Career Center

Idyllwild Arts Foundation

Director of DEIB & Community Engagement

Idyllwild Arts Foundation (IAF) was founded in 1946. The arts institution started as a Summer Program for learners of all ages. In 1986, Idyllwild Arts Academy was founded as an independent, residential arts high school, located in Idyllwild, California. The school serves approximately 300 students from roughly 35 countries and provides pre-professional training in the arts and a comprehensive college preparatory curriculum.

In 2019, IAF conducted the Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism Survey (AIMS). The survey addressed the attitudes, perceptions, and structures unique to independent schools. Participation in the survey allowed Idyllwild Arts to compare data points with other independent schools that have utilized the AIM Climate Survey to address DEI and Belonging efforts within their community.

In 2021, IAF formed the DEIB Collaborative (The Collaborative). The Collaborative is composed of representatives from all constituency groups in the community. The mission of The Collaborative is to facilitate the growth of a respectful community and a culture that encourages the free and open exchange of ideas, cultivates personal growth, and nurtures interdependence.

In 2022, The IAF Board of Trustees adopted the following Anti-Racism Statement:

Racism is deep-rooted in American society and has historically been embedded and perpetuated by Independent and Boarding Schools. Idyllwild Arts acknowledges and recognizes all forms of racism: interpersonal, cultural, institutional and systemic.

Idyllwild Arts educates citizen artists who seek to change traditional structures, both within and outside the arts. Therefore, we at Idyllwild Arts, commit to eradicating all policies and practices that tolerate or promote racism.

We at Idyllwild Arts commit to work to create an intentionally anti-racist community.

We at Idyllwild Arts will strive daily to eliminate systemic biases that target people of color, cultural and ethnic groups, who have been historically and presently disenfranchised and disempowered.

We thereby will dedicate resources and time to build an inclusive community.

Idyllwild is a small town located at over 5,000 feet on the western slopes of California's San Jacinto Mountains. Even though it seems far from the hustle and bustle of city life, the town and campus frequently hosts music festivals, prominent speakers and artists, and community events. The campus is only two hours by car from Los Angeles and San Diego.

OPPORTUNITY: Director of DEIB & Community Engagement

Idyllwild Arts Foundation

LOCATION: Idyllwild, CA 92549

REPORTS TO: Director of People and Culture

STATUS: Full Time, 12 Months - Exempt

Director of DEIB & Community Engagement Position Summary

Essential duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Support organizational change by assuming a leadership role for building, fostering, and promoting a community culture that focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, anti-discrimination, restoration, reconciliation, and accessibility.
• Lead the development and implementation of restorative practices and interventions to advance restorative justice and healing within our community.
• Help foster a culture where students can explore a range of perspectives within an environment that supports open debate, toleration and acceptance of differences.
• Serve as a resource to academic and arts teachers to support curriculum design that is inclusive of diverse voices and perspectives.
• Develop analytical tools to measure the qualitative impact of programs as a key part of the implementation process.
• Assess and evaluate the effectiveness of DEIB programs as well as organizational needs and make recommendations for revisions and improvement to the programs, initiatives, and strategies as required to support an inclusive community.
• Schedule and/or facilitate DEIB activities and programs including school celebrations, special events, engaging outside speakers and more.
• Partner with other leaders and community members by serving as a staff liaison to the DEIB Collaborative and the Board of Trustees Task Force. Guide members of the school community to make culturally competent decisions that best reflect the school's mission, promise and core values.
• Support the various DEIB related groups on campus with an eye toward creating new groups where there is a desire and need.
• Partner with the marketing and communications team on effective internal and external communications surrounding the school's DEIB initiatives and progress, and ensure DEIB perspectives are advanced through various communication channels.
• Be involved in student recruitment, admission and retention, as well as the hiring process of prospective employees to ensure a diverse community of students and adults.

• Possibly teach a section per year based on skills and background, as determined in consultation with the Head of School.
• Perform other administrative or educational duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Diversity Studies or other relevant course of study.
• Master's Degree is desired.
• 5+ years of professional experience working in culture and engagement, organizational development, diversity, equity & inclusion, or a related field;
• Experience building a DEIB strategy including the design of pathways to drive incremental progress towards long-term vision and goals;
• Exceptionally strong communication skills, including public speaking
• Strong leadership presence;
• An ability to collaborate with others and steer complex conversations, especially on a topic that generates a lot of opinion;
• Highly collaborative leader with demonstrated ability to lead and inspire people from a multitude of backgrounds and perspectives;
• Experience in strategic planning and an ability to gather and utilize data and adjust accordingly;
• Experience creating and facilitating leadership workshops and professional development sessions related to DEIB;
• Experience creating and adapting curriculum to ensure it aligns with standards of DEIB;
• Experience and previous training as a restorative justice practitioner preferred;.
• Obtain and maintain a valid California Driver License, pass a criminal history background check as required by California Education Code Section 44237, and pass a TB test.

Working Environment:

• This is a full-time, in-person position.
• The position may require some travel regionally, nationally and internationally.

Physical/Sensory Demands:

While performing the duties of this position an incumbent may be required to:

• Regularly remain sedentary for long periods of time in meetings and while processing information and paperwork both manually and on a computer;
• Reach with hands and arms and use of hands to finger, type, and manipulate a computer keyboard and mouse;
• Converse in clear English both written and orally, over a telephone, teleconferencing and in person.;
• Make public presentations;
• Occasionally, incumbent may be required to lift up to 25 pounds;
• Traverse uneven terrain and climb stairs while moving about campus;
• Bend and stoop;
• Conduct tours and show visitors campus facilities;
• Provide their own transportation for campus and regional events;
• Work varying hours, including days, nights, and weekends and some holidays.

About Idyllwild Arts Academy

Idyllwild Arts is a co-ed boarding and day school for 275 students in grades 9-12. The Summer Program, founded in 1950, is an eight-week program that brings more than nearly 2,000 children, teens, and adults to Idyllwild each summer. The Academy was established in1986 to extend the Summer Program's commitment to the arts through the only boarding high school for the arts on the west coast. The school has developed into an exceptional high school for pre-professional training in the arts combined with high academic standards and a residential life curriculum.Idyllwild graduates attend the top colleges and universities in the United States and abroad, and the very best conservatories and art schools, such as Julliard, Curtis, New England Conservatory of Music, and the Rhode Island School of Design. Many have established celebrated careers as artists. The arts disciplines include dance, music, visual arts, theatre, moving pictures and creative writing. Students may major in any one discipline or combine their interests in an interdisciplinary arts major.

Connections working at Idyllwild Arts Academy