side communities of Chicago.

Additional Eligibility Requirements

• Commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as ongoing personal growth in these areas.

• Must be able to travel to visit various Chicago locations during the workday.

• Available to work evenings and weekends as needed.

To be considered for this role, please apply through our Career Center.

About Old Town School of Folk Music

Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music (“OTSFM”) is the largest community school of the arts in the U.S. and a non-profit organization committed to celebrating American music and global cultures. Founded in 1957, Old Town School provides various music, dance, and arts courses to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Whatever one's interest, Old Town School provides broad access to more than 700 weekly class offerings, a broad array of private lessons, and over 400 concerts and community events per year.

Old Town School of Folk Music opened its Lincoln Square facility in 1998 and expanded in 2012. The Old Town School operates two campuses in Chicago's Lincoln Square and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, including world-class concert halls, classrooms, an award-winning music store, and a music resource center. Online classes were introduced in 2020 and students from nearly every state and a dozen countries participated throughout the pandemic. Children's classes are also held at several suburban satellite locations. More information is available at oldtownschool.org

Equal Employment Opportunity

OTSFM is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. OTS strives to be an inclusive and equitable organization that reflects the diversity of the city of Chicago. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. This is critical to our success as a community-focused organization.

Salary : $45,000 - $47,465