ABOUT DANCING CLASSROOMS

Dancing Classrooms (DC) cultivates essential life stills in children through the joyful art and practice of social dance. Made famous by the popular 2005 documentary film, “Mad Hot Ballroom,” DC’s standards based in-school residencies and rigorous out of school extension programs help build the foundation for a lifetime of character and leadership. DC has reached over 600,000 students since its founding and currently supports 17 affiliate sites worldwide. 

Having just celebrated its 25th anniversary, DC is entering into an exciting era, with new executive and board leadership committed to building upon the organization’s rich legacy and research-proven approaches in innovative ways to reach more young people.

 

DEPUTY DIRECTOR PROFILE

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Deputy Director is a pedagogical leader and experienced administrator. The Director will oversee Dancing Classrooms’ NYC-based programs, which serve approximately 150 NYC schools and 17,000 students each year and inform the work of the DC affiliate sites. They will support a team of 6 full time program staff and approximately 40 Teaching Artists to ensure consistently high-quality instruction, strategic growth into new communities and target populations, and superb communication with schools, educator, and families.

 

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

~ Leading the Dancing Classrooms’ core residency, Weekend Academy and Youth Dance Company staff to: Continually assess and strive to improve teaching and learning in the programs; Meet and exceed enrollment and school booking targets; and Identify programmatic growth opportunities and priorities;

~ Leading ongoing meetings with members of the program team to celebrate and share best practices, streamline communication and operations, track program and earned revenue goals, and troubleshoot challenges;

~Designing and facilitating ongoing staff development program that builds on individual strengths, addresses needs and develops a high performing and collaborative team;

~ Creating and cultivating relationships with NYC Department of Education administrators (e.g. Field Support Center Directors, Superintendents) and other strategic partners;

~ Collaborating with Educational Liaisons and Senior Teaching Artists to recruit and onboard a stellar Teaching Artist faculty; develop a yearlong TA professional development arc and performance management protocol;

~Working closely with the HR & Operations Manager, finance team, and Development Manager to maintain the school billing system, track TA assignments, meet grant requirements, and other tasks as necessary;

~ Overseeing the successful execution of the Colors of the Rainbow Team Match events;

~ Overseeing the continual update of DC curriculum, tools, and training modules that build on DC’s best practices and high teaching standards as defined by the Dulaine Method and are informed by stakeholder feedback and relevant research;

~ Playing a key role in organizational planning with the Executive Director;

~ Partnering with Executive Director to cultivate relationships with advocates, councilmembers and other community stakeholders; and

~Other responsibilities as needed.

 

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

~ Passion for and a strong commitment to Dancing Classrooms’ mission, vision, and strategic goals.  

~ Solid administrative, management, critical thinking and analytical skills.
~ Experience in program development, implementation, and evaluation.
~ Excellent computer skills and a high level of computer literacy.
~ Strong relationship building skills with experience leading diverse work teams, developing and implementing organization-wide strategy and plans, and motivating others to carry out the essential tasks based on current and planned work. 
~ Outstanding communications skills, including consistently excellent written and oral communication skills. Well-honed presentation skills; experience in effectively communicating and making presentations to various stakeholders.
~ The ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
~ A high level of energy, professionalism and urgency to getting the job done.
~ Willingness and ability to work remotely; comfort using multiple online platforms to communicate with colleagues and track progress against goals.

 

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

~ A minimum of five (5) years senior level experience in similar sized or larger arts education organization or related field;
~ A Bachelor’s Degree; Master’s Degree preferred.
~ Some dance background preferred but not required.

 

To apply, interested candidates should send a cover letter with salary requirements and resume to humanresources@dancingclassrooms.org with “Deputy Director” in the subject line.

Dancing Classrooms is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to ensuring diversity in its workplace.