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Friends Life Community

Teaching Artist

Friends Life Community

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Job Summary

At Friends Life, we help adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities grow personally, develop socially and be active members of the community.  Together, we’re moving toward a more fulfilling life for our Friends and peace of mind for their families.  

Friends Life Core Values 

INNOVATION: using creativity, technology, evidence-based research, agility and relationships to exceed industry standards throughout organizational practices to excel in meeting mission and produce meaningful results  

COMMUNITY: fostering a culture of acceptance, fellowship, and accountability where each member is valued and expected to participate in an exchange of gifts to strengthen outcomes in which all members benefit 

INCLUSION: practicing respect, empathy, and intentional collaboration without bias and celebrating the successes that come from diverse perspective working, living, and playing together in harmony rather than division.

 

Job purpose

Teaching Artists at Friends Life Community are responsible for creating opportunities for Friends to use artistic expression to find their voice, tell their story, and connect with the community. This position will plan and execute classes in the arts. This is a direct service position in which the teaching artist is responsible for facilitating classes and small groups for individuals with IDD, and also providing individualized instruction and support to help each client meet their goals. The position will work in collaboration with team members to coordinate curriculum, plan activities, provide direct coaching, and report progress and opportunities.

This position will implement the mission of FLC through person-first approaches and coordinating whole teams around individuals to maximize opportunities for each client. The Teaching Artist will be instrumental in spreading awareness of the Friends Life Community arts program, educating about the IDD community and its contribution to the arts, and connecting with the Nashville disability community to provide opportunities for a diverse population of adults with IDD. This position will be instrumental in building relationships with other artists, galleries, studios, and the arts community as a whole.

A successful Teaching Artist is enthusiastic, hard-working, creative, positive, and willing to think outside the box to overcome challenges.  It is critical for this position to exemplify strong organization, planning and communication skills and the willingness, ability, and drive to work as a team and exceed expectation due to collaboration. Successful outcomes of this position include facilitating more opportunities for Friend Artists’ work to be seen and appreciated in the community, increased client satisfaction through opportunities to practice artistic expression, increased community participation through selling individual works of art, representation of client successes, and increased impact across all program areas.  This position will report directly to the Program Director.

Job Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities

 

Direct Service

  • Provide individualized arts instruction and support to help client meet their goals.
  • Collaborate with team to design systems that improve success rates for all clients.
  • Train and coach community partners and volunteers on successful inclusion and promote strategies that will increase client success in the community.
  • Provide one-to-one Coaching to individuals to meet individualized goals and build skills within the arts
  • Participate and/or lead workshops or small-group programs to increase client outcomes and meet goals outside of day programming.

 

Planning and Implementation

  • Organize and execute opportunities for client artwork to be presented and sold in the community.
  • Create and implement curriculum for assigned program classes, groups, and individualized coaching.
  • Collaborate with the team to establish program area goals, and measure progress to be reported to supervisor.
  • Coordinate support staff and volunteers to successfully implement assigned classes and projects.
  • Communicate client opportunities and progress with data and anecdotal stories.
  • Create client adaptations, educate staff on successful and consistent implementation and report results, as directed.

 

Other Duties

  • Support all program goals and team members in overall organizational goals.
  • Fulfill organizational policies and procedures.
  • Seek continuous education and training to enhance skills and knowledge to best support clients and their families.
  • Represent Friends Life at community events to promote branding, reputation, and increase community members, as directed.
  • Assist with organizational events and represent the FLC brand and mission.
  • Mentor and coach co-workers and volunteers in organizational culture, values, and policies with positive attitudes and hold coworkers accountable to exceptional service delivery and professional program implementation.
  • All duties assigned by supervisor.

 

Qualifications

Qualifications

Qualifications include:

  • Belief in the organization’s mission and the willingness to share the brand script with others.
  • Bachelor’s degree in visual arts modality and/or experience with artistic skills-based instruction and adaptation.
  • Strong organizational and planning skills.
  • Clear and concise communication with others in person and in writing.
  • Ability to give and receive feedback in order to improve outcomes.
  • Demonstration of core values: innovation, community, inclusion.
  • Active demonstration of professionalism and good judgement throughout all work.
  • Understand and demonstrate policies and procedures, safety procedures, and sustain certification of CPR and First Aid.

 

Working conditions

This position is a full time, hourly position.  The position requires the employee to be onsite and in direct service with the clients unless otherwise approved by the supervisor.  This position does include Coaching which may take place at unusual hours per the needs of the client.  It is expected that the employee participate in trainings, events, and other activities as requested by the supervisor which may take place after normal program hours.

 

Physical or mental requirements

This position is expected to participate in the day program.  Activities will include daily exercise with the clients, physical activity during field trips, class instruction which includes walking and active participation with clients.

This position is a human services position, working directly with clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  This work is most successful when the employee is intentional about self-care to avoid compassion fatigue and professional burnout.

Due to the nature of the clients served, Friends Life does not intentionally enroll clients with violent behaviors, however, employees must understand that clients occasionally have behaviors that are unpredictable or out of the ordinary.  These behaviors may include physical harm.

Additional Information

Benefits

  • Starting at $18 hour, willing to negotiate based on prior management experience
  • Employer pays 75% of health, dental, vision
  • 401k match
  • 4 weeks PTO

How to Apply

Please email Resume & Cover Letter to Olivia Moore, olivia@friendslife.org.

Details

  • Date Posted: December 15, 2021
  • Type: Full-Time
  • Job Function: Educator
  • Service Area: Arts / Culture
  • Salary Range: $18/hr