Split This Rock Assistant Youth Programs CoordinatorJob Description
Split This Rock cultivates, teaches, and celebrates poetry that bears witness to injustice and provokes social change. From our home in the nation’s capital we celebrate poetic diversity and the transformative power of the imagination. We are committed to fostering the voices of the next generation of poets through our youth programs.
Split This Rock’s robust youth programs use poetry to teach and empower teens from the DC metropolitan area to speak up about issues of social justice. Our youth programs operate year-round to offer exceptional learning, writing, bonding, and performance opportunities to young people interested in the power of language. Through our in-school and after-school programs, we seek to popularize poetry, establish and maintain poetry clubs and slam teams in and out of schools, cultivate a culture of literacy, camaraderie, and truth-telling, and help students develop their writing and performance skills.
Our programming includes open mics, poetry slams, writing and performance workshops, the DC Youth Slam Team (DCYST), Split This Rock’s school-based spoken word poetry clubs, the Writers’ Guild (WG), Louder Than A Bomb - DMV Teen Poetry Festival (LTAB), Hyper Bole Individual Teen Poetry Festival, Ushindi Performance Group, professional development for teachers and community organizers, and The World & Me Poetry Contest. Additionally, by request, Split This Rock teaching artists and teens lead writing and performance workshops, teach classes, and perform for community groups, non-profit organizations, and social justice demonstrations.
Goals of Split This Rock youth programs:
- Teach, demonstrate, and promote the study and craft of written and performed poetry;
- Empower young people to speak out about issues of social justice and take action;
- Demonstrate and promote a culture that values literacy, creative wordplay, critical thought, and community building;
- Strengthen ties with local youth workers and youth serving organizations in order to recruit students, collaborate on programming, leverage resources, and sustain/build partnerships for growth;
- Provide opportunities for young people to experience, learn, create, and connect with others, through poetry and social justice activism;
- Provide outstanding performance, travel, growth, and bonding opportunities for young poets
- Contribute to the field of youth poetry programs as an international arts education leader;
- Connect young poets to movements for social change and the artists and activists working within such movements.
Position Description
The Split This Rock Assistant Youth Programs Coordinator will assist in the management all of the youth programs, including the teaching artists and slam team coaches working directly with students in schools, libraries, and other community spaces. The AYPC will be responsible for the creation and maintenance of systems that will support the Youth Programs Coordinator in the management and strengthening of partnerships with teaching artists and coaches, teachers and administrators, community organizations, and event venues. This multi-talented person does not necessarily have to be a performance poet themselves, but they must know/be willing to learn the art well and be able to speak convincingly about the importance and benefit of poetry in the lives of young people.
Key Responsibilities
The Assistant Youth Programs Coordinator is responsible for:
- Scheduling, booking, promoting, and running slams
- Coordination of written poetry contests
- Administrative tasks, record keeping, filing as needed
- Assisting with fundraising events and tasks, as requested
- Managing online presence of youth programs, including all social media, Youtube videos, and youth pages on Split This Rock's website;
- Fostering performance opportunities for DC youth poets, both locally and nationally;
- Nurturing partnerships with local venues and similar community arts and activist groups
- Keeping accurate records and helping to build organizational databases;
- Documenting events and activities for archives, funders, and external communications;
- Attending biweekly Split This Rock staff meetings
- Overseeing the production of chapbooks by each DCYST member before end of year
Schedule
This is a part-time, salaried position with an expected 20 hours per week schedule. Specific work days and hours are negotiable with Youth Programs Coordinator. Split This Rock works on a system of flexible compensatory time, allowing employees time off for extra time worked outside of a normal 20-hour work week. Pending funding, this position may be extended to full-time.
Qualifications
- At least 2 years’ experience working within a non-profit
- Demonstrated ability to relate to young people, especially teen)
- Passion for social justice and youth empowerment
- Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Experience with social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
- Ability to work well with people of all ages from diverse backgrounds
- Clean TB test and background check for working with students (can be completed after interview)
- High school diploma or equivalent (college degree preferred)
- Proficient in Microsoft Office
- Familiar with Adobe Design Suite and Constant Contact preferred
Projected Start Date & Salary: We aim to fill this position by early January 2017 which comes with an annual salary of $20,000.
To apply: Submit a résumé, prose writing sample (no more than 2 pages), 3 references, and thoughtful cover letter outlining your interest in this position to with “Assistant Youth Programs Coordinator Application” in the subject line. No calls please. Deadline: December 9.
Split This Rock is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and encourages applications from people of color, women,people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, and members of other groups that have historically been subject to discrimination.
Read more about Split This Rock and our youth programs at or .