Program Officer, Creative Economy

About the New England Foundation for the Arts:

The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) is a 501(c)3 organization with an annual budget of $8.4 million. NEFA invests in artists and communities and fosters equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation.

As an organization, NEFA values an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world, which we interpret as all people having fair access to the tools and resources they need to realize creative and community endeavors. We acknowledge structural inequities that have excluded individuals and communities from opportunities based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, and geography and strive to counter those inequities in our work.

NEFA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and is invested in creating an equitable and inclusive working environment and organizational culture. We are committed to hiring individuals who share, value, and support these goals, and who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. NEFA does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

About the Position:

The Program Officer for Creative Economy will coordinate the operations of the creative economy program’s processes and tools. NEFA’s Creative Economy program strengthens New England's creative community by supporting its visibility (for individual artists and collectively as a community) as well as its connection and knowledge building (both internally among artists and externally with the broader community). This is in service of the vision of a visible, inclusive, and connected New England creative economy that can strengthen and sustain itself. Artists and creatives are at the core of making all communities thrive. A stronger creative economy is one that is celebrated, supported, well-informed/data driven, and connected to itself and the broader ecosystem.

The Program Officer, Creative Economy will support the implementation of recommendations identified by a recent sustainable growth planning process for the program and for CreativeGround.org, NEFA’s free, New England-wide online creative economy directory and research database. NEFA’s past creative economy work has supported the region’s creative sector by highlighting the rich cultural activity of New England, quantifying its impact, connecting its leaders, and providing opportunities for the sharing of research frameworks and local creative economy initiatives. The next phase of work will upgrade and deepen engagement with CreativeGround, which spotlights the region’s robust creative community and enables users to find and connect with the region’s cultural nonprofits, creative businesses, and artists of all disciplines; as well as increase its use as a critical research tool for NEFA’s service and learning from artists and creative enterprises in New England, further facilitating connection with New England’s State Arts Agencies as well as other creative economy data stakeholders.

The Program Officer is responsible for sustaining and supporting the enhancement of the functionality of the CreativeGround website and other creative economy tech platforms; supporting creative economy data projects; and setting up and implementing systems of support and accountability for the creative economy team and its service to constituents. This is a tactical program operations position requiring substantial situational assessment skills, project management /department coordination expertise, enthusiasm for working with websites and databases, and a strong appetite for learning and teaching new tools and processes.

The Program Officer reports to the Program Director for Research and Creative Economy and works in partnership with the program associate. The Program Officer also works with NEFA’s grant program staff to advance the organization’s impact in the region and with NEFA’s other technology and data staff to support and enhance systems coherence across the organization.

This is a new position that may evolve over time.

Essential Functions - % of Time

Creative Economy Tech Administration – 35%

• Coordinate the upgrade of CreativeGround to Drupal 8;
• Test CreativeGround features and administrative tools and suggest improvements to staff and web developers;
• Perform regular CreativeGround site maintenance duties (processing user accounts and approving profile updates, updating non-user-generated site content, and monitoring and resolving minor tech issues);
• Partner with Program Director and CreativeGround website developer to resolve outstanding site issues; research new functionality; and coordinate ongoing site enhancements;
• Monitor and suggest improvements for tech tools to support the New England Creative Economy Network, including Community Initiatives on nefa.org

Creative Economy Data Management – 30%

• Ensure creative economy data integrity by reviewing and cleaning CreativeGround profiles, creative economy research data categories, and other creative economy data sets;
• Track CreativeGround site usage and analyze trends, make recommendations based on data;
• Assist Program Director with the training and sharing of creative economy data with local, regional, and national partners (includes coordinating updates to data privacy policy, the data focus group, and training materials);
• Monitor data access by CreativeGround users, partners, and data analysts;
• Assist Program Director to develop creative economy data surveys, snapshots, and visualizations to share on CreativeGround and with partners.

Program Administration – 25%

• Coordinate and implement the creative economy technical plan (e.g. conduct useful comparative research, apply guidelines and proactively find ways department can implement best practices related to accessibility standards, search engine optimization, data management, information security, and tech/data ethics);
• Establish and assess team workflow processes and timelines for team projects and meetings; track and report progress against metrics;
• Assist in drafting agendas and correspondence for program staff and other advisory group meetings;
• Support Program Director in meetings through note taking, summarizing discussions, and identifying next action steps;
• Coordinate technical and data needs for creative economy workshops, meetings, and other events;
• Implement and document updates to the creative economy work plan;
• Coordinate the Creative Economy team for information sharing, planning, and evaluation.

Connecting and Learning – 10% 

• Represent the program and organization at conferences, meetings, performances, and other events; report on learning and outcomes;
• Participate in organization-wide convenings and events, planning sessions, and working groups.

Scope

Does this position supervise others?   No

Internal/External Contacts: 

Maintain and support positive relationships with CreativeGround website developer, other applicable vendors and consultants, data users, as well as with internal NEFA staff.

Financial/Operational Resources Impacted:  $ 30,000

Decision Making/Problem Solving:

Knowledge of all operational elements that contribute to problem-solving and issue resolution in specified areas. Ability to interpret service requests and translate them into specific tasks or enhancement. Coordinate and apply established guidelines to track and assist in resolving program technical and data issues; uphold internal data standards and protocols; offer input in team decision-making; consult with Program Director and other program staff on exceptions.

Minimum Starting Salary: $ 55,000

Opportunities for Advancement:

Employees at the officer level are eligible for promotion after two years of employment and having demonstrated satisfactory progress on performance goals as determined by their immediate supervisor              

Qualifications

Required: 

• 4-6 years of related experience;
• Strong organizational and planning skills with the ability to advance multiple priorities and projects concurrently;
• Outstanding data skills - impeccable attention to detail for data cleaning and database maintenance; familiarity and/or comfort with data analysis tools a plus;
• Experience in web-based platform administration; familiarity with Drupal preferred, involvement in Drupal community a plus;
• Highly skilled in Microsoft Office and project management software (Asana or other); familiarity with Constant Contact, Google Studio/Analytics; 
• Strong project management/coordination experience and willingness to learn new tools and problem solve;
• Ability to initiate projects, work independently, and set and meet deadlines;
• Ability to travel around New England

Preferred:

• Experience liaising with website developers and providing technical support, meeting facilitation or training;
• Background in online community platforms and/or creative economy research or creative economy and creative placemaking initiatives;
• Familiarity with SalesForce and data management software

Physical/Mental Demands: 

Travel (occasional regional), stationary position, computational skills, reasoning, decision-making, detailed work, communication, organization skills, reading, processing (high capacity for input and analysis)

Application Instructions

All applicants must submit a resume and cover letter using the online application form at nefa.org/employment. The deadline to apply for this position is Friday, April 3. A review of applications will begin immediately. Applications received after the deadline may not be reviewed is the existing candidate pool is deemed sufficient.