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 musicmaking 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 Harmony Program is seeking a full-time Director of Education to oversee our school- and community-based programs. The Director of Education will report to the Executive Director and be an integral member of a ten-person staff.
As a senior member of our team, the Director of Education will be responsible for developing effective learning environments for our students and supporting our students’ musical as well as social-emotional development.
The priorities of the Director of Education include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Initiating and developing long-term relationships with our partnering schools and community-based organizations;
- Designing choral, instrumental, and general music classes for after-school and in-school settings for students in grades K-8;
- Managing instructional programming, schedules, and budgets, in consultation with the Executive Director and community partners;
- Developing policies to support strong student participation and retention;
- Assessing the quality of instruction in our classrooms and tracking student outcomes;
- Setting high expectations for quality performances at the end of each semester;
- Collaborating with other program staff in encouraging student progress toward ensemble participation and scholarship opportunities.
Qualifications
Interested candidates should have the following qualifications:
- Minimum of five years of teaching experience in a classroom setting;
- Advanced degree in music performance and/or music education (choral or instrumental);
- Superior project management, budgeting, and organizational/operational skills;
- Staff management experience and an ability to work collaboratively with others;
- Strong communication skills, both written and oral;
- Solid time-management skills and experience in handling multiple deadlines;
- Technological proficiency, primarily with Google Sheets, Docs, and Slides;
- Positive, professional, and engaging demeanor and enthusiasm for the organization’s mission;
- Spanish language skills, helpful but not required.
This is a full-time salaried position based in New York City. The annual salary range is $90,000 to $100,000 per year, depending on years of experience and expertise.
Interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume to HR@harmonyprogram.org. Please include “Director of Education” in the subject line. Competitive salary and benefits package.