Job Description

Our client, Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts, is seeking a caring, creative and entrepreneurial Arts Chair for their Summer season .

Location : Wheatley Heights, Long Island, NY

Schedule : Full-time on-site during the summer months; roughly 20 flexible and remote hours per month other months of the year. This role is ideal for someone with an existing full-time position who has time off during the summer months.

About Usdan:

Usdan has been recognized as a Top Nonprofit Workplace in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024! Usdan opens a world for children to joyfully express their creativity and develop their artistic skills. Each summer, teachers and artists — actors, directors, playwrights, painters, sculptors, musicians, composers, dancers, poets, and novelists — come together to teach and collaborate with our campers, ages 5 to 18. Set on 140 acres of natural beauty in Wheatley Heights, Long Island, NY. Usdan is a safe, welcoming place within which campers have the freedom to build new friendships, explore nature, gain personal independence, and have fun, while developing new skills and techniques in their chosen artforms.

Position Summary:

The Art Department seeks a dynamic, energetic visionary with strong leadership skills who is an

innovative thinker with the ability to effectively and creatively engage faculty, students, and staff in a collegial and collaborative manner. At Usdan, Chairs of Departments are responsible for the vision, direction, implementation, assessment and operations of their department. The Art Department serves students grades K-12 during an 8-week course of summer study, divided into two 4-week sessions. The Chair of the Art Department's utilizes their expertise in arts education to hire, mentor and assess Lead Teachers and Assistant Teachers. The Chair also supports their staff of arts and education professionals to best serve a body of students diverse in age, ability, culture, and learning style. The Chair organizes student exhibitions (fashion shows and comic cons), Festivals (daily live performances in the 900-seat McKinley Amphitheater) and annual benefits for the full camp community. To perform this job successfully, Chairs must be able to communicate with students and other staff effectively and work in an outdoor environment. The position is full time in the summer season and part-time and mostly flexible in the fall, winter, and spring months.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Provide ongoing leadership and vision for the department in five primary areas (Student

Recruitment, Staffing, Program Offerings, Collaboration & Partnerships, and Administration)

STUDENT RECRUITMENT

This role focuses on developing and executing strategies to attract and retain students, with an

emphasis on quality, diversity, and community. Responsibilities include setting enrollment goals,

ensuring appropriate departmental representation at staff tours and recruitment efforts, and

overseeing the student audition process as needed.

STAFFING

The role involves creating a sustainable department staffing structure, by recruiting a diverse

candidate pool of faculty, by mentoring and assessing faculty to align with Usdan's artistic and

educational philosophy, by creating a work culture of inclusion, and by fostering a strong network of artists.

PROGRAM OFFERINGS

In collaboration with senior leadership, the Chair shapes the department's high quality and diverse course offerings and program. Additionally, the Chair oversees and plans a dynamic array of in-studio and Festival performances.

COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

The role involves managing partnerships with visiting artists and cultural organizations, which

include summer and off-season events, workshops, and special projects. Additionally, the Chair

facilitates collaboration across various studios and art forms at Usdan.

ADMINISTRATION

The role involves: coordinating with facilities and administration on building conditions,

maintenance, and construction; overseeing supply organization; managing budgets; maintaining

inventory for the department, while providing leadership and vision based on contemporary art and education practices. The Chair also engages in department planning, enforcing policies, manages substitutes, facilitates department meetings, and addresses challenges or conflicts with parents, students, and faculty.

Job Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in the art form or equivalent knowledge, skills, and abilities;
• A minimum of five years’ experience teaching in the art form, preferably with students of a

wide range of ages and experiences;

• Strong and sustained record of performance, creative, and/or scholarly research

accomplishments (applicant may be asked to provide work samples in the form of videos,

recordings, or other forms of publication)

• Demonstrated experience in administrative, personnel, and budgetary activities
• Evidence of effective community outreach and development, leadership, ability to forge partnerships, and build productive relationships with both internal and external constituencies including alumni
• Evidence of effective teaching within the candidates’ area(s) of expertise
• Experience in curriculum development, including collaboration and innovative pedagogy
• Demonstrated ability to manage a complex organization and work effectively with colleagues across departments
• Experience in recruitment, selection, interview, and retention of a diverse faculty and staff
• Experience in team building, supervision and staff support for professional development
• Commitment to global engagement in the arts, and the promotion of traditional as well as contemporary genres
• Must complete New York State required trainings, including but not limited to a Sexual

Harassment Prevention training and a Child Abuse and Neglect/Maltreatment Identification.

• CPR training is not required but a plus
• Have reliable transportation to Usdan’s campus. Requests for accommodations are subject to approval by senior management.

2025 Summer Season Dates and Times (In-Person commitment)

Monday - Friday, June 30 - August 22, 2025, varying shifts 8AM — 5PM, closed July 4.

Pre-season commitments include:

• Preseason campus prep: May
• Staff Orientation: Saturday, May 31, 9:30AM - 4:30PM.
• Family Orientation: Wednesday, June 18 (a 2.5-hour event to host families in the studios on campus).
• Bi-weekly and/or Monthly Leadership Meetings

Compensation and Benefits

Summer Season: $12,600 for the 8-week summer session

Fall - Spring: $30 per hour, up to 20 hours per month.

Complimentary use of studio space for their own artistic purposes, pre- and post-season,

pending availability; semi-weekly use of swimming pool after camp hours; and occasional

use of other facilities (e.g. tennis courts).

Workshops in subjects like yoga, ceramics, and archery with other faculty and staff, if

offered.

Transportation - additional opportunities to serve as a bus monitor, which consists of riding

the bus to and from camp and supervising students. Faculty and staff will receive a stipend

($400-$700)

Our client is is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. They welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply their unique backgrounds, perspectives, skills and talents to foster an open, cooperative, and dynamic environment where employees and Usdan alike can thrive. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

Colleague is an executive placement firm with a deep bench of highly motivated executives in the non-profit, cultural, government, public affairs, and marketing/communications spaces. Based in NYC and Irvine, CA with a reach that extends across the U.S., our clients range from municipal authorities to museums to marketing agencies and beyond. Colleague is a woman and minority-owned business, and diversity and inclusion are top of mind in every search we undertake. Learn more at colleaguetalent.com

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