Job Title: Site Supervisor, New York City StoryBooth
Location: Brooklyn, NY and New York, NY
Reports To: Manager, StoryBooth & Door-to-Door
Status: Full-Time, Regular, Exempt
About StoryCorps:
StoryCorps (www.storycorps.org) is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 30,000 interviews from more than 60,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, and millions listen to our weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition and on our Listen pages.
Position Overview:
The New York City StoryBooth team records at least 680 oral history interviews per year. The New York City StoryBooth Site Supervisor manages the delivery of all New York City-based StoryCorps services, including initiating and maintaining relationships with community organizations in the New York City area to maintain a high level of participation and to ensure StoryCorps interviews reflect the diversity of New York City, and ensuring successful recording days with these partners through its services, which include the two-day/week operation at the StoryBooth in Foley Square, the on-site Door-to-Door recording service, and the portable StoryKit service.
The Site Supervisor is also responsible for supporting the growth and development of StoryCorps’ presence in New York City through promotional activities and public programming. StoryCorps is committed to engaging the entire city of New York City through our services here, and the Site Supervisor will be responsible for creating and implementing a comprehensive outreach plan to ensure that we are reaching as many people as possible.
The Site Supervisor maintains the schedule for the New York City StoryBooth and its staff and ensures that all tasks related to the smooth operation of the StoryBooth are completed, including maintaining the facility and all recording equipment and regularly communicating and troubleshooting issues with various StoryCorps departments.
The Site Supervisor also oversees the ongoing work of a team of Facilitators, the front-line staff who record and process interviews, assist in community outreach, and otherwise support our work in New York City. The Site Supervisor will be responsible for providing them with regular supervisory support, feedback, direction, and performance assessment. Additionally, Site Supervisors are required to record interviews when illness or emergencies prevent Facilitators from working and when no assistance is available from our team of Per Diem Facilitators, who work on an on-call, as-needed basis.
In 2011, the New York City StoryBooth will participate in the continuation of both the Historias and Griot Initiatives. StoryCorps Historias and StoryCorps Griot are organization-wide initiatives to ensure that the voices, experiences, and life stories of Latinos and African Americans across the United States will be preserved and presented with dignity. Candidates with knowledge of Latino and/or African American history and culture are encouraged to apply; work experience in Latino and/or African American communities is strongly preferred.
The successful candidate will be capable of leading a dynamic and constantly evolving project, negotiating with high-level external partners, and supervising staff. S/he should be able to coordinate and delegate work, deliver positive and negative constructive feedback, and set performance improvement goals. Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and a high degree of professionalism are required.
Excellent benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, Flexible Spending Accounts, 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan, Employee Assistance Plan, and TransitCheks; also includes paid time off (vacation, sick leave, personal days, and holidays).
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Supervise and assess performance of one Full-Time and one Part-Time Facilitator; manage Per Diem Facilitators when they staff the New York City StoryBooth
- Conduct training for new Facilitators and ensure current staff have up-to-date skills
- Develop and foster relationships with community-based organizations, school groups, and institutions in New York City
- Function as primary contact for community partners in New York City (including both media partners and community-based organizations)
- Create and implement an action plan for New York City outreach and promotion that will help meet overall interview and diversity goals by engaging interview participants through Booth interviews, onsite Door-to-Door recordings and/or StoryKit recordings, as well as through public programming, including leading workshops, presentations, and listening events
- Support the implementation of new outreach initiatives through participation in planning, outreach, and sharing of best practices
- Monitor, support, and evaluate the Full-Time Facilitator’s outreach activities
- Set and manage the schedule for the New York City StoryBooth and its Facilitators
- Facilitate interviews as needed due to Facilitator absence or illness
- Ensure the regular transfer interview materials and participant donations to the StoryCorps main office for processing
- Review interview activity reports and archival processing work completed by Facilitators to ensure accuracy and completeness
- Prepare regular reports on booth and outreach activity to StoryCorps’ internal and external stakeholders
- Help create the annual budget for the New York City StoryBooth and manage expenses
- Inspect StoryBooth facilities and recording equipment on a twice-monthly basis; coordinate Booth repairs and cleanings
- Provide first level of support for technical problems occurring at the Booth
- Be on-call during interview shifts
- Perform other tasks to support the StoryBooth & Door-to-Door Department, as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills, and Qualifications:
Required:
- College degree
- Experience as an effective leader; strong team-building skills
- Excellent interpersonal, communication (verbal and written), and public speaking skills
- Solid organizational skills and attention to detail
- Strong conflict negotiation and collaboration skills
- Ability to be flexible and adaptable in order to contribute to problem-solving activities within a growing, changing organization
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office
- Comfort in learning about and working with new equipment
- Valid Driver’s License.
Preferred:
- Experience providing staff supervision and evaluation
- Experience in project planning and management
- Familiarity with New York City and local organizations
- Proficiency on a Mac platform
- Experience with audio recording equipment
- Ability to communicate clearly in Spanish and English, both orally and in writing.
To apply, please send cover letter and resume to employment@storycorps.org and include your last name and “Site Supervisor, NYC” in the subject line. Include all materials as attachments entitled “YourNameLetter,” and “YourNameResume.” In your cover letter, please tell us how you found out about this opportunity and whether you have applied for a position at StoryCorps in the past. No calls please. Applications are due by July 21, 2011. Please apply early.
StoryCorps seeks to hire staff who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.
All positions at StoryCorps are filled without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, HIV/AIDS status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. All are encouraged to apply.
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Thanks,
Megan Thiele
Manager, Human Resources
StoryCorps
80 Hanson Pl, 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11217
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