StoryCorps: Interim Site Manager, Mobile Tour

[Darwensi Clark]

Hi All,

Sharing this great opportunity to join our talented and dynamic Mobile team at StoryCorps on a temp basis, with the possibility of going perm.  

Position description can be found here and posted below.  Don't hesitate to reach out to me with questions.

Best,
Darwensi 

Term of Employment: November 15, 2021 – March 18, 2022

THE ROLE

In 2005, StoryCorps launched its first MobileBooth, an Airstream trailer outfitted with a recording studio that travels the country year-round collecting stories. Since then, the Mobile Tour makes ten stops per year, partnering with local public radio stations for 4-6 week visits in towns and cities nationwide.

The Site Manager, Mobile Tour oversees the operations, and logistics of our MobileBooth as it travels the country. As the Site Manager, Mobile Tour, you will serve as the primary on the ground point of contact with community organizations, public radio partners, and the press. You will live and work on the road for the duration of your term.

You will also supervise a rotating team of three Facilitators, the “Corps” of StoryCorps, who work to carry out our mission by creating a space for participants to feel welcome and comfortable while conducting their interviews with one another. The Site Manager ensures the Facilitators receive regular supervision, training, and performance assessment.

Additionally the Site Manager coordinates and delegates work and assists Facilitators in setting their goals. Two days per week, the Site Manager acts as a Facilitator at the MobileBooth. The Site Manager, Mobile Tour reports to the Associate Director, Mobile and is a senior member of the Mobile Department, which oversees StoryCorps’ Mobile Tour and the operations of the MobileBooth.

The term of employment for the Site Manager, Mobile Tour will be one year. Upon hire, the Site Manager will be required to attend a mandatory 2-week training at our Brooklyn, NY headquarters, as well as one week of training on-site at the booth location. If the new Site Manager, Mobile Tour is not based locally, StoryCorps will arrange travel and accommodations in Brooklyn as necessary and provide a daily meal allowance during the training period.

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.  We also seek to recruit and develop a staff whose diversity matches the diversity of the communities we serve, and we strongly encourage applications from people of color and the LGBTQ community.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Manage on-site administration, operations, and logistics of Mobile Tour including: overall delegation of tasks and supervision of Facilitators; review of archival processing work completed by Facilitators; compilation and submission of regular reports on interview collection data, etc.
• Support on-the-ground public and partner outreach
• Create weekly site reports and special event reports to distribute to StoryCorps staff and funders
• Supervise and foster professional development opportunities for Facilitators
• Function as primary on-site contact for Mobile Tour partners and press, including functioning as a StoryCorps spokesperson in interviews with the media
• Sustain relationships with public radio stations and act as primary contact during the MobileBooth stop
• Regularly facilitate interviews two days per week and as necessary
• Provide first level of support for technical problems occurring at the Booth
• Coordinate Booth transitions and repairs, as needed
• Regularly communicate with the Mobile Associate Director and other senior Mobile department staff regarding field operations and field staff performance
• Oversee and curate content for Mobile Tour and StoryCorps social media content.
• Coordinate and lead StoryCorps events at each stop. These may include Opening Day press events, Listening Events, and App Training Workshops
• Perform other duties to support the Mobile department, as assigned

ABOUT YOU

• You have an Associate’s degree or higher; or equivalent education and work experience
• You are prepared to work fully ‘on the road’.
• You have at least one year of experience managing programs or projects, with strong multi-tasking and organizational skills and attention to detail
• You also have at least one year experience working in diverse communities
• You have experience as an effective team leader
• Demonstrated experience delivering effective public presentations and engaging diverse audiences
• You have a valid driver’s license and you’re comfortable driving long distances.
• You communicate effectively – by email, phone or in person.
• You are flexible and adaptable to a growing, changing organization.
• You have cultural humility and an ability to work successfully with diverse groups of people.
• You have strong conflict negotiation and problem-solving skills
• You’re organized, have keen attention to detail, and you’re able to multitask effectively.
• You have strong computer skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word & Excel).
• You have an ability to work independently as well as collaboratively; you are a great team player and feel comfortable resolving conflict.
• You are familiar with and have enthusiasm for social media platforms and posting content for promotion
• You have a basic level of comfort learning and working with new technical equipment (e.g., audio recording equipment, databases, digital cameras)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• You’ve supervised a staff for at least one year
• Spanish language fluency, both orally and in writing
• Proficiency on a Mac platform
• Experience with audio recording equipment and/or digital cameras
• Experience with technical troubleshooting
• Experience in long-term travel

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Carrying/Lifting: While traveling, Facilitators and Site Managers bring 1-2 personal bags; they must be able to carry and lift the baggage (e.g., into the trunk of a car, into overhead bins on an airplane, etc.)

ABOUT STORYCORPS

StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. Since our founding in 2003, StoryCorps has provided half a million of people of all backgrounds and beliefs with powerful opportunities to record interviews about their lives, and leave a legacy for future generations in our archive at the Library of Congress. We bring these interviews to life in stories produced for broadcast on public media (including our weekly Friday morning broadcast on NPR’s “Morning Edition"), our podcast, and/or our animations. Together, these stories reach an audience of tens of millions. StoryCorps maintains a relentless focus on diversity, and seeks to highlight voices often underrepresented in mainstream media. While our stories honor and celebrate the diversity of humankind, they also remind us of the many values and experiences we share in common, building bridges of greater understanding.

Our work has been widely recognized with several George Foster Peabody Awards, a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, the 2015 TED Prize, and a 2016 Emmy award for our animation “Traffic Stop.”

This work couldn’t be accomplished without the unwavering commitment of the exceptional individuals who make up our organization. Our people are brilliant, hard-working, creative, and incredibly passionate about the vision we share: To touch the lives of every person in this country and to create a culture of listening in the United States.