Job Title:        Youth Arts Program Manager
Supervised By:     Senior Director of Educational Excellence
Employees Supervised: Interim Department Assistant, Instructor-Digital Arts, Instructor-3-D Lab 
Maker, Instructor-Design Arts and Gallery Manager, Teaching Artists, and Fellows
Classification:     Exempt, full-time
Date Revised:     August 2023

OUR STORY
This is an opportunity to work with a rising and dynamic non-profit on the west side. We are 
CHICAT… The Chicago Center for Arts and Technology is working to transform the lives of those we 
serve. CHICAT provides arts education for youth and industry-relevant career training for adults. 
Created primarily to support the North Lawndale, Little Village, and Pilsen neighborhoods, CHICAT 
educates, empowers, and elevates the talents of individuals to realize their own genius through 
arts and technology. For more information about our history and programs, visit 
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OUR LOCATION
Our staff work on-site. We are located in the Illinois Medical District, just west of the Loop. 
CHICAT’s home is an award-winning contemporary redesign of a former industrial site with 
state-of-the-art technology and a wide- open office design.

SUMMARY OF THE POSITION
The Youth Arts Program Manager is a pivotal leader on the Youth Arts Team and will lead, inspire, 
and grow our Youth Arts department. The Youth Arts Manager will collaborate with other leaders and 
staff within the organization to ensure the delivery of learning, student enrollment, student 
recruitment and retention, and student engagement are in alignment with the goals and mission of 
CHICAT.

The candidate must be experienced in engaging and working effectively with external stakeholders 
including students, partners, and members of the community we serve to support recruitment and 
retention. The candidate should be equally comfortable working with middle school and high school 
students from diverse backgrounds. The presence and leadership skills of this candidate will foster 
a climate of inclusion and encourage all to be and do their best. This role also provides a unique 
opportunity to drive positive change within the communities we serve and the students we teach.

WHAT YOU’LL DO
Administration (Approximately 15% of the position)
●  Manage the daily operations and implementation of the Youth Arts Programs, including tracking 
student enrollment, analyzing enrollment data, and managing supply orders, etc.
●  Working with the Senior Director of Educational Excellence, oversee the delivery of instruction 
and ensuring instructors adhere to work procedures and curriculum standards aligned with program 
learning outcomes
●  Monitor and ensure Youth Arts staff comply with administrative requirements. Student Support 
(Approximately 20% of the position)
●  Ensure a safe and functioning learning environment for youth learners by ensuring effective 
program implementation along with access to high- quality teaching and learning resources and 
techniques
●  Conduct parent orientations, draft communications to parents regularly in order to ensure high 
parental engagement and support
●  Review reports of student misconduct cases that require disciplinary action to ensure 
recommendations conform with CHICAT, partnering school, and governing agencies guidelines
●  Lead the mediation of student conflict, investigation student complaints to resolve them, 
document all
student interactions, and provide a report of student misconduct.

Programing (Approximately 40% of the position)
●  Lead and manage special projects for the Youth Arts department
●  Develop and maintain a comprehensive schedule of class sessions and events related to the Youth 
Arts classes and programs
●  Plan and conduct community outreach and engagement for the youth arts education classes and 
programs to ensure minimum enrollment of approximately 288 students per year
●  Cultivate and retain strategic partnerships for recruitment, retention, and student support
●  Assist in the development of communication materials and marketing efforts to facilitate 
recruitment
●  Prepare annual operation budget and monitor department spending
●  Partner with senior leadership to help meet CHICAT’s goals and mission
●  Draft and oversee the implementation of Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with partners
●  Track and enter student related data to create reports as needed when requested
●  Engage and support youth students to ensure at least 75% student retention rate. Staff 
Management (Approximately 25% of the position)
●  Supervise and provide support to Youth Arts instructors and staff regularly
●  With the Senior Director of Education Excellence, conduct performance evaluations of Youth Arts, 
classroom observations and walkthroughs quarterly
●  Coordinate and lead in department staff meetings to build working relationships, review on-going 
implementation of action plans, and discuss instruction and student related issues weekly
●  Recommend and/or provide staff training and professional development opportunities for 
instructors to enhance job performance, improve quality of instruction and promote student success
●  Foster a positive employee relations climate by supporting instructors with a communicative and 
respectful workplace environment
●  Identify staffing needs, and support the hiring process
●  Demonstrate leadership practices consistent with fostering a positive work culture, tactful 
resolve of employee conflict along with behavior and performance correcting
●  Ensure and enforce compliance with governing agencies and contractual arrangements with external 
partners.

OTHER
●  Articulate CHICAT’s mission and values and lead by example
●  Share information, practicing the Golden Rule, and respecting all
●  Participate in professional development activities to continually update teaching and learning, 
material knowledge, and skills
●  Attend all internal and external meetings as required
●  Ensure that confidential information relating to the organization, its staff, and students is 
kept confidential
●  Other duties as assigned to make CHICAT great.

BRING YOUR BEST QUALIFICATIONS
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
•  Bachelor’s degree in a related field required, master’s preferred
•  Minimum of 5 years of program management work experience, youth /or adult programming experience 
preferred
•  Prior experience teaching or training youth /or adults highly desirable
•  Prior experience managing staff preferred (or the ability to quickly learn supervisory 
skills)
•  Prior experience with After School Matters and Department of Family and Support Services 
partnerships a plus
•  Strong administrative and data management skills
•  Strong, effective written and verbal communication skills
•  Skilled in office-based computer applications: MS Office (Word, Excel, Access, Power-Point, 
Outlook)
•  Additional computing skills include Canva, Adobe, Creative Cloud, and Mailchimp

•  Verbal and written fluency in Spanish a plus

YOUR PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
•  Strong commitment to CHICAT’s mission, passion for the arts and the role art plays in human and 
community development
•  Possesses integrity, a positive attitude, a professional demeanor
•  Works effectively both independently and collaboratively with a diverse group of stakeholders: 
adult learners, youth students, parents, community partners, and other stakeholders
•  Understands of the strengths, dynamics, and issues of the neighborhoods and the people we 
serve
•  Strong multi-tasking skills, follow-through capability, and accuracy in completing work
•  Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines
•  Fosters a healthy and positive workplace culture.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
●  CHICAT is committed to a fair and equitable workplace where everyone is a respected and valued 
member of the team
●  Expected work hours are 11am to 7pm during after school programming and 9 am to 5pm during the 
summer and during afterschool inter-sessions (weekend work is rare)
●  CHICAT’s facilities are fully accessible
●  The organization is a smoke- and drug-free work environment.

This position is regularly required to:
•  Speak and hear clearly
•  Use hands to operate office equipment and instructional tools
•  Repeat the same movements
•  Stand for a few hours each day
•  Reasonable accommodation will enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the 
position’s essential functions.

OUR COMMITMENT TO INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND ACCESS
•  CHICAT is committed to equal employment opportunity and to compliance with applicable local, 
state, and federal antidiscrimination laws which prohibit discrimination and harassment against any 
employees or applicants for employment based on their actual or perceived race, color, religion, 
age, ancestry, marital status, protective order status, military status, sexual orientation, gender 
identity, gender expression, work authorization status, pregnancy and the potential or intention to 
become pregnant, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition or disability, status as a victim of domestic, 
sexual, gender or criminal violence, certain arrest or criminal history records, lack of a 
permanent mailing address or a mailing address that is a shelter or social services provider.

•  We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based upon these characteristics or any other 
characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

•  If you need reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment 
process, please call Human Resources on (312) 733-1701 and let us know the nature of your request 
and your contact information.

WHY YOU SHOULD APPLY
•  We are commited to building a diverse and inclusive organiza�on and are most interested in 
finding the best candidate for the job. That candidate may come from a background less tradi�onal to 
our field of work, and that’s fine. We strongly encourage interested candidates to apply.

Our pay
•  The salary for this position is commensurate to skills and previous experience as it pertains to 
the role.

Our benefits
At CHICAT, we believe that a comprehensive benefits package helps you live your best life, both at 
work and at home. This includes:
•  Medical insurance: 70-90% of the monthly premium is paid by CHICAT, depending on the 
plan
•  Dental and Vision insurance, Employee Assistance Program, and Term Life Insurance: 100% for the 
employee‘s monthly premium is paid by CHICAT
•  Paid Parental, Adoption, and Foster Care Leave: 100% pay for 6 weeks
•  CHICAT contributions to your 401 K retirement account: amount varies from year to year
•  Paid vacation, sick, and personal days
•  Paid professional development opportunities.

HOW TO APPLY
•  Please apply directly on our website at ------------/join-us/careers/ or email a (1) cover 
letter, (2) resume, (3) your desired salary range, (4) and how you learned of the position to 
HR@------------.
•  Incomplete applications will not be accepted.