Chicago Dance History Project seeks a part-time Public Engagement and Diversity Manager
About the Opportunity
The Public Engagement and Diversity (PEaD) Manager will play a critical role in sustaining Chicago Dance History Project’s current audience engagement program series and a leadership role in the development of new community-based public outreach programming. In both capacities, the PEaD Manager will be a primary public facing representative and ambassador for sharing CDHP’s current digital collections and will be a catalyst for expanding these assets to better represent the entirety of dance in Chicago.
As CDHP’s archive moves closer to complete online accessibility, this role is crucial to the concurrent realization of CDHP's public mission, maintaining the principle that accessibility does not begin and end with an internet connection. Our collections will be truly accessible when we can introduce them to people across the region candidly, facilitating face-to-face, historically contextualized conversations.
The PEaD Manager will work closely with the Executive Director as well as the Operations and Collections Manager in designing and implementing programs, while also enjoying a progressively expansive degree of creative autonomy in project development and management In this newly-created position, the candidate will grow into and augment these opportunities for community and institutional relationship-building with the full support of the Executive Director, CDHP staff, and the CDHP Advisory Council.
The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated, proactive, independent creative thinker demonstrating an active familiarity with the Chicago dance world in its many facets and manifestations, and who presents an enthusiastic interest in developing relationships and building bridges that bring the diversity of Chicago’s dance community to greater public awareness.
Role and Responsibilities
The PEaD Manager position is part-time at 30 hours per week with an approximate breakdown of activities and responsibilities as follows:
- (40%) Conduct community conversations as a key tactic for program development and management, and share CDHP’s collections through sustained public outreach.
- (20%) Lead audience engagement activities designed to publicly celebrate significant anniversaries of dance organizations and individuals
- (40%) Identify new partners and partnership strategies, with heightened awareness and focus on underrepresented and marginalized communities
In these three capacities, the successful candidate will work closely with the CDHP Team to secure the following desired outcomes:
- Identify and initiate strategic partnerships and community outreach strategies with fellow local cultural heritage organizations, including peer archiving organizations (e.g. Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Shirley Hall Bass Foundation, MOVIN’ Legacy, Chicago Collections Consortium, Chicago Women’s History Center, and History Makers).
- Conceive and initiate programming which delivers CDHP’s archive and collections- related resources to a broad range of local audiences.
- Develop curricula to facilitate conversations that explore diverse perspectives on Chicago dance, Chicago history, and the CDHP archive as a working project.
- Develop strong, productive relationships with current and possible core partner institutions: The Newberry Library, home of the Midwest Dance Collection, the Chicago History Museum, the Heritage Museum of Asian Art, the Chicago Public Library system, the Mexican Museum of Art, and regional neighborhood cultural centers.
- Curate and support a roster of speakers, performers, facilitators, and community-based, geographically diverse host sites in line with organization’s strategic goals and commitment to reparative relationships.
- Create and manage resources for host organizations, including guidelines, timelines, materials, and reporting tools.
- Monitor and respond to speaker, host, and participant feedback and inquiries.
- Maintain communications with host organizations, create written agreements with partner organizations, and frame expectations and priorities in support of community goals.
- Collect and update program descriptions for web pages and program collaterals in coordination with the Communications Team.
- Propose data-informed recommendations about target audiences in support of annual and strategic priorities.
- Collaborate with the Communications Team to assist in the development of internal and external communications about program events for marketing and PR purposes.
Attributes and Demonstrated Experience
The successful candidate will possess:
- Knowledge of and proven familiarity with the Chicago dance community in its many facets and manifestations, along with an enthusiastic interest in maintaining an ever-increasing awareness of the community’s breadth and variety.
- General knowledge of and keen interest in both the history of Chicago and of dance.
- Minimum of two years experience as manager/organizer in circumstances demonstrating vision and creativity in community-based program development.
- Superlative public speaking skills in a range of cultural and intellectual settings.
- Expertise in facilitating respectful and engaging community conversations involving a wide range of participants and stakeholders.
- Geographic and cultural familiarity with the City of Chicago and its socio-ethnic neighborhood structure.
- Ability to work independently and manage complex, nuanced relationships with diverse stakeholders.
- Exceptional time management, project management, and organizational skills.
- Bachelor’s degree or comparable experiential expertise.
- Computer proficiency (Mac).
Additional qualifications preferred but not required: Experience navigating Chicago’s cultural institutional infrastructure - including libraries, museums, non-profits, parks, cultural centers; Masters degree or comparable experiential expertise; experience with digital collections and preservation practices; bilingual speaker.
Compensation and Benefits
For this part-time, 30 hour per week position, CDHP offers a range of compensation at $30.00 to $33.00 per hour, healthcare benefits (25% employer contribution/75% employee contribution), paid leave, paid sick leave, and additional paid days off for specific holidays.
Occasional overtime may occur, for which the employee would be compensated at time and a half.
About Chicago Dance History Project
Chicago Dance History Project investigates, documents, and presents the oral and corporeal histories of dance in Chicago by creating and maintaining an open-access digital archive of original and collected materials. Our archive represents a wide variety of dance artists and institutions, and tells the stories of Chicago’s dance history from multiple perspectives; the organization strives to preserve the most diverse, most representational stories possible.
Further, we seek to honestly represent any racial, ethnic, and other identity-based harms uncovered in our archival efforts that were systematically perpetrated by and within the city of Chicago – as manifest through the past and present socio-political contexts in which Chicago dance practices evolved – with particular cognizance of the city’s historical and continued policies of anti-Black racism and racial segregation. By unflinchingly giving voice to the realities and legacies of the many forms of discrimination reflected by and in dance history, we hope to ameliorate past harms, thus equitably elevating the creative practice of past and present dance artists and practitioners in Chicago.
Vision Statement
Chicago Dance History Project (CDHP) believes that ours is a rare and particular grouping of artists, administrators, patrons, festivals, venues, and creative workers which deserves to be celebrated, recognized, and championed.
Through its ongoing collaborative efforts across the sector, CDHP serves to help elevate the Chicago Dance Community - and the quintessential characteristics that make it uniquely Chicago - locally, nationally, and internationally.
Core Values Statements
In all aspects of its operations, CDHP is committed unwaveringly to the following core values:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Chicago dance community is an ever-changing, ever-diversifying group of people, cultures, art forms, beliefs, and approaches to dance. In order to serve our community well, CDHP acknowledges that our mission and core values are tied inextricably to the tenets of DEI.
We are committed to modeling diversity and inclusion through our behaviors, policies and programs and thereby maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all. Through continual examination and internal reflection, we make apparent and can correct underlying assumptions that may undermine this commitment. We devote time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.
Further, the care and attention paid to best practices, transparency and consistency, access and accessibility, and continual improvement are the mechanisms by which we honor diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Best Practices
CDHP’s processes and policies for collection, preservation, and promotion of oral histories are created and updated in alignment with ethical standards and industry best practices governed by the Oral History Association, the Society for American Archivists, and other similar organizations.
Transparency and Consistency
Our success in serving the Chicago dance community hinges on the clarity of our operations and actions. By committing to the core value of transparency, we seek to eliminate any uncertainty about our strategic direction and access to our programs. By committing to the core value of consistency, we seek to eliminate any suggestion of favoritism across the community.
Access/Accessibility
Equal access to our programs and services in a measured and predictable manner by members of our diverse community is foundational to our operations. Likewise, accessibility of printed and digital materials, accessibility at in-person audience engagement events or panel discussions, and accessibility of our online oral histories are to be supported by pre-emptive accommodations for those participants with mobility, visual, hearing, or other disabilities.
Continual Improvement
As CDHP continuously investigates how best to serve its diverse range of constituents, we promise to correct unintentional shortcomings and missteps, improve communication and program offerings, and accept positive and negative feedback from the field with openness, humility, and a readiness to make necessary changes.
Statement of Non-Discrimination
CDHP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is clear: there shall be no discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, or sexual orientation.
We actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential. We welcome submissions from a wide range of candidates and highly encourage application even if one does not meet every single qualification.
Application, Inquiries, and Deadline
Please submit a cover letter, resume with a summary of your demonstrable accomplishments, and a writing sample of your choosing, no later than February 21, 2025 to:
Michael McStraw, Executive Director
Chicago Dance History Project
michael@chicagodancehistory.org
References will be required only for those candidates advancing to the final stage of consideration.
Have questions? We encourage initial inquiries about the position, prior to application. Send all such inquiries via email; please, no phone calls.
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