Advertising Summary: The Institute for Contemporary Art invites applicants for the position of Community Media Center Coordinator.
Unit: Institute for Contemporary Art MBU
Department: Institute for Contemporary Art
Department Summary: Designed by Steven Holl Architects and located at the corner of Broad and Belvidere, the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) at VCU presents the art of our time and provides an open forum for dialogue and collaboration across the region and throughout the world. With free admission, the ICA is a major resource for VCU, Richmond, and beyond.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Position Summary
The Community Media Coordinator oversees the daily operations, staffing, public engagement, and strategic programming of the Institute for Contemporary Art's Community Media Center. This position serves as the operational lead for the Media Center while managing a portfolio of public programs, educational initiatives, workshops, performances, and festivals that collectively serve hundreds of community members annually.
The role is responsible for supervising staff, administering departmental budgets, managing program logistics, coordinating institutional partnerships, and collaborating across departments to deliver high-quality public programming aligned with the ICA's mission.
Key Areas of Responsibility
Program Management & Event Production
Lead the planning, production, and implementation of approximately 15–25 annual programs and events, including workshops, performances, educational initiatives, author talks, summer intensives, and festivals.
Serve as project manager for Community Media Center programs including:
● Author RVA
● Intersection
● Community Media Center Workshops
● Levels Up
● Community Podcast Day
● RESONATE Podcast Festival
● ICA Podcast and related media initiatives
Manage all aspects of program production, including:
● Project planning and timeline development
● Artist, author, speaker, and instructor coordination
● Contracts, honoraria, and payment processing
● Travel, lodging, and hospitality arrangements
● Procurement and purchasing
● Ticketing and registration systems
● Vendor and venue coordination
● Technical production planning
● Day-of event management and operations
Major Program Portfolio
● Author RVA
Produce up to four annual, literary events featuring regional and nationally recognized authors. Coordinate speaker recruitment, contracts, travel, hospitality, bookselling partnerships, ticketing, marketing coordination, and event operations for audiences of 20–100 attendees.
● Intersection
Co-produce one to four annual live music recording events in partnership with Overcoast Records. Coordinate artist logistics, travel and hospitality (if
necessary), equipment rentals, rehearsal scheduling, technical production, and event operations for audiences of approximately 200 attendees.
● Community Media Workshops
Produce annual photography, videography, and digital audio production
workshops—including instructor recruitment, ticketing, marketing, registration management, and event logistics.
● Levels Up
Coordinate timeline logistics, recruitment, staffing, instructors and co-instructors, participant administration, and operational support for the Community Media Center's two-week youth media intensive.
● Community Podcast Day
Manage planning, logistics, marketing coordination, staffing, and event
operations for annual Community Podcast programming.
● RESONATE Podcast Festival
Serve as lead operational coordinator for RESONATE, a three-day audio and podcast festival produced in partnership with Virginia Public Media. Coordinate travel, hospitality, scheduling, logistics, staffing, food vendor management, and presenter support for approximately 500 attendees and up to 14 national and international speakers.
Operations & Budget Management
● Oversee daily operations of the Community Media Center, ensuring a welcoming, accessible, and efficiently managed public-facing space.
● Collaborate with the Director of Community Media and Finance Department to develop, administer, monitor, and reconcile departmental and program budgets.
● Coordinate facility scheduling, equipment management, procurement, visitor services, and operational systems that support Media Center programming and public use.
● Staff Leadership & Supervision
● Recruit, hire, train, schedule, and supervise a team of 4–7 Community Media Center Technicians.
● Develop and maintain departmental policies, training resources, operational procedures, employee handbooks, and staff support materials.
● Provide ongoing mentorship, performance management, and professional development for Community Media Center staff.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration & Community Engagement
● Serve as an active member of the Education Working Group and collaborate with institutional departments including Communications, Directors, Visitor Experience and Interpretation, Facilities, and Cafe Operations.
● Support museum-wide initiatives and public programs including exhibition openings, Full House, Muslim Heritage Day, Teacher Appreciation events, Educator Listening Sessions, and partnerships with organizations such as Art 180, Virginia Public Media, and VCUarts.
Qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree, with a concentration in Journalism, Communication, Art History, Curatorial Studies, Museum Studies, Arts Administration, Humanities or a related field or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training
- Minimum 3 years of experience in a museum, gallery, nonprofit arts organization, or related cultural institution.
- Strong research, writing, editorial, and organizational and logistical skills.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating programs and events, symposia and conferences. Community organizing skills welcome.
- Excellent communication and project coordination skills, including public-facing communication materials, website updates, and prospectuses.
- Knowledge of some media practice (journalism, podcasting and narrative audio) is required.
- Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree preferred.
- Knowledge of contemporary art is preferred.
Salary Range: $60,000 - $67,000
Benefits: All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package that includes comprehensive health benefits, paid annual and holiday leave, generous tuition benefits, retirement planning and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more.
FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt
Hours per Week: 40
Restricted Position: No
ORP Eligible: Yes
Flexible Work Arrangement: Hybrid
University Job Title: 1424B - Program Manager CE Base
Application Deadline: Monday, September 28, 2026
Contact Information:
Contact Name: VCUarts HR
Contact Email: artshr@vcu.edu