Associate Director of Programs

Associate Director of Programs

The Associate Director of Programs leads the Programs department, which oversees the June Festival, Neighborhood Festivals, Ideas programming, and education programs.

Working closely with the Executive Director, the Associate Director shapes a cohesive artistic vision for a globally oriented festival that reflects New Haven, engaging local communities and broader audiences alike. As the Festival's primary curator and program strategist, they lead Festival-wide planning (theme, scope, and program budget) and are accountable for delivering the full program within available resources. They represent the Festival locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

The Festival values collaborative, transparent decision-making, and the Associate Director is expected to model that approach across the organization.

Essential Responsibilities

Festival curation and planning

• Develop the annual curatorial vision in line with the Festival's theme and mission.
• Lead season planning, including scope, schedule, and program budget, and hold final responsibility for delivering the program within budget.
• Work with Production and programming staff to finalize the annual program structure, and keep program decisions moving so the season is set on schedule.
• Research and select artists and companies, drawing on local, regional, national, and international networks of producers, presenters, and cultural organizations.
• Connect program elements thematically so they resonate with diverse audiences.
• Oversee the slate of ticketed and free outdoor programs (typically 48 ticketed and 37 free outdoor programs, including on the New Haven Green), and provide curatorial guidance across Community Impact programming.
• In concert with the Executive Director, lead outreach to artists and agents, gather riders, and pass them to the Director of Production for operational logistics and budget modeling; then negotiate program scope and fees directly with artists and their managers.

Ideas, Stories, Tours, Films, and Food programming

• Curate and deliver Ideas programming, including talks, conversations, and town hall events.
• Curate Stories and Food programming, and provide curatorial direction for Film and Tours.

Neighborhood Festivals and Education

• Oversee Neighborhood Festivals in close collaboration with the Production Department.
• Oversee the High School Fellowship through the Community Impact Manager.
• Oversee education programs, including public classes, workshops, and national reading initiatives.

Partnerships and audience engagement

• Maintain existing partnerships and identify new ones that increase engagement, cost-effectiveness, and program impact.
• Design and secure engagement activities such as talkbacks, recruitment of local participants into programs, and artist participation in public classes and workshops.
• Build accessibility, equity, and inclusive design into programs and venue choices.
• Represent the Festival at select industry events and conferences to build relationships and conduct program research.

Cross-department and board work

• Provide Marketing & Communications with program content, imagery, and context for promotion, press releases, media interviews, advertising, collateral, and social media.
• Collaborate with Marketing & Communications on audience development strategies.
• Work with Development to identify program elements that strengthen grant proposals to local, state, regional, and federal funders; involve artists in donor engagement; and contribute to funder cultivation.
• Work with the Managing Director on program budget tracking and resource allocation.
• Share programming updates with staff regularly and invite input where appropriate.
• Provide regular programming updates to the Board of Directors.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Required

• Demonstrated success curating or producing multidisciplinary programming.
• Strong knowledge of the performing and cultural arts landscape, with a network of artists, agents, and presenters.
• Deep commitment to community-centered and inclusive programming.
• Experience managing program budgets, timelines, and competing priorities.
• Experience supervising staff and working across departments and with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, negotiation, and project management skills.

Preferred

• Familiarity with New Haven's cultural landscape and networks.
• Experience with public humanities or ideas programming.

Working conditions

Workload is heaviest during planning (November through February) and the Festival (May and June). Evening and weekend work is required during the Festival. Some travel for conferences and program research is expected.