Education Associate

The Mission of MIM: The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) enriches our world by collecting, preserving, and making accessible an astonishing variety of musical instruments and performance videos from every country in the world. MIM offers guests a welcoming and fun experience, incomparable interactive technology, dynamic programming, and exceptional musical performances. MIM fosters appreciation of the world’s diverse cultures by showing how we innovate, adapt, and learn from each other to create music—the language of the soul.

Position Summary: MIM seeks an energetic and enthusiastic individual to join the Education Department as Education Associate. The Education Associate will assist in all areas of the MIM Education Department, with an emphasis on field trips. They will also provide administrative and logistical support in the planning and execution of a variety of educational activities and programs. The Education Associate must be a critical thinker, a team player, and someone who can thrive in a busy environment while ensuring a positive experience for students, teachers, and general museum guests. They must be equipped to handle multiple projects with various deadlines and priorities.

Key accountabilities:

• Determine needs and secure resources for each field trip group (spaces, equipment, etc.); collaborate with School and Youth Tour Coordinator to formulate and enact operational processes that meet individualized needs of school/youth groups and ensure an on-brand experience for all museum guests
• Act as “on-the-ground” field trip support, evaluating, monitoring, and attending to needs of field trip guests and supporting volunteer museum guides and MIM team members in a variety of tasks including, interior traffic flow, group time management, survey distribution, introductions to self-guided groups, etc.
• Provide pre- and post- field trip consultation with Museum Guides to foster an environment of open communication, creative problem solving, and continuous improvement
• Manage and coordinate third-party partners, such as facilitator(s) for drumming workshops and/or other field trip add-ons
• Manage inventory of field trip supplies and equipment, ensuring items are well organized and in good working order
• Assist with management of MIM’s Education Collection and coordination of internal requests for offsite use
• Manage the field trip reservation process for non-partner school and youth groups, strategically considering timing, resource availability, and overarching program goals and objectives
• Assist with tour bookings, reminder emails/phone calls to teachers, and tour checklists
• Assist with planning and implementation of various youth and school programs and partnerships; serve as primary point of contact and program manager, as needed
• Help support Gallery Guides and Experience Gallery Guides during field trips
• Support ongoing Museum Guide training and recruitment
• Participate in leading/co-leading classes for youth (MIMkids) and/or adults (Museum Guides), as appropriate
• Help maintain accurate tracking records for grant reporting, board reports, etc.
• Other projects as agreed

The ideal candidate:

• Undergraduate degree required; post-secondary education in museum studies, education, music, ethnomusicology, or related field preferred.
• Experience working with volunteers highly preferred
• Comfort working with children and adults in a fast-paced, busy environment
• Ability to address conflict, enforce policy, and handle sensitive information in a guest-friendly and caring manner
• Experience in formal and/or informal educational settings, working with diverse ages (early childhood, elementary, middle- and high-school, adults, seniors)
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office and Windows-based computer applications
• Ability to learn new computer programs quickly; some database experience required
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong critical thinking skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and work quickly, efficiently, and accurately
• Ability to function and excel as part of a team, working collaboratively with various departments, team members, and external partners
• Knowledge of music and familiarity with a range of musical styles, genres, and practices
• Weekend and evening hours may be required on occasion

Other:

• This is a full-time, hourly position on-site at MIM, anticipated rate of $22–$23/hour.
• A typical weekday schedule will be M-F, 8am to 4pm
• Job duties involve up to 50% of time walking/standing and the ability to push a cart and move items such a chairs and tables as part of program setup