School Programs Manager

Job Description

Job Description

REPORTS TO: Director of Education & Community Programs 

STATUS: Full-Time, Exempt

SALARY: $75,000-$80,000 annually

ABOUT A.C.T.

American Conservatory Theater is an essential gathering place that brings artists and communities together to inspire and provoke. A.C.T.’s mission is to engage the spirit of the San Francisco Bay Area, activate stories that resonate, promote a diversity of voices and points of view, and empower theater makers and audiences to celebrate liveness. A.C.T. values inclusion, transformational learning, participation, and rigorous fun. A.C.T. is a Tony Award–winning nonprofit theater serving almost 200,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area annually through theater, training, and education and community programs. 

POSITION PURPOSE:

The Education Program Manager is a strategic, mission-driven leader who serves as a vital thought partner to the Director of Education and Community Programs. This role goes beyond day-to-day administration to actively shape, critique, and elevate A.C.T.’s school-based initiatives, including in-school, after-school, and summer residencies. A.C.T.’s Education & Community Programs inspire transformational growth through high-quality theater experiences, arts education, and collaboration with diverse communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. We value transformational learning, inclusion, participation, and rigorous fun. The Manager must possess the deep instructional expertise and emotional intelligence required to build immediate trust with Teaching Artists, school partners, and internal executive stakeholders.

RESPONSIBILITIES: 
Please note that this list is not exhaustive, but rather a representation of job duties.

Teaching Artist Supervision, Training, & Instructional Leadership (30-40%)

• Supervise & mentor Teaching Artists : Serve as the primary instructional leader for the Teaching Artist cohort. Provide deeply informed, constructive pedagogical feedback and consistent professional support to ensure high-quality classroom experiences. 
• Lead talent pipelines:  Direct the strategic hiring, onboarding, and contracting processes for Education & Community Programs Teaching Artists. Co-lead Teaching Artist orientations. 
• Conduct observations & evaluations:  Visit classes regularly to observe instruction, assess quality, and provide actionable feedback using established evaluation rubrics. 
• Refine instructional curricula:  Review and provide critical feedback on Teaching Artists' residency overviews, lesson plans, and performance-making processes. 
• Drive professional development:  In collaboration with the Director of Education & Community Programs, coordinate, curate, and co-lead advanced training sessions and workshops that inspire Teaching Artists to excel in their pedagogy. 
• Ensure timely compensation:  Track, verify, and approve biweekly payroll submissions for active Teaching Artists, in collaboration with the Department’s Operations Manager, ensuring alignment with allocated residency hours. 
• Lead instructional practice (Optional/Based on Expertise): Depending on the candidate’s background, this role may directly teach, direct, or facilitate select classes, masterclasses, programs, and/or professional development sessions to model advanced pedagogy for the cohort. 

Program Management & Operations (20-30%)

• Execute residency logistics:  Efficiently manage day-to-day operations and multi-stakeholder communication for intensive residency schools, including Downtown High School, AccessSFUSD: The Arc, Mission High School, Jerry Rosenstein Arts Project Middle Schools, as well as community partners including 826 Valencia, Galing Bata Filipino Education Center, and more. 
• Produce student showcases:  Serve as project manager and creative producer for student performances and exhibitions, in collaboration with the rest of the Education & Community Programs team, the school partners, and A.C.T.’s Production Department. 
• Collaborate on integration:  Partner directly with classroom teachers and Teaching Artists to develop robust arts and arts-integration curricula. 
• Budget management:  Track expenses and resource allocation for each school residency. In collaboration with the Director of Education & Community Programs, manage each project budget. 
• Deepen partner impact:  Facilitate rigorous pre-residency planning and end-of-year reflection meetings with school and community partners to evaluate program success. 

Grant Compliance & Communication (20-30%)

• Steward public funding: In collaboration with the rest of the Education & Community Programs team, manage a ~$120,000 annual grant from the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF), ensuring strict compliance and budget health.
• Drive compliance reporting:  Monitor student enrollment and attendance metrics and gather program highlights and challenges in order to author narrative reports and lead the monthly invoicing process in the DCYF Contract Management System (CMS). 
• Measure program impact: Design, distribute, collect, and analyze departmental evaluation surveys for students, teachers, and Teaching Artists, in collaboration with the Department’s Operations Manager.

Organizational Advocacy & Leadership (10-20%) 

• Collaborate on strategy:  Act as a core strategic partner to the Director, offering informed opinions, experience, and creative solutions to evolve the department's impact. 
• Represent the department:  Drive cross-organizational alignment in A.C.T. meetings including advocating for space allocation, artistic collaboration, and more, with a goal of connecting school programs with Mainstage productions, Conservatory programs, and other A.C.T. initiatives. 
• Advocate for arts education : Champion educational access, equity, and student needs both internally and externally. This includes daily advocacy within A.C.T. to reframe our mission around training creative thinkers, as well as representing our educational values externally to donors, foundations, and patrons during public and special events. 
• Work cross-departmentally:  Partner with A.C.T.’s Marketing, Finance, HR, and Development teams to ensure organizational alignment and programmatic success. 
• Champion departmental programs:  Offer hands-on support for community-wide education initiatives as needed, including the A.C.T. OUT Tour, the Student Matinee Program, Teacher Preview Nights, and special events. 

QUALIFICATIONS & QUALITIES:

• Pedagogical Background:  A robust, proven background as a Teaching Artist or instructional coach who deeply understands the realities and joys of the public school theater classroom. (Candidates with extensive artistic or classroom background may have the opportunity to directly teach or direct within our programs, in a limited capacity). 
• Professional Background:  Bachelor’s degree in education, theater, nonprofit management, or a related field (or equivalent experience), plus 3–5 years of progressive experience in arts education administration (direct classroom teaching or theatrical directing experience is a strong plus, and can be integrated into the role). 
• Project Management & Producing:  Demonstrated experience with event production, including behind-the-scenes operational details (budget management, line producing, and more). 
• Leadership & Conviction:  Demonstrated experience as a collaborative leader who is comfortable sharing a strong perspective, backing it up with expertise, and acting as a thought partner. 
• Community & Relationship Building:  Exceptional emotional intelligence with a track record of cultivating inclusive, equitable, and trust-based relationships with Teaching Artists, colleagues, stakeholders, underserved youth, teachers, and school administrators. 
• Regional Familiarity:  Experience in and familiarity with the complexities of the local arts education ecosystem is required. Knowledge of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and the SF Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF) is preferred. Experience in and a sophisticated understanding of professional theater is preferred. 
• Technical Proficiency:  Strong skills in Microsoft Office and Google Suite are required. Experience in Adobe Creative Suite, Asana and Slack is preferred. 
• Mission & Equity Alignment:  A heartfelt passion for the transformative power of theater and arts education. Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity, understanding cultural differences, and actively contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment in strict alignment with A.C.T.’s core Mission and Values. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Schedule Flexibility: Ability to work a flexible full-time schedule, including occasional evenings and weekends for performances and events. 
• Mobility & Travel: Ability to move frequently between A.C.T. administrative offices, theater spaces, and various off-site partner schools (in SFUSD and elsewhere). 
• Working with youth: As required by SFUSD and other school partners, ability to pass a Livescan fingerprint/background check, plus proof-of-negative TB testing (required after hire, only). 
• Inventory Transport: Ability to safely lift and transport production materials (costumes, props, event signage, etc.) weighing up to 25 pounds. 

Diversity makes us stronger. A.C.T. is committed to diversity in its programming and creating an inclusive work culture and environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you’d like to learn more about A.C.T.’s values, mission, and EDI initiatives, please visit 

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

• Salary Range: $75,000-$80,000 annually, commensurate with experience. 
• Health & Wellness:  Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans. 
• Time Off:  Generous paid time off (PTO), including designated holidays. 
• Retirement: 403(b) retirement plan with optional employee contributions. 
• Perks:  Complimentary tickets to A.C.T. productions and frequent special events, occasional team meals and professionally-facilitated retreats, discounts on studio rentals, plus opportunities for professional development, including classes in the Conservatory.