Director of Public Programs

Full time / Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy / Brooklyn, NY / $85,000 - $100,000

Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy began as a grassroots advocate to turn 85 acres of abandoned waterfront into what is now the world-class Brooklyn Bridge Park. As the Park’s chief programming partner, the Conservancy welcomes more than 130,000 visitors across 500 free and low-cost environmental education, recreation, and arts and culture programs each year.

The Conservancy seeks a Director of Public Programs to oversee the curation, management, and facilitation of a wide range of cultural and recreational programming in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The Director will supervise a full-time team of 3, and all seasonal and per diem production staff needed to execute the programs.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Support the Conservancy’s mission to enliven the park by developing free and low-cost programming that attracts a wide variety of visitors to Brooklyn Bridge Park
• Identify appropriate partners for cultural and recreational programs and maintain communication with all parties, providing regular updates with detailed reports and presentations
• Administer programs from start to completion by establishing deadlines, milestones and processes and make decisions in accordance with established rules and regulations, policies and procedures and guidelines; participate in the development of department rules, policies and procedures, goals and objectives, and priorities
• Work with various government agencies to acquire proper permits, insurance and documentation needed for events
• Work directly with development staff and executive leadership on program funding including corporate and foundation opportunities and government grant applications and reporting.
• Work with Communications Manager on broad and cost-effective marketing strategies, marketing materials and signage pertaining to public programs
• Create the overall department budget; prepare and submit budgets for individual program areas; monitor budget expenditures; prepare cost estimates for maintenance, repairs, and program activities
• Evaluate equipment for purchase and assist in the development of specifications; ensure all necessary materials and supplies are acquired
• Liaise with artists and managers with regard to artist fees, contracts, production riders, schedules and all other talent related details
• Devise evaluation and data collection strategies to monitor performance, recognize need for improvements and determine community needs
• Supervise staffing for all Conservancy programmatic initiatives, including full time staff, seasonal staff, and per diem production staff
• Communicate and work directly with Park Operations and Management staff

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from 4-year accredited college or university
• Valid NYS Driver’s License
• 10+ years work experience managing, designing and implementing public programs in the cultural realm; recreational and volunteer programming experience a plus
• Demonstrated ability to lead, engage, inspire, encourage and guide multi-disciplinary teams, and gain others’ support toward accomplishing individual, team and organizational goals
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including several nights and weekends in peak season, May to September
• Ability to evaluate program quality and effectiveness and recommend modifications when appropriate
• Experience managing budgets and making sound financial recommendations; experience applying for, tracking and reporting on government and foundation grants
• Track record of effective collaboration with multiple organizations and experience managing concurrent multifaceted projects while managing conflicting priorities and deadlines
• Strong written and oral communications skills
• Proficiency in MS Office, Google Apps, Adobe Acrobat
• Ability to perform outdoor physical labor (lift 40 lbs) in all weather conditions
• Previous experience working within NYC parks a bonus

Application Instructions