Interpretation and Outreach Associate

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are seeking Interpretation and Outreach Associates (IOAs) – undergraduate and graduate students, recent graduates as well as other adults interested in the museum field – who are responsible for facilitating museum education, interpretation, and community engagement through an inclusive, interdisciplinary, and intersectional approach. Working within the Education Department, and in collaboration with museum staff, Interpretation and Outreach Associates are responsible for facilitating thoughtful and empathic public engagements with the museums’ permanent collections through in-gallery conversations with school groups during weekday school hours, and families and the general public on Saturdays. Additionally, IOAs provide support and collaborate on Family Programs, Public Programs, Community Partnerships and other education and outreach initiatives. As key collaborators, Interpretation and Outreach Associates will participate in a rigorous hands-on training and syllabus including readings, discussions, workshops, and seminars on museum education, programming, interpretation, and more. FAMSF values diversity in culture, race and ethnicity, and gender expression. Candidates from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the arts and museum fields are encouraged to apply.

Typical Duties and Responsibilities:

Starting Tuesday, September 5, 2023, complete 8-week hybrid paid training program that introduces museum education, in-gallery teaching, artmaking, and community engagement frameworks, discussions, and approaches.

Attend additional professional development training and workshops including readings, group dialogues, guest presentations, and self-reflection.
Research, design and facilitate engaging in-gallery conversations utilizing the museum’s permanent collections and exhibitions for students and school groups during weekday hours and with families and the general public on Free Saturdays.

Support the Family Programs team and teaching artists in facilitating Family Art Making, Sketching in the Galleries, de Youngsters Day Out, and more, including hands-on art-making and in-gallery activities for diverse, multigenerational families of all ages and skill levels.

Assist the Public Programs team in implementing welcoming and mission-driven programs including Free Saturdays, festivals and community days, exhibition openings, symposia, film, music series as well as other initiatives.
Work with community partnership and engagement to facilitate off-site community outreach that take place at Equity School Partnership Program school-sites, local civic gatherings, community based organizations, colleges and universities, and other locations.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education and training: We accept applicants with various levels of experience and education. All degree levels welcome—experience in fields of art history, museum education, ethnic studies, or studio art. Undergraduate and graduate students, recent graduates as well as other adults interested in museum work are welcome to apply.

Work Experience: Experience working with diverse and intergenerational audiences within an art setting encouraged. No prior museum experience required.

Skills and Abilities:

Interest in art and museums, public programs, research, writing, multimodal teaching, community engagement.
Experience and willingness to engage in conversations surrounding race, gender, sexuality, and ability.
Comfortable communicating with a diverse public including museum staff, visitors, children, youth, community members, and peers.
Must be comfortable and enthusiastic about inviting and engaging the greater public through museum programs and in-gallery teaching.
Must be reliable, self-motivated, enthusiastic, open-minded, and collaborative.
Ability to commit to the training and program schedule outlined below.
Desired Qualification:

Proficiency in key San Francisco Bay Area languages including but not limited to Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese, and Filipino, including Tagalog and Ilocano.
Program Schedule:

This position is for a term of one year, from September 2, 2023 – August 23, 2024

Candidates must have the ability to commit to 8-16 hours per week on Tuesdays and Saturdays for paid training from September 5 – October 28, 2023.

Tuesdays from 3-5pm (training held virtually)
Saturdays from 10am-4pm (training held onsite at the de Young)

Once training has ended, Interpretation and Outreach Associates will be onsite supporting either Saturday or Weekday Programming. This position’s schedule allows for variety based on an individual’s availability to commit to the program.

Individuals with interest in committing to a weekday track can expect to commit 10-16 hours per week.

Individuals with weekend availability and focus, can expect to commit 6-10 hours per week supporting Free Saturdays.

Compensation:

The hourly pay rate for this position is $20.00 per hour.   There are no benefits associated with this position.

Application Deadline: June 1, 2023

All new COFAM employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Please contact humanresources@famsf.org with any questions.

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COFAM is the Corporation of Fine Arts Museums and is the privately funded non-profit corporation which supports the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, a department of the City and County of San Francisco.

COFAM is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in all phases of employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are the city’s largest public arts institutions and comprise the de Young and the Legion of Honor museums. The de Young, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and located in Golden Gate Park, showcases American art from the 17th through the 21st centuries, international contemporary art, textiles and costumes, and art from the Americas, the Pacific, and Africa. The Legion of Honor displays a collection of over 4,000 years of ancient and European art including Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker and houses the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts in a Beaux-Arts style building overlooking Lincoln Park and the Golden Gate Bridge.