Programs & Events Manager

Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums (BTA) seeks a full-time Programs & Events Manager to support the growth and evolution of the organization’s membership offerings and programming. The Programs & Events Manager is an integral member of BTA, providing an inspiring and supportive membership experience to BTA’s expansive network of Black trustees.

Who We Are

The mission of Black Trustee Alliance is to transform art museums into more equitable and excellent spaces of cultural engagement by harnessing the power of Black trustees. We are a membership organization with over 170 Black trustees serving on the boards of art museums across North America.  We equip Black trustees with the knowledge, resources, and network to bring meaningful and lasting change to their institutions. Beyond our service to our members, BTA is also an ecosystem-wide resource for the field, providing a vision for how cultural institutions can celebrate and serve Black communities, value and protect Black cultural workers, and embrace an ever-expanding diverse world. To learn more about our work, visit blacktrusteealliance.org.

About the Role

The Programs & Events Manager helps to bring BTA’s year-round programming to life. Our programming spans both virtual and in-person events around the country, including studio and gallery visits, exhibition and art fair tours, member mingles, closed door conversations, leadership lectures, research presentations, and our flagship BTA Convening. The BTA Convening is a purposeful annual gathering that amplifies Black presence in the arts, while also offering a space for Black trustees to speak candidly about challenges they’re facing, exchange knowledge, and collectively organize to cultivate change within their institutions. With all of our programming, we seek to inspire, equip, and mobilize our Black trustees.

The Programs & Events Manager will report to the Executive Director, with close collaboration with BTA’s Coordinator, Advisory Board, trustee members, and field peers.

Who You Are

• You are detail-oriented and highly organized; you are able to lead the ideas and logistics of planning engaging virtual and in-person events from start to finish.
• You are stellar at community-building, project management, and event production.
• You are rigorous and inquisitive, with a pulse on Black culture and the global art scene–you enjoy discovering new ideas and trends.
• You are energized by improving how things are done–making our processes and systems better.
• You are a self-motivated, strategic, and creative collaborator who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment.
• You have a growth mindset, are willing to try new things, and are insatiably curious about how organizations grow and develop.
• You are passionate about advancing racial equity in the arts.

• You are a team player and believe that no task is too big or too small.

Role Responsibilities:

• Guide the development of BTA’s programming and events strategy, including our flagship BTA Convening and year-round programming, ensuring they are highly attuned to the needs of our Black trustee members and on-theme with BTA’s advocacy agenda.
• Oversee programming from ideation, sourcing speakers and vendors, invitations, event execution, attendee feedback, and postmortems to reflect on learnings.
• Plan and execute community-building experiences and that champion new, strategic perspectives in the fields of the arts and DEI.
• Be strategic and bold when conceptualizing member programs, getting members excited to partake in BTA events.
• Cultivate relationships with leading Black voices in the arts (including arts leaders, curators, artists, etc.).
• Maintain an up-to-date programming and events calendar.
• Collaborate with the Coordinator to develop a compelling member communications strategy that engages our members on an ongoing basis.
• Foster programmatic partnerships with organizations in the field committed to racial equity.
• Keep a pulse to the latest issues in both the cultural field and the landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion work, sharing insights with our members.
• Collaborate with consultants, vendors, and partners on special events.

A Typical Week in this Role Looks Like:

• Developing the budget and run-of-show for a member mingle event at one of BTA’s member hub cities (i.e., New York, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles).
• Emceeing a leadership lecture event over Zoom.
• Meeting with BTA’s Advisory Board Programming Committee to present your bold ideas for speakers and venues for the 2025 BTA Convening in Los Angeles.
• Developing a speaker guide to prepare an influential Black curator, artist, or leader for their upcoming BTA event.
• Problem-solving a planning roadblock with a contracted venue or vendor, and communicating potential paths forward.
• Surveying members on their wants, needs, and desires for future programming.
• Drafting member invitations and communications materials in Mailchimp.
• 1-1 mentorship from the Executive Director to explore your professional growth and development.

Role Requirements

• Exceptional community-building, project management, and event planning skills.
• 5+ years of full-time professional experience, with at least 1 year of experience in event programming or production.
• Robust knowledge of the Black art ecosystem.
• Experience developing event budgets and event management documents.
• Proficiency with Mailchimp, Luma, Airtable, and Google Drive (Slides, Sheets, Docs) tools is a plus.
• Ability to travel domestically.

Role Type

This is a full-time, New York-based and hybrid position, with a July/August 2024 start date. Domestic travel is estimated at up to 25% of your time. Preference will be given to candidates who are able to meet in New York City for biweekly in-person meetings. Occasional evening hours are required for event coverage.

Compensation & Benefits

$65,000 - $75,000, commensurate with experience. Starting salaries are determined by the scope of the position, the candidate’s relevant experience, and internal equity.

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors offers a competitive benefits package including 20 days of vacation per calendar year, medical and dental insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, 401(k) matching, compensated volunteer hours, and paid holidays.

BTA is a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Founded in 2002, RPA is one of the world’s largest philanthropic service organizations and has facilitated more than $3 billion in grantmaking to nearly 70 countries. RPA serves as a fiscal sponsor for more than 90 projects, providing governance, management, and operational infrastructure to support their charitable purposes. For more information, please visit www.rockpa.org.

Email a cover letter and resume to jobs@blacktrusteealliance.org with “Programs & Events Manager” in the subject line. Please apply by June 23, 2024.