Seeking Education & Programs Manager
If you haven’t already heard, we’re hiring! This month, I was thrilled to post the job listing for a new position at LancasterHistory. With the opening of the Stevens & Smith Center next year, LancasterHistory is growing, and our new Education and Programs Manager will be a key member of the team.
The to-do list for the new hire is already ambitious because we’re so excited about all the possibilities for learning opportunities at the new site, but there are a few specific things at the top. We know this person will be spending time early on doing outreach to schools and teachers in the area. We think every student in Lancaster County should have the opportunity to visit the Stevens & Smith Center and to learn about these amazing people who came from their community and changed the world. Making this happen means going to schools and talking to teachers, librarians, administrators, and other staff about what we’re doing and what we have to offer. And it’s not just schools that we want to reach out to. We want to talk to youth groups, community organizations, and anyone else that can use the Center as a resource for teaching about civic engagement and the history of slavery, civil rights, democracy, and the US Constitution. (If you’re one of those people, let me know!)
The new hire will also be collaborating with me and other team members to develop field trips and classroom visits as well as lesson plans and other teaching tools which educators can take advantage of. We know that we want our programming to be discussion-based and to teach more than names and dates. We want it to get students and young people thinking critically and engaging with the big ideas of freedom, equality, and democracy that are at the heart of the Stevens & Smith Center and the stories of Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. This person will be helping us get there. (If you’re interested in following along with us on this journey, join the mailing list for our education newsletter! You don’t need to be a teacher to join.)
The final key responsibility for the Education and Programs Manager will be developing kid- and family-friendly interpretive tools to use in self-guided experiences in the galleries (the typical walk-in visit). We know the exhibits are exploring challenging material, and we want to make sure that the content remains accessible and that both adults and young visitors are engaged. We have dreams of integrating audio programs, augmented reality experiences, costumed interpretation, and educational games into the site, but we also know that a simple scavenger hunt can get visitors learning too.
However, we considered more than the tasks our Education and Programs Manager will be taking on when we wrote the job description. We wanted to emphasize that we’re looking for someone who is excited about exploring new, innovative, and creative strategies for education and engagement with diverse communities. We decided that extensive knowledge of these topics was not a prerequisite so long as the candidate is curious and enthusiastic about history. We also decided that experience specifically in museum education was not a prerequisite, though experience working with kids and a passion for working with kids is absolutely a must. We focused on describing the skills that would make a successful Education Manager rather than focusing on specific expectations about what academic degrees this person has earned or what past jobs they might have on their resume. Diversity and inclusion are core values at LancasterHistory, so we wanted to craft a job description that would draw a range of candidates from a range of backgrounds.
Finally, we noted that even if applicants don’t meet every requirement listed in the job description, they should apply anyway. We followed a trend of including a reminder in the posting that studies have shown that marginalized communities– such as women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color– are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification in the listing. But, as I always tell our interns, I look for diverse experiences and if a candidate can show that their experience makes them well-suited for a position, I may well be convinced and ask them for an interview so they can tell me more.
If you’re excited about this role and think you have the right skills for it, please apply! The position will be open until filled, and we’ll start reviewing applications and scheduling interviews at the beginning of September. I look forward to hearing from all the wonderful, passionate candidates who I know will be as excited about the new museum as we are!
Click here to view the job listing and apply
From LancasterHistory News