EDUCATION ASSISTANT

SUMMARY

APPLICATION DEADLINE – October 31, 2019
START DATE – November/December 2019

A part-time (20 hours a week) position reporting to the Education Coordinator. The Education Assistant is a newly created position, assuming duties previously assigned to the Education Coordinator. The Education Assistant supports administration and communication related to SPARC’s educational classes and services, including training classes and workshops, summer camps, community-based programs, after school programming, and LIVE ART as needed.

DESCRIPTION

The Education Assistant is the main administrative point of contact for families and the public and therefore maintains a high degree of attention to friendly and positive communication and customer service. The Education Assistant maintains primary responsibility for class registration, enrollment procedures and systems, and communication with SPARC families. The Education Assistant also provides administrative support for Educational Program Directors as needed, tuition payment processing, and financial aid determinations. Participation in occasional evening and weekend events in support of these responsibilities is required.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Serve as the primary contact for families’ inquiries regarding the enrollment-based class and summer camp offerings of SPARC, providing timely and engaging response to questions and requests
   • Demonstrate warm, welcoming, and helpful communications in person, by phone, and through email
   • Serve as the telephone operator and recipient of general email inquiries, working independently to address needs (with support from Educational Program Directors as needed)
   • Have thorough understanding of SPARC’s various programs and make referrals into those programs based on student age and interest
2. Facilitate and manage the registration software (Salesforce class registrations) and all enrollment procedures
   • Create classes and registration links in Salesforce, including pertinent budget information when possible
   • Maintain class registration data integrity (duplicates, incomplete records, etc.)
   • Maintain waitlist inquiries and follow-up communications regarding openings in soldout programs
   • Receive tuition payments and process into Salesforce
   • Maintain systems for accurate financial records regarding tuition payments and communicate with families about past-due payments
   • Coordinate refunds between registrants and SPARC’s Bookkeeper
   • Provide class enrollment lists, rosters, and attendance sheets to faculty, and provide periodic updates to administrative staff on enrollment numbers
   • Maintain information on student attendance at class, as necessary
3. Provide administrative/clerical support at the direction of the Education Coordinator. Current priorities include:
   • Send welcome guides via email to all enrolled families with sufficient notice before the first day of class or camp
   • Assist with communication between the Educational Program Directors and the adjunct faculty regarding schedules, emergency situations, performance deadlines, paperwork, scheduling, planning, etc.
   • Facilitate timely communication with the parents of currently enrolled students regarding schedules, locations, class expectations, emergencies, etc.
   • Assist the Educational Program Directors in completing administrative and clerical tasks and long-term programs/goals as needed
   • Schedule and prepare for meetings at the direction of the Educational Program Directors and Executive Director
4. Act as the primary point of contact for SPARC’s financial aid program
   • Communicate financial aid information to families who express interest in the program
   • Receive and process financial aid applications as they are submitted
   • Prepare summaries of financial aid applications to share with the Financial Aid
   • Committee in advance of award meetings (three times yearly)
   • Communicate award decisions to families via email and input awards to Salesforce
5. Participate in and provide support for occasional meetings and events outside of the normal work schedule (evenings or weekends), such as SPARC performances and summer camp fairs
   • Busier seasons include summer camp fairs in February and April; showcase performances in late March/early April; summer camp performances on Friday afternoons between June and August
6. Other duties as assigned by the Education Coordinator and/or Executive Director

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience: The ideal candidate will have a background in theatre, which will help them to best understand and describe differences between programs. They will also have experience in a communications or customer service-based field.
• Technical: Advanced skills with Microsoft Office and email communication are a must for this position; experience with Salesforce is a plus. This position requires confidence in learning new tech/software systems.
• Education: A Bachelor’s degree in any field is a plus but not a requirement for this position.

PERSONAL QUALITIES

• Confident conversationalist. The ideal candidate will feel comfortable placing and receiving many phone calls throughout the course of the day and will excel in guiding patient conversations with all people.
• Incredibly organized. A successful Education Assistant will have enthusiasm for details, organization, and deadlines.
• Highly productive. The ability to stay on task in a fast-paced, bustling environment will be an important skill for the Education Assistant.
• Student focus. Our ideal candidate has a strong student focus, putting their learning, enjoyment, and safety above all else.
• Positive attitude. Our team succeeds when all members have a can-do spirit and are fun to be around.
• Self-starter, self-manager. We need someone who takes initiative, anticipates needs, and gets things done on time.
• Detail oriented. There are many moving pieces in SPARC, and we need someone who makes complex things seem simple.
• Positive communicator. We want someone who can be counted on to focus on the positive, inspire the team, value his/her colleagues, and have enthusiasm for representing SPARC to groups large and small.
• Trustworthy. Our team and constituents need to be able to count on the follow-through and responsiveness of the person in this role.
• Decisive. Though senior leadership is always available to support you with sensitive problems, we need someone comfortable making decisions and judgment calls.
• Adaptive. We need someone who is able to handle unexpected situations in stride, and who is prepared and capable to step in for a member of his/her team at a moment’s notice.
• Committed to excellence. We give our students, families, faculty, and the community a “wow experience” with SPARC at every opportunity.

PREFERRED SOFTWARE EXPERIENCE

Salesforce (not required)
Microsoft Office

WORK SCHEDULE

This part-time position will require daily attendance at the SPARC administrative office. Specific hours are currently set from 12:30PM to 4:30PM, Monday through Friday. These hours may be adjusted to suit the ideal candidate’s overall needs. Attendance at events in atypical hours (evenings and weekends) will be required periodically.

TO APPLY

TO APPLY – Submit cover letter, resume, and three references to SPARC@sparcrichmond.org. No phone calls please.

The School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community — a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation — is committed to the most fundamental principles of equality of opportunity and human dignity. SPARC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, military or veteran status, political beliefs, or status with regard to public assistance.

If you’re not a candidate for this position, please share it with others who you think might be a good fit!