Posted on November 9, 2012

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Site Supervisor

Department: Community Engagement
Division: Programs
Location: Chicago, IL
Reports To: Senior Manager, Community Engagement
Status: Full-Time, Regular, Exempt

About StoryCorps

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Founded in 2003 by radio documentary producer and MacArthur Fellow Dave Isay, StoryCorps has recorded and archived over 40,000 interviews from more than 70,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. We have visited all 50 states, partnered with hundreds of community organizations across the country, and earned two Peabody Awards (including a rare Institutional Peabody Award), the highest honor in broadcast journalism. Millions listen to our weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition, our weekly podcasts on iTunes, and the stories posted on the Listen pages of our website. Our animations have been featured on PBS’s flagship documentary series POV and the YouTube homepage and were nominated for an Emmy. Our three books, Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project, Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps, and All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps, were New York Times Bestsellers.

In the coming years, we hope to build StoryCorps into an enduring institution that will touch the lives of every American family. To learn more about our services, produced works, and special initiatives, and to listen to participant stories, visit www.storycorps.org.

Position Overview

The Chicago Site Supervisor manages the delivery of all Chicago-based StoryCorps services, including the operation of the Chicago StoryBooth and the coordination of all relationships with community organizations and media partners. The successful candidate will be capable of leading a dynamic and constantly evolving project, supervising staff, and negotiating with high-level external partners. Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and a high degree of professionalism are required.

StoryCorps partners with community organizations to maintain a high level of participation and to diversify the pool of StoryCorps participants. The Chicago Site Supervisor is responsible for initiating and maintaining relationships with community organizations in the Chicago area, and for ensuring successful recording days with these partners. The Site Supervisor is also the main contact for all Chicago media partners, and is responsible for the growth and development of StoryCorps’ presence in Chicago. StoryCorps is committed to engaging the entire city of Chicago through our services there, and the Site Supervisor will be responsible for creating and implementing a comprehensive outreach plan to ensure that we are reaching as many people as possible.

The Site Supervisor maintains the schedule for the Chicago StoryBooth and ensures that all tasks related to the smooth operation of the StoryBooth are completed, including maintaining the facility and recording equipment and regularly communicating and troubleshooting issues with various StoryCorps departments. The Site Supervisor also oversees the ongoing work of a team of Facilitators, the front-line staff who support the recording of StoryCorps interviews through various methods. The Site Supervisor will be responsible for providing them with regular supervisory support, feedback, direction, and performance assessment; s/he should be able to coordinate and delegate work, deliver positive and negative constructive feedback, and set performance improvement goals. The Site Supervisors is required to facilitate interview shifts when illness or emergencies prevent Facilitators from working and when no assistance is available from our team of Per Diem Facilitators, who work on an on-call, as-needed basis.

StoryCorps records, shares, and preserves stories from a diverse range of American voices — from our Griot Initiative to preserve stories of African Americans, to our Historias Initiative to collect the experiences of Latinos. Candidates with work experience in diverse communities are strongly encouraged to apply. Spanish fluency is preferred.

Excellent benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, Flexible Spending Account, 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan, Employee Assistance Plan, and TransitCheks; also includes paid time off (vacation, sick leave, personal days, and holidays).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Supervise and assess performance of two Full-Time Facilitators; manage Per Diem Facilitators when they staff the Chicago StoryBooth
• Coordinate with staff in Brooklyn to train new Facilitators and ensure current staff have up-to-date skills
• Develop and foster relationships with community-based organizations, school groups, and institutions in Chicago
• Function as primary contact for community partners in Chicago (media partners and community-based organizations)
• Create and implement an action plan for Chicago outreach that will engage interview participants through Booth interviews, onsite Door-to-Door recordings and/or StoryKit recordings, as well as public programming, including leading workshops, presentations, and listening events
• Monitor, support, and evaluate the Full-Time Facilitators’ outreach activities
• Set and manage the schedule for the Chicago StoryBooth and its Facilitators
• Facilitate interviews as needed due to Facilitator absence or illness
• Regularly transfer interview materials and participant donations to the StoryCorps main office for processing
• Review interview activity reports and archival processing work completed by Facilitators to ensure accuracy and completeness
• Prepare regular reports on booth and outreach activity to StoryCorps’ internal and external stakeholders
• Inspect StoryBooth facilities and recording equipment on a twice-monthly basis; coordinate booth repairs and cleanings
• Provide first level of support for technical problems occurring at the booth
• Be on-call during interview shifts
• Perform other duties to support the Chicago StoryBooth and Community Engagement department as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree
• At least two years of relevant professional work experience
• At least one year of experience providing staff supervision and evaluation
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Comfort in learning about and working with new equipment
• Valid Driver’s License
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Solid organization skills, multi-tasking ability, and attention to detail
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable in order to contribute to problem-solving activities within a growing, changing organization
• Cultural competence and the ability to work successfully with diverse groups of people

Preferred:

• Experience in project planning and management
• Familiarity with Chicago community and local organizations
• Proficiency on a Mac platform
• Experience with audio recording equipment
• Ability to communicate clearly in Spanish and English, both orally and in writing

Application Instructions

To apply, please send cover letter and resume to employment@storycorps.org and include your last name and “Bilingual Mobile Facilitator” in the subject line. Include your cover letter and resume as attachments entitled “YourNameLetter” and “YourNameResume.” In your cover letter, please tell us how you found out about this opportunity and whether you have applied for a position at StoryCorps in the past.

The position will remain open until filled; please apply early. No calls please.

StoryCorps seeks to hire staff who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

All positions at StoryCorps are filled without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, HIV/AIDS status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. All are encouraged to apply.