Program Manager - Cultural Arts

The Position

About Carlsbad

The City of Carlsbad is ideally situated in north San Diego County where a great climate, beautiful beaches, lagoons, and abundant open space combine with world class resorts, well planned neighborhoods, a diverse business sector and a charming village atmosphere to create the ideal California experience. Carlsbad's 115,000 residents enjoy a healthy, outdoor lifestyle, appreciate high quality community services and an excellent quality of life.

The City of Carlsbad embraces diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and recognizes the vital relationship of a culturally diverse, engaged work environment and innovative excellence. A diverse, equitable and inclusive work climate comprises personal experiences, values, and views shaped from differences of culture and circumstance. Our organization appreciates belonging, creativity, recognition and retention of its employees and is committed to hiring and developing motivated, productive and talented employees who provide services and enhance our quality of life. We work to embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our responsibility and goal.

Cultural Arts

Founded in 1986 as part of the goal to advance Carlsbad as a thriving, diverse, and creative city, the City of Carlsbad Cultural Arts Office aspires to make arts and culture an integral and inspiring part of everyday life in Carlsbad. The Cultural Arts Office emphasizes the arts by promoting a multitude of events and productions year-round, offering beautiful venues to host world-class performances, and celebrating Carlsbad’s cultural heritage with dedicated facilities and programs.

The Cultural Arts Office is part of Carlsbad’s extensive Library & Cultural Arts Department and the Public Art Program Manager reports to the Cultural Arts Manager. The department partners closely with a diverse array of constituents including, but not limited to, citizens of Carlsbad, city departments, the Carlsbad Friends of the Arts, the Carlsbad Library & Arts Foundation, both resident and non-resident artists, and many community and arts organizations.

The Cultural Arts Office also supports the Carlsbad Arts Commission, consisting of seven members, which advises the City Council on implementation of the arts element of Carlsbad’s General Plan, the Arts & Culture Master Plan, and other arts-related topics.

The Position

Working closely with the Cultural Arts Manager, other city departments, partner organizations, artists and the community, the Program Manager will apply existing city policies and guidelines to manage programs that fulfill the city’s vision for cultural arts. The Program Manager will focus on interdisciplinary, intergenerational, diverse and inclusive arts programs and activities including but not limited to:

• Art in Public Spaces program coordination, including temporary public art and conservation
• Community Arts Grants program coordination
• Research, analysis and reporting related to the Arts & Culture Master Plan
• Special projects as assigned

A Program Manager’s work schedule is varied; some evening and weekend meetings and events are included as a normal part of the schedule. This position reports to the Cultural Arts Manager who reviews work through observation, planning conferences and results achieved.

An ideal candidate in this role will be an experienced program/project manager with demonstrated track record in effective program planning and execution, as well as business and political acumen, collaborative leadership, community engagement and advocacy for arts and culture. The successful candidate will possess exceptional interpersonal skills, particularly listening, and be able to coalesce multiple opinions and views around a common goal. The ability to be flexible and adapt to the needs and interests of the community while adhering to timeline, budget, policy, legal and other project constraints are critical. The ideal candidate is opportunity-driven and asset-focused, with a clear understanding of how to navigate through local government policies and procedures to achieve visionary goals. Strong administrative, technical, writing and organizational skills are essential for success in this role. The Program Manager is a trusted resource for applying sound judgement.

Key Responsibilities

Be a subject matter expert on the Art in Public Places program and its related processes; implement all aspects of the program in collaboration with the Cultural Arts Manager, staff from other city departments, City Attorney’s office, partner organizations and consultants.

Manage the process for the Community Arts Grants program, including development of the application, database management, applicant assistance, application review, final award by the Arts Commission, tracking and reporting on results and making recommendations to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Assist the Cultural Arts Manager with tracking and reporting on the goals and initiatives of the Arts & Culture Master Plan.

Develop and administer complex projects, using effective project/program management skills and techniques; manage budgets; draft and execute contracts; develop timelines; identify and work within program/project constraints.

Perform project and policy analysis, which includes conducting research, identifying and raising pertinent issues, summarizing findings and presenting results.

Identify and recommend improvements to existing programs.

Work collaboratively with other city departments, outside agencies and the community.

Respond to program participants and requests for information.

Assist in preparing City Council staff reports and providing professional guidance and expert assistance to City Council, the Arts Commission and other interested commissions or community groups.

Assign work to subordinate part-time personnel, providing instructions and answering questions: coordinate the scheduling and completion of work by determining operational priorities and resolving workload problems; review work for accuracy and completeness: evaluate work techniques and methods for conformance to established standards.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

To perform a job in this classification, an individual must be able to perform the essential duties as generally described in the specification. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties in a specific job. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.

Knowledge of:

• Best practices in project management frameworks and methods
• Government management principles (e.g. budgeting, contract management principles and practices)
• Community outreach methods and techniques; delivery of effective professional presentations and executive briefings
• Analytical methods including research and statistical methods, and database management
• Professional communication techniques, both oral and in writing
• Contract administration and management best practices
• Organizational strategies; interpretation and application of policies
• Applicable Federal, State, and Local laws, codes, rules, and regulations
• Experience with project management in a design and/or construction context a plus

Ability to:

• Manage multiple broad and complex programs
• Manage projects including monitoring scope, resources and outcomes
• Interpret complex policies and regulations, identify and mitigate risk
• Navigate and make course corrections in current and future planning
• Use software applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Teams, OneNote, Sharepoint and learn new applications related to job tasks
• Communication, interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with coworkers, managers, the general public, etc. to build effective relationships
• Communicate clearly and accurately in writing
• Conduct research; analyzing and interpreting a variety of data and/or information and making recommendations based on findings
• Write, compile and present reports
• Monitor compliance with applicable governmental regulations
• Collect, compile, analyze, organize and present data
• Manage contract administration processes and procedures that safeguard the city and maintain compliance with applicable laws

Experience & Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related field and three years of related professional experience in the specific program area, or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.

A master’s degree and/or project management certification is desirable.