Deadline: 30 March 2010

POSITION AVAILABLE IN SUMMER 2010 AND OPEN UNTIL APRIL 1, 2010

Spy Hop Productions seeks a qualified and dynamic Executive Director who is dedicated to youth development, the media arts, and progressive education.

Founded in 1999, Spy Hop is a highly-effective, successfully-proven, not-for-profit, youth media arts and educational enrichment center located in the historic Art Space district of downtown Salt Lake City. Spy Hop’s mission is to cultivate the visions and voices of an emerging generation – via the big screen, airwaves, and the world-wide-web, while in a safe and nurturing environment. A national leader in youth media, Spy Hop provides a creative and dynamic studio environment where young people of all backgrounds actively produce their own narratives and create solutions to their own challenges. Spy Hop prides itself of its innovative programs, creative culture and entrepreneurial spirit -- all in a place where young people want to be.

Spy Hop’s Organizational Objectives:

* Provide safe after-school and summer time mentoring programs for diverse youth

(K-12) in emerging digital technologies and the media arts

* Develop 21st century skills in youth: community and global awareness, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, and media literacy
* Promote positive development through individuality, leadership, creativity and intellectual curiosity
* Increase higher education and/or vocational opportunities

Position Summary:

The Executive Director will be responsible for developing Spy Hop’s creative and strategic vision. The candidate will oversee its growth in impact and opportunities within the local community, region and nation. The candidate should be passionate about youth-produced media for personal and creative expression, activism and social change. The candidate should also be knowledgeable about youth development issues and best education practices. Spy Hop’s programs are nationally recognized and employ successfully demonstrated models. This is an opportunity for a successful candidate to make a lasting impact, increasing Spy Hop’s reach, while maintaining the integrity and ingenuity of its established programs.

Spy Hop’s Programs:

The Executive Director oversees all of Spy Hop’s core, seasonal, and community partnership programs, involving the three different disciplines of audio production, video production, and interactive design. The programs include:

LOUD AND CLEAR AUDIO

Loud and Clear Audio consists of several different classes that provide instruction in radio, music and audio documentary including Youth Radio, Musicology, Spy Hop Records, Radio Docs, and Open Mic.

PITCHNIC YOUNG WRITER, DIRECTOR AND CINEMATOGRAPHER

PitchNic is an intensive year-long program, where student writers, directors, and producers work in teams to create two fiction and two documentary films (15-25 minutes in length). Through the program, students develop important skills like budgeting, presentation, organization, cooperation and commitment.

MULTIMEDIA APPRENTICESHIP

The Multimedia Apprenticeship Program (MAP) is a 5-month long vocational arts program that provides 72 youth per year with hands-on education and real-world career application in three multimedia disciplines: film/video, sound engineering and interactive media.

YOUTH DOCUMENTARY ARTS (REEL STORIES, WRITE-SHOOT-RIDE, AND DOCUMENTING COMMUNITIES)

The Youth Documentary Arts Program (YDAP) is a unique arts and humanities documentary program comprised of three separate classes that provide participants with opportunities to explore stories and issues pertinent to their lives and communities.

SEASONAL (INTRODUCTORY AND INTERMEDIATE EXPERIENCES)

Spy Hop offers 10-week introductory and intermediate classes in filmmaking, sound engineering, and interactive media. Classes are offered twice a year in the fall and in the spring. Students learn the basics of each discipline that prepares them for further Spy Hop classes or other multimedia experiences outside of Spy Hop.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Spy Hop partners with several other community based organizations and public schools to bring multimedia arts education to their constituents. In the 2008-2009 programming year, partners included the University of Utah, Horizonte Instruction and Training Center, Odyssey House, Christmas Box House, Salt Lake Early Intervention, and Salt Lake City Public Schools.

INTERACTIVE DIGITAL EDUCATION ACADEMY (iDEA)
iDEA provides high-quality, sustainable professional development for K-12 educators to integrate the filmmaking process into core academic instruction. With a strong emphasis in writing, the iDEA model is committed to strengthening teacher practice, increasing student achievement, and developing critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills.

ALUMNI MEDIA STUDIO
The Alumni Media Studio gives Spy Hop's most accomplished students the opportunity to make the leap from "learning to earning." Students that are selected to participate in the studio are given the opportunity to further develop their skills in the field of multimedia production in a fast-paced studio atmosphere and with real professional clients.

Job Description and Major Responsibilities:

The Executive Director serves as the most senior level management, reports to the Board of Trustees, and oversees fellow management members including Director of Development, Managing Director, and Programs Directors. In this capacity, the Executive Director works closely with the leadership and the Board to:

o Develop and implement Spy Hop’s creative and strategic vision, and determine the long-term capacity and sustainability of critical programming and development initiatives.

o Review current programs and priorities, annual budget, major donor cultivation, new programming design, Board member recruitment and cultivation, fiscal management and partnership opportunities.

* Increase financial resources for the next phase of the organization’s growth through ongoing fundraising efforts via both charitable and earned income means.

The Executive Director also oversees all strategic and day-to-day operational aspects of the organization. In this capacity, a successful candidate must bring energy and vision to an established million-dollar plus organization of nearly 20 employees, and be able to balance strong leadership with the ability to work collaboratively with a committed board, staff, students, and community members. To that end, he/she will need to:

o Continue to build and improve Spy Hop’s organizational and cultural practices which value creativity, team leadership and work, mentorship, experimentation and risk-taking, and refine these practices as needed to promote higher performance of staff and youth.

o Understand cutting edge technology as it pertains to media arts and communication, stay current with the next generation of media and be able to support its implementation into Spy Hop’s programs and marketing.

o Identify and direct efforts to form partnerships and collaborations, and augment existing alliances that advance Spy Hop’s mission, raise awareness and generate potential revenue sources.

o Develop and oversee new marketing strategies to communicate Spy Hop’s mission more broadly throughout the local community, region and nation to expand the reach of Spy Hop’s programs and garner status and support from both local and national support agencies, foundations and sponsorships. The candidate should understand the pivotal role marketing, both online and off, plays in communication, outreach, funding and branding/awareness efforts and be able to execute related marketing programs accordingly.

o Serve as a spokesperson for Spy Hop on a local, regional and national level, effectively communicating its mission, vision and impact on youth living in a dynamically changing digital age.

o Work closely with the Board on board-related responsibilities and activities, including managing and defining board roles and expectations, cultivating new board members, collecting board resources to support Spy Hop’s mission and initiatives, and establish guidelines for evaluation of the performance of the Executive Director and progress of the organization.

* Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate senior-level management members and foster an environment that values ongoing personal and professional development for all staff members and a team approach to implementing Spy Hop’s mission and programs.

Qualifications:

* Three to five years experience as an Executive Director or in an equivalent management position in a youth development or educational arts framework.
* Bachelor's degree in a related field, Master's degree a plus.
* An understanding of the media arts process, and/or experience with alternative and progressive education and demonstrated commitment to youth-produced independent media and its potential as a tool for social change.
* A proven track record in fundraising.
* Broad business skills including strategy implementation, non-profit finances and operational management.
* Able to guide and or execute targeted marketing programs to achieve organizational goals around events, awareness and fundraising.
* Able to implement creative and strategic initiatives while leveraging minimal resources.
* Demonstrated success as a team leader and player, experience in facilitating group processes and positive group dynamics.
* Organizing and building coalitions with diverse communities.
* Organizing and building partnerships with similar organizations to leverage strengths.
* Excellent written and oral communication skills.
* Capacity to work in a fluid, fast-paced, youth-centered environment.
* Driven and independent detail-oriented person, comfortable with varied organizational processes.
* Inherently good-natured, caring, patient and respectful.
* Someone with a desire to wake up every day and want to make a difference in a child’s life.

Compensation:
Up to $75k depending on experience and qualifications. Health, dental, retirement, professional development, and vacation benefits included. Slated to start in summer of 2010.
How to Apply:
No phone calls please. Please email or mail resume, references and cover letter to:
Spy Hop Productions

511 West 200 South #100

Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Email: recruitment@spyhop.org

Visit our website at: www.spyhop.org for additional organizational information

Spy Hop Productions is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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