Director of Education and Grant Development

Job Description

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION & GRANT DEVELOPMENT

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Little Lake Theatre Company

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Location: Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

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Status: Full-Time, Exempt

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Salary: $40,000-$45,000 annually, depending on experience

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Start: November 2026; flexible date, no later than late November

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Reports to: Artistic Director (primary); Managing Director (operational)

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Work allocation: Approximately 70% education / 30% Academy grant development annually, shifting with program seasons and grant deadlines.

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POSITION OVERVIEW

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Little Lake seeks a collaborative, highly organized leader to build its year-round education strategy and grow foundation, corporate, and government grants exclusively supporting the Little Lake Academy. The Director will build the Academy, supervise education personnel, uphold quality and participant safety, and develop funder relationships and systems for sustainable growth.

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This leadership role involves selective teaching, rather than a full teaching load or general administration. Its focus is building the structures, teams, partnerships, and financial discipline that let education thrive.

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Little Lake is a professional-caliber community theatre serving Southwestern Pennsylvania for 78 years, investing in sustainable systems that support artists, young people, staff, and audiences.

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EDUCATION RHYTHM & WORK-LIFE BALANCE

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Planning, registration, camps, class terms, showcases, and major grant deadlines can require evenings and weekends. Other periods allow for standard daytime schedules, flexibility, and recovery time.

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We plan ahead, set realistic scopes, and flag busy periods in advance. The Director is not expected to be "on" at all times. Strong systems and preparation should make peak periods manageable and allow for time off aligned with the program calendar.

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REPORTING & DECISION AUTHORITY

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• The Artistic Director is the primary supervisor, with final authority for priorities, performance, education vision, major program decisions, and education hiring. The Artistic Director leads an annual evaluation, with Managing Director input, against agreed education and Academy grant development goals.

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• The Managing Director provides operational supervision for HR, compliance, budgets, contracts, grant administration, documentation, and onboarding.

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• The Director recruits, interviews, and recommends education personnel; the Artistic Director approves selections, and the Managing Director administers approved hires.

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• Routine purchases must remain within approved budgets and spending thresholds. Larger expenditures, budget variances, or non-standard purchases require Artistic Director and/or Managing Director approval.

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• If priorities conflict, the Artistic Director sets direction after consulting the Managing Director.

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CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

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Education Strategy & Program Leadership

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• Build and manage a financially responsible year-round calendar of Academy classes, camps, youth and teen programs, adult learning, homeschool and daytime offerings, technical theatre education, and community partnerships.

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• Maintain a twelve-month program roadmap with launch, revision, expansion, and stop decisions. Align education programs, partnerships, and growth with Little Lake's Strategic Plan, advancing established priorities and measuring progress.

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• Develop curriculum, program standards, enrollment targets, pricing recommendations, and participant outcomes with leadership.

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Team Leadership & Quality

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• Recruit, schedule, supervise, coach, and evaluate teaching artists, instructors, camp staff, contractors, interns, volunteers, and future education staff.

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• Maintain standards for curriculum, classroom management, accessibility, participant safety, professional conduct, family communication, and program evaluation.

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• With the Managing Director, oversee youth protection procedures, required clearances, training, and compliance documentation for education staff, contractors, and volunteers before they work with participants.

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• Build onboarding, observation, feedback, and escalation practices supporting teaching artists and a consistent family experience.

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Operations & Financial Stewardship

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• Develop schedules, staffing plans, program budgets, enrollment and pricing recommendations, participant communications, and measurable outcomes with the Managing Director.

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• Track program health and flag enrollment, staffing, safety, financial, or partnership risks early.

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• Report regularly on education goals, Academy grant development, and Strategic Plan priorities to leadership and, as requested through leadership, appropriate Board committees.

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• Maintain program documentation, calendars, reporting systems, and shared-drive files.

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Grant Development

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• Grow the Academy's grant funding pipeline through new prospects, renewals, funder relationships, and measurable grant revenue goals agreed with leadership.

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• Prioritize foundation, corporate, and government opportunities that advance Little Lake's Strategic Plan as it relates to Academy education goals and identified funding needs.

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• Work with the Managing Director to maintain an annual Academy grants calendar and research, write, submit, and report on aligned opportunities.

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• Coordinate with the Managing Director to prepare accurate Academy grant narratives, budgets, outcomes, and supporting materials with leadership, finance, program staff, and partners.

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• With the Managing Director, track restrictions, acknowledgments, deadlines, reporting requirements, and stewardship commitments; maintain funder relationships and identify renewal opportunities.

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WHAT THIS ROLE DOES NOT OWN

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The Director does not hold primary responsibility for:

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• A full teaching load or sole responsibility for day-to-day classroom coverage

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• Individual donor cultivation, annual giving, organization-wide development, or grant fundraising unrelated to the Academy

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• Final education hiring decisions

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• Marketing strategy or execution, although the Director provides timely program information and collaborates on audience-facing materials

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• Box office, front-of-house, routine facility maintenance, or general administrative work unrelated to education or Academy grants

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• Artistic policy development or season selection

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FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS

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Success means a coherent, well-staffed education calendar; dependable supervision and quality systems; clear enrollment and program-finance reporting; a growing, well-managed Academy grant pipeline with new prospects, renewals, funder relationships, and progress toward revenue goals; accurate reporting; and day-to-day ownership that lets senior leadership focus on institutional priorities.

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QUALIFICATIONS

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• Five or more years of progressively responsible arts education, program leadership, or related experience, including at least two years of direct staff supervision.

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• Demonstrated grant development success, including prospect research, funder relationships, proposal development, budgets, outcome reporting, renewals, and deadline management.

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• Excellent writing, project-management, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills, with knowledge of budgets, data, and nonprofit operations.

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• Theatre education, curriculum development, school or community partnership, and accessible-programming experience strongly preferred.

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• Ability to obtain required Pennsylvania clearances and work periodic evenings and weekends when programs require it.

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COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

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• Salary: $40,000-$45,000 annually, depending on experience.

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• Full-time, exempt position for an employee regularly working 40 or more hours per week on an annual basis.

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• Medical and prescription drug coverage: Little Lake covers the full monthly cost of employee-only coverage. Eligible dependents include a spouse and children through age 26; dependent coverage is available at the employee's cost. Coverage begins on the first day of the month 60 days after hire.

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• Fifteen days of personal time off annually, prorated in a partial first year; twenty-one days annually after five continuous years of employment. PTO is intended to be genuinely unplugged time, without an obligation to answer calls, texts, or emails.

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• Paid holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve. Employees required to work a holiday may use a flex day.

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• Christmas week: December 24 through January 1 off from work.

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• Seasonal work-hour flexibility: busy program periods may include evenings, weekends, and holidays; lower-demand periods may require fewer hours, consistent with the role's annual salary and responsibilities.

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AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT

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Employment with Little Lake Theatre Company is at-will and may be terminated by either the employee or the organization at any time, with or without cause or notice. Job duties and responsibilities may evolve based on organizational needs.

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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

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Little Lake Theatre Company is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace.

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HOW TO APPLY

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Email a resume and cover letter to View email address on ziprecruiter.com.

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A writing sample is welcome but not required: a grant narrative, proposal excerpt, report, or program-facing communication. Redactions are fine.

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Applications will be accepted until this role is filled. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and candidates are encouraged to apply early.