Public Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator
Type: Full-time (37.5 hours / week), in person, permanent position
Application Deadline: Monday, April 25, 2022, 5:00pm MT
The work week is typically 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday to Friday, with adjustments to these hours to accommodate programming needs in the evenings and on weekends.
These adjustments may occur up to three times per week at different periods throughout the programs schedule.
Overtime is compensated with time off in lieu at a rate of 1.5 hours for each hour worked.
The salary for this position is $55,000.
Benefits include health and dental, group retirement savings plan (following three months of employment), 15 days paid vacation, seven personal/health days, and underground parking.
The preferred start date for this position is June, 2022.
Application Deadline: Monday, April 25, 2022, 5:00pm MT
About Esker Foundation
Esker Foundation is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina, and the Iyarhe Nakoda First Nations. The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.
Founded by Jim and Susan Hill in 2012, Esker Foundation is a privately funded contemporary art gallery guided by curiosity and passion. Through exhibitions, public programs, publishing, and commissioning activities, the Foundation supports artists and audiences through a variety of engagement and collaborative models. We strive to place the artist and their practice at the core of our work, and to support, in as many ways as we can, the multiplicity of dialogues that exhibitions produce, including through public programs that are responsive and experimental.
Esker Foundation is committed to anti-racism, anti-oppression, equity, and inclusion. We strongly encourage applications from equity-deserving communities including individuals who are gender diverse, LGBTQ+, Two-Spirit, and individuals who are Indigenous, Black, or people of colour.
(Equity-deserving groups are communities that experience significant collective barriers in participating in society. This could include attitudinal, historic, social, and environmental barriers based on age, ethnicity, disability, economic status, gender, nationality, race, sexual orientation, and transgender status.1)
While we seek to be accessible, we wish to be transparent about the current limitations of our facilities. Esker Foundation is not fully accessible in the following ways:
- Multiple doors in the Atlantic Avenue Art Block building (where we are located), including access doors in the underground parkade and keyless entry doors within the building, are not equipped with accessibility buttons.
- Esker Foundation is not presently equipped with technology that supports those with hearing or visual impairments.
We acknowledge that accessibility is a relational and dynamic conversation that will differ from individual to individual. If you have any questions or concerns about barriers to access at Esker Foundation or the Atlantic Avenue Art Block, please reach out to employment@eskerfoundation.com.
To learn more about the team at Esker Foundation, please visit eskerfoundation.com.
Primary Responsibilities
Esker Foundation is committed to teamwork, professional development, and creating a supportive environment for growth and learning. All training for this position will be provided by Esker staff during regular gallery hours.
In the public engagement and volunteer coordinator role you will collaborate closely with the other member of the programs and engagement team to create strong interdisciplinary programming that thinks outside the box of traditional education programs. You will contribute to the overall scope of Esker Foundation, working with the curatorial and marketing and communications teams, as well as contracted artists and facilitators. Primary responsibilities include developing, implementing, and overseeing public programs and engagement activities for diverse demographics, and from a variety of perspectives. As part of the programs and engagement team, you will contribute to both long and short-range planning for exhibition-related programs.
This position also manages and oversees the volunteer program at Esker Foundation. In developing a comprehensive volunteer program, you will be responsible for the recruitment, orientation and stewardship of volunteers, providing for them a meaningful and rewarding experience.
Program Development:
- Develop and implement high-level programs to enhance visitor enjoyment and engagement with exhibitions, considering new formats and experimentation (ie. talks, panels, tours, workshops, screenings, educational worksheets and guides, videos, audio tours, or other innovative ways to engage).
- Foster relationships with artists, researchers, instructors, and specialists both inside and outside of the art world to develop engagement opportunities.
Program Implementation:
- Program project management, including, but not limited to: hiring artists and facilitators, scheduling, budget, contracting, procuring supplies, marketing materials, documentation, waivers, program set-up and teardown, technical elements, and overseeing volunteers.
- Plan, host, and facilitate programs, which may include: public introductions and moderation, lesson planning, and instruction.
Tours:
- Research exhibitions and exhibiting artists and offer tours for a wide range of audiences, including school groups.
Technical:
- Maintain and update Esker’s AV equipment for programs (in-person and digital), and/or rent additional equipment as necessary.
- Purchase, organize, and maintain general program supplies.
Marketing & Communications:
- Work with marketing and communications to develop, coordinate, and edit program content for exhibition brochures, website, e-blasts, Instagram, and any other digital or printed material, as needed.
- Create and manage Eventbrite listings for programs and events.
Administration:
- Update programming calendar of events and calendar list (for marketing and communications as well as the rest of the gallery team) and report on upcoming and past programs to the gallery team.
- Track program attendance and statistics and create and oversee feedback measures for programs. (i.e. surveys, debrief meetings, etc.).
- Manage Vulnerable Sector Screenings with Calgary Police Services for volunteers and contract artist/facilitators (as required).
Volunteers:
- Develop working relationships and partnerships with individuals, schools, and community organizations in Calgary to develop and support the volunteer program.
- Steward volunteers, offering yearly volunteer reviews, and managing social events; develop and update job descriptions, and recruit, interview, and train new volunteers.
- Oversee the Better Impact volunteer portal and management system.
- Revise/develop policy and procedures and maintain volunteer files.
General:
- Be an active member of the arts community, attending art openings and community events.
- Participate, as time allows, in relevant meetings, symposia, workshops, and other forums of brainstorming, information exchange, and logistical planning within the gallery & in the arts community.
- Stay up to date on relevant training (i.e. equipment, online programs such as Zoom).
- Assist in the general running of the gallery, including opening and closing, and working with gallery and building staff to provide a safe and positive experience for all gallery visitors.
Skills & Abilities
With the recognition that skills and abilities do not necessarily need to be accompanied by an institutional qualification, formal educational credentials are not mandatory for this position. Esker is looking for someone who has:
- Broad knowledge of contemporary art and ideas, an interdisciplinary approach to program development and willingness to experiment.
- The ability to work in a deadline-driven environment, take on and manage independent work initiatives, while also working as part of a two-person team, and with the larger gallery team.
- Detail-oriented, and strong organizational and communication skills—verbal and written.
- Ability to thrive in, and support, a collaborative working culture.
- Flexible, respectful, and thoughtful to co-workers, artists and guests, volunteers, the local arts community, and the public.
- The capacity to engage with and honour dialogues around reconciliation, inclusion, equity, and diversity.
- An emotionally mature individual with strong self-awareness, sense of humor, and willingness to learn.
How to Apply
Please submit a cover letter outlining your relevant experience and skills and a resume or CV. Contact information for three professional references will be required if you are selected for an interview. Professional references may include references from supervisors, co-workers, and professional colleagues, from a place of work or study, or where you have volunteered.
Email your application in one PDF to employment@eskerfoundation.com by Monday, April 25, 2022, at 5:00pm MT with the subject line: Public Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator.
Candidates selected for an interview will be contacted via email. Interviews will be held either in-person or by Zoom in May, 2022.
