Background:
Please Touch Museum, the Children’s Museum of Philadelphia (PTM) was founded in 1976 and was the first children’s museum to focus exclusively on young children ages birth to seven. As a leading 21st-century children’s museum, PTM’ exhibits, Museum experiences and educational programs are developed to engage children and foster the intellectual, social and emotional skills necessary to be successful in the classroom and in life. PTM’s mission is to change a child’s life as they discover the power of learning through play. PTM welcomes over half a million visitors a year from the greater Philadelphia region, across the country and around the globe. The Museum is housed in Memorial Hall, a National Historic Landmark with over 100,000 sq. ft in total and 60,000 sq. ft of exhibit space.

Position Summary:
The Senior Education Coordinator will assist all staff in the Museum Experience & Education Department in executing high-quality programs and Museum Experiences and resources for visitors. They are responsible for administrative oversight and programmatic support in the Museum Experience & Education Department, including programs for families, schools, community groups, educators, and parents/caregivers. The Senior Education Coordinator works with staff across the department as well as the museum on Education administration matters including workflow, scheduling, and staffing of education programs; helps develop systems for organizing and reporting data for Education programs; oversees Education supply purchases, organization, and management and assists with budget tracking and reporting. The coordinator will liaise with outside groups and organizations to execute PTM’s educational involvement in offsite programs and festivals and will streamline communication on these programs both internally and externally. The Senior Education Coordinator will manage scheduling of Educators, interns, and volunteers. They will also lead programs (Family, Public, Accessibility, and School Programs) both onsite and occasionally offsite.

Responsibilities:

• Develops and maintains an organized administrative workflow for the department.
• Develops and maintains systems for department purchases, related tracking and inventory, program registration, and program statistics.
• Generates reports for staff across the Museum.
• Oversees Educational supplies, organization, and program prep and develops systems for use department-wide.
• Coordinates logistics, including contracts, with outside partners and performers.
• Manages the schedule of educators leading each program, to ensure needs of the Museum, staff, and outside partners are met.
• Assists Senior Director, Museum Experience & Education; Manager, Education; Manager of Creative and Performing Arts; Manager, Museum Experience as needed.
• Collaborates with Museum Experience Coordinators and Lead Coordinators on interdepartmental administrative duties as needed.
• Mentors Education and Museum Experience on best practices in Museum and Early Childhood education program development and implementation.
• Actively engages with the museum education community locally and nationally to maintain knowledge of best practices in the field.
• Assists with the development of print resources, including exhibition text, curriculum, self-guided resources.
• Oversees the logistics, partnerships, and implementation of monthly accessibility program, 1st Wednesday.
• Leads programs for children of all ages, families, visitors with disabilities, and adults.
• Leads staff trainings as needed to ensure successful administrative workflow of both Museum Experience and Education.
• Develops, edits, oversees, and distributes daily schedule of Museum Experiences and Programs and departmental e-blasts.
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required, Field of study: Museum Studies, Education, Early Childhood, English, Communications or related field (humanities/liberal arts). Master’s degree preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal skills; experience writing curriculum, educational didactics in museums, and promotional copy. Understanding of national and local curriculum and standards.
• Minimum of two years’ experience in informal learning settings, particularly with multigenerational audiences.
• Two years’ experience developing and leading programs for children in a museum/informal setting required.
• Knowledge of best practices in museum teaching and learning theory for young children is required.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills and attention to detail required.
• Working knowledge of programming for visitors with disabilities strongly preferred. Proven track record of proactively working to make institutions accessible and welcoming to a diverse group of visitors.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills and knowledge of databases required.
• Bilingual (Spanish) preferred.
• Highly organized and the ability to think creatively and proactively.
• Proven experience tracking statistics and budgets and preparing reports.
• Proven track record for developing the highest quality museum programs for multigenerational audiences, with a special interest in early learning.
• Strong project management skills required to oversee day to day departmental operations, as well as long-term planning.
• Candidates must demonstrate understanding of the best practices in the fields of informal education.

Please Touch Museum offers an excellent working environment; a comprehensive benefit package and competitive salary. To apply for this opportunity, please mail your cover letter, resume, and accomplishments: CHRO, Please Touch Museum, 4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, PA 19131: Email: employment@pleasetouchmuseum.org fax: 215-581-3182
Office telephone: 215-581-3189 EOE