The Position

About Carlsbad – This nearly 40 square mile city is ideally situated in north San Diego County with an approximate population of 115,000. It offers a great climate, beautiful beaches, lagoons, and abundant natural open space. World-class resorts, family attractions, well-planned neighborhoods, a diverse business sector, and a charming village atmosphere combine to create the ideal California experience. Thanks to an award-winning growth management plan, the city’s infrastructure and services keep pace with development and promote an excellent quality of life. The City of Carlsbad significantly supports arts and culture and has established itself as a leader in the region’s arts sector with a rich history of artistic programs and cultural events.

The City of Carlsbad embraces diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and recognizes the vital relationship of a culturally diverse, engaged work environment and innovative excellence. A diverse, equitable and inclusive work climate comprises personal experiences, values, and views shaped from differences of culture and circumstance. Our organization appreciates belonging, creativity, recognition and retention of its employees and is committed to hiring and developing motivated, productive and talented employees who provide services and enhance our quality of life. We work to embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our responsibility and goal. 

The Department – Founded in 1986, the Cultural Arts Office, a division of the Library & Cultural Arts Department, is comprised of a professional staff that recognizes that the arts and culture are integral to the core values of the community. Encouraging self-expression and creativity are key components in designing meaningful and quality experiences with the arts. Each member of the team brings a passionate commitment to the arts and culture, a unique set of skills and a distinctive perspective on what the arts and culture mean to them. Collectively, the staff strives to bring the arts and culture world to Carlsbad through innovative programming. Their work together is collaborative, representing the best outcome when artists and administrators join forces to create truly memorable encounters for audiences, promoting lifelong learning that touches the heart and invigorates the mind.

The Cultural Arts Office is supported by the City’s general fund with an annual budget of over $2 million in fiscal year 2024-25. Its programs include a robust series of concerts, exhibitions, special events, art education opportunities, and public art installations. In June 2018, the Culture Arts Office completed a multi-year effort with the approval of a new Arts & Culture Master Plan by the City Council. This ten-year plan tasks the Cultural Arts team with expanding its role and deepening its impact on the community and the surrounding region. Under the approved plan including 49 new initiatives, the Cultural Arts team is expanding beyond its current role as a provider of arts experiences to forge new ground with specific activities as a leader, connector and partner with the community and local and regional arts organizations, as well as the education and business sectors.

The Community Arts Coordinator’s Role – The City of Carlsbad is offering an exciting career opportunity for an arts professional to focus on interdisciplinary, intergenerational, diverse and inclusive arts education programs and activities including but not limited to:

• Guest Artist Residencies, master classes, lectures, demonstrations and other community enrichment activities for all ages and abilities that complement existing Library & Cultural Arts department programming
• Open Studios community events in conjunction with exhibits in the Cannon Art Gallery
• School education programs:
  • Batiquitos Artventures STEAM program for first graders presented in partnership with Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation
  • Explore More gallery tours and visual arts lessons/activities for grades 2 and 3
  • California History and Art Program for fourth graders at Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park
  • Creative Arts Summer Camp for youth
• Pop-up arts education activities at community events

An Arts Education Program Coordinator’s work schedule is varied; some evening and weekend events are included as a normal part of the schedule. This position reports to the Cultural Arts Manager who reviews work through observation, planning conferences and results achieved.

Oral board interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of January 13, 2025. 

Key Responsibilities

Program Coordination:

• Develop, implement and evaluate arts education programs, events and activities to align with the city’s strategic plan, Arts Master Plan, other policy documents and city priorities
• Coordinate with local schools, community organizations, artists and community members to develop robust interdisciplinary, intergenerational, diverse and inclusive arts education programming
• Review, prioritize, organize and maintain administrative and program processes and procedures to ensure maximum operational efficiency
• Partner with venue coordinators, and technical and production staff to ensure delivery of high quality programs in city facilities
• Maintain data and implements measures to consistently apply best practices from the arts education field and review all processes for efficiency and maximum utilization of resources
• Analyze community participation, attendance and satisfaction and overall results of specific tools such as surveys and performance measures to meet city goals
• Develop and manages agreements for a wide range of contract services, as needed
• Prepare and monitor budgets and tracks expenditures
• Coordinate with the City’s Communications team to promote arts education through various platforms including city website, e-newsletters, print media and social networks
• Work with the Cultural Arts Manager, City Attorney and City leadership to review and suggest revisions and updates to arts education documents, policies and ordinances, etc., as needed
   

Partnerships and Collaborations:

• Work effectively with artists, nonprofit and community organizations, volunteers, city departments and government agencies to foster partnerships and collaborations
• Explore and report on current trends and best practices in the field of arts education
• Serve on committees as appropriate to support initiatives and programs
• Make public presentations before community and professional groups
   

Administrative:

• Maintains records and data and compiles reports documenting arts education activities
• Supervises part-time staff and volunteers as needed to support arts education programming
• Provides administrative and operational support to the Cultural Arts Manager
• Support the city Arts Commission work plan activities
• Works with Library & Cultural Arts administrative support staff

Qualifications

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of arts education program planning, project management and event planning
• Arts education curriculum standards and frameworks for various grade levels
• General technical production requirements related to various arts disciplines to offer safe, inclusive and high quality programs, events and activities
• Arts education trends and the relationship to community needs and available resources  
• Funding, development, implementation and administration of arts education programs and activities
• Basic public personnel, procurement and contract administration practices
• Various computer programs including but not limited to some or all Microsoft Office Suite applications
• Vendors and contracts available to provide needed services
• Community survey and research techniques and methods
• Federal, state and local laws, codes and regulations related to arts education
   

Ability to:

• Work in a collaborative, high performance team environment and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues across the organization as well as educators, participants, city staff and other agencies
• Demonstrate strong initiative and good judgment
• Propose creative solutions to operational and/or programmatic constraints
• Negotiate effectively under pressure to resolve problems and conflicts
• Communicate clearly, concisely and accurately both orally and in writing to effectively articulate program goals and outcomes
• Effectively identify and implement goals, objectives, policies, schedules, procedures and work standards and internal controls
• Supervise volunteers and/or employees
• Effectively partner, plan and implement projects as set by the Cultural Arts Manager
• Work weekends and evenings
   

Experience & Education

Any combination equivalent to the education and experience that provides the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical background may include:

• Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in Business or Public Administration or field of study related to specific assignment i.e. Journalism, Communications or Fine Arts
  • Bachelor’s degree in an arts discipline i.e. Arts Administration, Visual Arts, Dance or Theatre, Art Education or Non-profit Administration or related field of study preferred; and 
• Two years of experience and/or a combination of education and experience
  • Three years or more, preferred