Organizational Background
At the Harmony Program, music changes lives every day. Through collective music-making, children from under-served communities explore new avenues and realize their full potential. For over 15 years, the Harmony Program has distinguished itself by serving children in need, reaching them within their own communities, providing them with instruments and intensive, high-quality musical training, and helping to develop in them the life skills that support their healthy development – musically, academically, and socially. The Harmony Program also recruits and trains accomplished musicians as its teachers and provides them with formal professional development training, observation and evaluation, access to a network of their peers, and competitive compensation for their services, with the goal of instilling in them a long-term commitment to community outreach and education.
The Harmony Program is inspired by Venezuela’s national youth orchestra system, “El Sistema.” Committed to improving society through music, El Sistema has gained international acclaim for the breadth of its reach, the quality of its musicians, and the power of its positive influence on the young lives it touches. In the spirit of El Sistema, the Harmony Program emphasizes the influence of music-making on social development, encourages learning through ensemble playing, fosters a supportive community for program participants and families, and requires of all involved a high degree of commitment to daily music study.
Jobs, Duties, Responsibilities
The Program Manager will report to the Harmony Program’s Program Director and assist other staff as needed. He/she/they will be an integral member of a close team of administrative staff, including nine full-time colleagues, and will interface with the organization’s more than 80 part-time music teachers, as well as Harmony Program students, families, and partners. The Program Manager’s primary objective will be to support the organization’s nine after-school programs, including overseeing their daily operations, logistics, expenditures, and effectiveness.
The priorities of the Program Manager include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Plan and manage the day-to-day logistics of the Harmony Program’s after-school programming;
- Work with the Director of Teaching Artist Training to select a strong team of teaching artists to staff after-school programs across four boroughs;
- Develop positive and supportive relationships with school leaders, including regular communication and feedback around program effectiveness;
- Provide necessary observation, support, and evaluation to teaching artists to ensure their effectiveness in the classroom and general satisfaction;
- Arrange for necessary instruments, equipment, supplies, and repairs and oversee instrument and supplies procurement, storage and inventory;
- Conduct clear and regular correspondence with Harmony Program community members, including school leadership, teaching artists, students, and families via email, mail, and phone;
- Ensuring the timely collection and entry of program data, including attendance, school satisfaction surveys, parent feedback, teacher evaluations, and students assessments;
- Oversee a minimum of two student recitals at each school site, including curating appropriate repertoire selection, securing accompaniment, and delivering polished performances;
- Performing general office duties, including phone calls, mailings, photocopies, and filing.
Qualifications
Interested candidates should possess the following qualifications:
- A minimum of three years (five preferable) experience in public school classrooms;
- Undergraduate degree in arts administration, music education, or music performance;
- Exceptional organizational skills with keen attention to detail;
- Strong communication skills, both written and oral;
- An ability to work efficiently, both independently and collaboratively;
- A polite, positive, and professional demeanor;
- Computer proficiency, with expertise in the Google and Microsoft Office suites, and preferably Airtable, MURAL, and Slack;
- Strong time-management skills.
This is a full-time salaried position based in New York City. The annual salary range is $65,000 to $70,000 per year, depending on years of experience and expertise. Harmony Program offers a competitive benefits package.
Interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume to hr@harmonyprogram.org. Please include “Program Manager, After-School Instruction” in the subject line.
