Cultural Oasis Space Coordinator

MISSION

For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world's most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top four graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC's undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world-as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.

We offer a competitive, comprehensive benefits package:

• Generous paid time off

• Paid holidays (up to 14 days)

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• Generous parental, caregiver, and medical leave benefits

• Competitive retirement plan (up to 9% matching contribution)

• Tuition remission and Tuition Exchange Program

• Great employee discounts

• Complimentary general admission to participating cultural institutions

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ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

This space is developed under the vision of diverse SAIC students as a place to gather, meet, create, relax, and to co-create an inclusive community. The Program Coordinator is empowered to provide collaborative leadership under the direction of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and in partnership with SAIC students to provide vision on the space use and its service to the community.

ABOUT THE POSITION

This position is responsible for managing the implementation of a dedicated inclusive on-campus space to foster a sense of belonging as well as to contribute to student success and the retention of underrepresented populations. The primary responsibilities of the Program Coordinator are to support the Cultural Oasis Center by managing its day to day operations and coordinating its programming and communications.

The Program Coordinator will assist the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Student Engagement in managing the space, including coordinating with students and the campus community for programming, maintaining the physical amenities, tracking supply inventories, and monitoring room and furniture layouts to ensure they are in set up for varying modes of usage and are accessible to all. The coordinator will assist the Director in drafting any policies, processes, budgets, communications, marketing, workflows, staffing needs, quality improvement assessments, usage reports, and other matters that are critical to successful implementation of the space. Due to the student facing event-planning nature of this role, occasional evening and weekend commitments should be expected. The Cultural Oasis coordinator is a staff member of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and reports to the Director of DEI for Student Engagement

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

ADMINISTRATIVE (OR CREATIVE) DIRECTION - Establish & maintain partnerships with the Director and students on usage of the space; Maintain communications with the Director and students to understand the student experience of those who are under represented at SAIC in order to create relevant programming; Be accessible by maintaining a presence in the space; Be available to listen to students requests and discuss their ideas for the space; Maintains a growing knowledge of the wide variety of needs of the space based on student usage; Proposes standards for community care of the space; Facilitates inclusive community agreements for those who utilize and occupy the space. Draft policies, processes, and workflows; Provides occasional administrative support to the Office of the VP for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

ADVISORY AFFINITY GROUPS - Provides holistic guidance to current and prospective student leaders of affinity- and identity-based groups; Act as an additional contact point for students in the space looking to connect with groups; Serves as a thought and action partner to assist students in developing their ideas for programs and all aspects of event planning; Coordinates with students and vendors; Provides staffing support as appropriate.

STUDENT ADVOCACY/SUPPORT - Source of holistic support for students from historically underserved backgrounds, who identify as Black, Indigenous, persons of color; Proactively creates opportunities to meet with students and provide individualized support; Assesses student concerns and makes referrals as appropriate; Develops key partnerships and opportunities to ensure a comprehensive student support system and resource base; Facilitates student connections with resources at SAIC and in Chicago.

DEPARTMENTAL PROGRAMMING - Supports the DEI programming and student focused programming Cultural Oasis, that foster community building for students with historically underrepresented identities with a focus on the engagement, inclusion, and retention; Facilitates process-oriented discussions on events/programs during staff meetings and annual planning sessions to guide and inform future programming; Develops regular reports on Cultural Oasis usage to the diretor; Serve as an additional conduit between the HAPI committee; Work to solidify pop-up tabling dates; Updates Heritage Awareness Social media pages each month; Coordinates with vendors and catering.

SPACE OPERATIONS - Supports students in setting up and resetting the space daily and after use; Supports students in developing program ideas and makes recommendations for event design and set-up; Coordinates reservations for the space; Assists in developing streamlined space procedures; Conducts checks to ensure proper functioning of equipment; Places orders for supplies; Manages bulletin boards and wall spaces; Caretaking of plants.

SUPERVISION - Supports supervision of departmental student staff; Supervises the graduate assistant for Multicultural Affinity Communities (MAAC) and SAIC's 20+ Affinity Groups; Hosts recurring group and individual meetings with supervisees; Conducts student employee evaluations; Assists the Director in recruiting, hiring, mentoring, & training staff.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT - Monitors space amenities and communicates with facilities management for maintenance or repairs; Maintains space layout; Submits work orders; Submits a/v or other tech tickets.

BUDGET MANAGEMENT - Prepares and manages budget for the space; The Coordinator will also plan, track, and document expenses as well as suggest updates to the annual operating and program budget. Identifies budget needs based on supply usage; Tracks supply usage & expenses; Maintains supply inventory; Assist with the coordination payment paperwork for vendors, independent contractors, faculty, students, alum, guest speakers, etc.

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS - The Cultural Oasis Coordinator will serve as a liaison between the Marketing & Communications for promoting events and approving graphics. Act as an additional the point of contact between the MarCom team with the HAPI committee and the Multicultural Affairs committee; Coordinates with graphic design team on deliverables; Reviews assets for MarCom approval; Communicates revisions with the graphic design team; Develops announcement emails for heritage and history months and special days of observance; Facilitates the email reviewing process, obtaining approval for the email from the Director of Student Engagement, VP of DEI, Manages Calendar invitations for signature events; Manages the social media accounts; Ensures information is listed in appropriate channels, directories, management systems, website, and other outlets;

SUPERVISION - Supervises graduate assistants and student workers

OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED

Some evening and weekend commitments are required.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's Degree required

• Strong organizational and project management skills required

• Minimum 1-2 years of relevant experience preferred

• Effective communication skills preferred

• Proficiency in Google Suite and/or Microsoft Office required

• Ability to work on behalf of diverse student populations, including multicultural experience, cross-cultural communication skills and the ability to create and promote an inclusive community preferred

• Demonstrated collegiality and leadership ability preferred

• Demonstrated understanding of mental health concerns and mental health support preferred

• Skills in trauma informed practices, crisis intervention, mediation, student referrals and understanding of working with students and artists preferred

• Ability to work effectively and in partnership with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse campus community preferred

Salary Grade 6

CLOSING STATEMENT

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, veteran status or citizenship. The Institute complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Department of Human Resources at apply_help@artic.edu.

UNION INFO

This position is part of a bargaining unit represented by AFSCME Council 31