First Person Arts is a community. Our teams of staff and contractors represent a broad range of individuals whose talents and dedication make our work possible.
First Person Arts is a Philadelphia nonprofit organization that unleashes the power of voice by developing true personal stories from artists and everyday people for the page, stage, on-air and online. Our StorySlams, Applied Storytelling, and First Person Arts Festival programs reinforce our mission to “transform the drama of real-life into memoir and documentary art to foster an appreciation for our unique and shared experiences.” By sharing these stories we connect with each other and the world.
Please submit CV and cover letter with answers to the following questions:
- I am interested in First Person Arts because…
- My ideal workplace looks like…
- Submit your application for:
- Grant Writing email with the job description in the subject.
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REPORTS TO: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
FIRST PERSON ARTS’ STORY
Founded in 2000, First Person Arts, Inc. (FPA) is a Philadelphia-based not-for-profit 501 ( C ) 3 organization incorporated in 2000. Our core belief is, “… everyone has a story to tell, and that sharing our stories connects us with each other and the world.” The mission of FPA is to transform the drama of real life into memoir and documentary art to foster appreciation for our unique and shared experiences. FPA CULTIVATES true, personal stories through three principal programs: Monthly StorySlams; The Annual First Person Arts Festival; and, Year-Round Applied Storytelling Workshops and Events. FPA ARCHIVES stories in-house digitally and online via our YouTube Channel as a source of content and to document our social and cultural history. FPA SHARES stories annually through digital media products, including: Commonspace – a monthly radio hour and podcasts on NPR-Affiliate, WHYY, The FPA YouTube Channel and, The FPA podcast.
POSITION OVERVIEW
FPA is seeking a Director of Finance to strategically oversee and manage financial operations, including financial record-keeping, budgeting, and forecasting. You will report to FPAs’ Executive Director and work closely with board treasuer and team members to revise and create new financial policies and procedures, apply for and report on grants, budget for FPAs’ growth and track progress, and carry out other finance tasks as needed. In addition, you will help to plan and guide a long term strategic financial plan for the organization.
As FPAs’ work rapidly gains prominence, the Director of Finance has the opportunity to steward the organization’s growth into its next phase.
We are a small team, with an adaptive organizational structure. Position descriptions are therefore approximate, not inclusive of all possible job duties, and dynamic: applicants should be comfortable and excited to try new things, learn, and pitch in to support colleagues as needed. We are looking for a motivated and self-starter who can work both independently and as a collaborative team member dedicated to promoting FPAs’ mission and committed to FPAs values: diversity, inclusivity and empowerment. nimbleness, innovation and empathy.
Key Responsibilities:
You will work closely with all team members including FPAs’ Executive Director and board of directors to track, manage and guide financial well-being for the organization. Responsibilities include:
- Develop and execute financial processes and a comprehensive financial plan sufficient to support FPAs’ mission and strategic plan
- Manage audits, cash flow forecasts, grant budgets and financial projections that lean into the financial strategy to support our goals
- Supervise bookkeeping contractor’s entry of data in Quickbooks
- Oversee payroll contractor’s operation and reporting
- Responsible for all financial management including all financial data tracking and recordkeeping
- Prepare quarterly reports for the board about FPAs’ finances
- Provide CPA with all documents and a finalized version of Quickbooks for annual audit
- Create, implement, and improve financial policies and procedures
- Draft FPAs’ budget, in a participatory process, for board approval
- Forecast future expenses and fundraising needs, and assist in developing strategies to meet them
- Create financial summary for annual report
- Plan and facilitate regular finance team meetings
- Enter payroll, file annual 1099 tax forms and donor tax receipts
- Administer current employee benefits, and plan and implement new ones
- Participate in recruiting, hiring, and onboarding, especially payroll forms
- Work with other team members to identify funding needs and opportunities and track project budgets
- Work with development team to prepare budgets for grant applications, and monitor grants received
- Ensure that grant funding is applied properly, track grant expenditures, and monitor compliance with grant requirements
- Report to funders on grant expenses
- Oversee subcontractor payments and contracts
- IT
- HR
Qualifications:
- At least 2 years of experience in financial management, preferably in nonprofit organizations
- Knowledge of, and experience with, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
- Ability to communicate financial data to people with different levels of financial knowledge
- Ability to wisely choose opportunities, and prudently guide a growing organization
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
- Open-minded and self-driven
- Experience with Quickbooks Online is a plus
- Experience with government grants and audit requirements is a plus
- Experience with fundraising and development is a plus
- Excitement for FPAs’ mission a must
Location: FPA is presently a hybrid work environment. Weekly in-person team days at our Philadelphia office are required and additional in-person work throughout the week is expected. This is a full-time position, between 30-40 hours per week.
Salary: $65,000 – $72,000
Benefits: FPA offers 100% health insurance, two weeks of paid leave plus the week between Christmas and New Year’s, 9 paid holidays, two personal days, and 5 days of sick leave. Employee scheduling needs can generally be accommodated in our highly flexible work environment. We strive to create opportunities for professional development and growth for everyone on the team.
To apply: Please provide a thoughtful cover letter and resume to jamiej@firstpersonarts.org Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
ADMINISTRATION
- General staff administration and company HR support.
- Responsible for maintaining an efficient working office environment including management of office accommodations, equipment and supplies, office health & safety plus IT and online support.
- Provide front line response to general office enquiries from the public and provide administrative advice and support to the wider staff as appropriate.
- Responsible for insurances and 501 © 3 local, state and federal filings.
- Support direct mail campaigns.
BOARD LIAISON
- Prepare all board meeting materials and maintain board meeting minutes and materials.
- Communicate with all board members as directed by ED.
- Serve as staff member of the FPA Board Finance Committee.
First Person Arts is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Seeking artists to facilitate violence intervention prevention storytelling workshops with youth
TRIGGER Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) is a gun violence intervention program basedon the First Person Arts 60-minute documentary film TRIGGER. Using select excerpts of the film as a springboard for conversation and creation, the workshop series seeks to mentor students through telling their own stories and articulating their views about gun violence with impact and authenticity. Telling their own stories helps participants process and take back their narrative and opens a path to healing. We see the impact of exploring and sharing personal stories through our long history of success with our City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Service (DBHIDS) Engaging Males of Color (EMOC) programs.
Each workshop series will end in an opportunity for students to share, as comfortable, their first-person narratives with their peers and community. Each assistant teaching artist will be paired with a teaching artist.
Job title
Assistant Teaching Artist
Location
Schools throughout Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Salary
$35/hour; assistant teaching artists invoice for planning time in addition to time in the classroom.
Employment type
Occasional/part-time contract. Approximately 3 billable hours a week per cohort; number of cohorts based on teaching artist’s availability.
Duration
9 sessions, beginning September 2024.
Area of focus
Community and Capacity Building through the Arts
Responsibilities
- Assist with one or more storytelling sessions for a group of up to 12 students per site, often for 2 cohorts of students per site.
- Attend a day-long, paid professional development session and orientation, as well as monthly paid TA community meetings.
- Collaborate with the lead Teaching Artist, assisting in modeling and facilitating activities as they align with your skills and experience.
- Support students one-on-one and in small groups to reinforce lessons and aid students in drafting and sharing their first-person stories.
- Take notes during the classroom sessions regarding particular questions or needs that came up for students so that continued support can occur in future sessions.
- Co-teach the fundamentals of storytelling, using a sample curriculum alongside a slate of resources for customization.
- Mentor students through the process of articulating their own stories through verbal and written techniques.
- Give feedback on drafts of stories to sharpen students’ ability to articulate and communicate their narratives to an audience.
- Provide students opportunities to practice public speaking skills, such as volume, enunciation, pace, and gesture;
- Use techniques that break down barriers to create a supportive, affirming space for authentic sharing.
- Collaborate with VIP Project Coordinator, Project Director, and fellow Teaching Artists to ensure sessions stay on track to achieve project goals.
Required skills
- A passion for storytelling and using art to articulate one’s narrative, rooted in any form including film, theatre, writing, live events, podcasts, and more.
- Ability to connect with young people, with a desire to learn how to create educational spaces that activate their interests, agency, and needs.
- Ability to give affirming, constructive mentorship to students, with a desire to learn how to be an empathetic, active listener for the lived experiences of others.
- Desire to learn how to facilitate group learning, exploration, and conversation through art.
- Desire to learn how to create a supportive space for young people to share their stories, and affirm the stories shared by their peers.
- Collaborative and dedicated team member.
- Must be able to pass FBI and state background checks.
Preferred experience
- Experience working with young people in the Philadelphia area (strongly preferred).
- Experience with storytelling through the arts (strongly preferred).
- Experience leading groups in art-making, learning, or social change practices.
- Experience in mentorship, particularly mentoring young people.
- Experience using arts education to create social dialogue and change.
About First Person Arts
First Person Arts is Philly’s original storytelling arts nonprofit. We believe that everyone has a story to tell and that the art of storytelling has the power to change lives.
Since 2001, we have helped ordinary Philadelphians become extraordinary storytelling artists who transform the drama of their real lives into memoir and documentary art.
We offer programming that serves the diverse communities that call the greater Philadelphia area home. Our programming includes monthly StorySlam storytelling competitions, Applied Storytelling educational programs, a podcast drawn from our digital archive of more than 10,000 story files, and TRIGGER, a gun violence intervention program with the City of Philadelphia DBHIDS EMOC program.
Our annual First Person Arts Festival brings together all these audiences and communities by hosting established and emerging artists across many artistic forms and formats.
Commitment to diversity
First Person Arts is an equal opportunity employer. This means we are committed to recruiting, training, compensating, and promoting all of our employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex, disability, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender, or any other protected classes set forth under applicable law. We are dedicated to reflecting the diversity, and multiculturalism, of our viewers, creators, partners, and communities. Inclusion is at the heart of what we do and at the core of our values.
How to apply
Applications are open until the position is filled.
To apply, please provide a thoughtful cover letter and resume to RHall@firstpersonarts.org
First Person Arts is an equal opportunity employer.
-
Seeking artists to facilitate violence intervention prevention storytelling workshops with youth
TRIGGER Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) is a gun violence intervention program based on the First Person Arts 60-minute documentary film TRIGGER. Using select excerpts of the film as a springboard for conversation and creation, the workshop series seeks to mentor students through telling their own stories and articulating their views about gun violence with impact and authenticity. Telling their own stories helps participants process and take back their narrative and opens a path to healing. We see the impact of exploring and sharing personal stories through our long history of success with our partnership with the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Service (DBHIDS) Engaging Males of Color (EMOC) programs.
Each workshop series will end with an opportunity for students to share, as comfortable, their first-person narratives with their peers and community. Each Teaching Artist will be paired with an Assistant Teaching Artist.
Job title
Teaching Artist
Location
Schools throughout Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Salary
$50/hour; Teaching Artists invoice for planning time in addition to time in the classroom.
Employment type
Occasional/part-time contract. Approximately 3 billable hours a week per cohort; number of cohorts based on teaching artist’s availability.
Duration
9 sessions, beginning September 2024.
Area of focus
Community and Capacity Building through the Arts
Responsibilities:
- Lead 1 or more storytelling residencies for a group of up to 12 students per site, often for 2 cohorts of students per site.
- Attend a day-long, paid professional development session and orientation, as well as monthly paid TA community meetings.
- Collaborate with an Assistant Teaching Artist to outline responsibilities from session to session, assigning duties that support ATAs skills and experience.
- Teach the fundamentals of storytelling, using a sample curriculum alongside a slate of resources for customization, as well as selecting tools from your personal arts practice.
- Mentor students through the process of articulating their own stories through verbal and written techniques.
- Give feedback and provide students with supportive structures to give their peers feedback, on drafts of stories to sharpen students’ ability to articulate and communicate their narrative to an audience.
- Provide students opportunities to practice public speaking skills, such as volume, enunciation, pace, and gesture.
- Use techniques that break down barriers to create a supportive, affirming space for authentic sharing.
- Collaborate with VIP Project Coordinator, Project Director, and fellow Teaching Artists to ensure sessions stay on track to achieve project goals.
Required skills:
- A passion for storytelling and using art to articulate one’s narrative, rooted in any form including film, theatre, writing, live events, podcasts, and more.
- Ability to connect with young people, creating learning spaces that activate their interests, agency, and needs.
- Ability to facilitate group learning, exploration, and conversation through art.
- Ability to create a supportive space for young people to share their stories, and to affirm the stories shared by their peers.
- Ability to give affirming, constructive mentorship to students.
- Ability to be an empathetic, active listener for the lived experiences of others.
- Collaborative and dedicated team member.
- Must be able to pass FBI and state background checks.
Preferred experience:
- Experience working with young people, particularly middle and high school learners in the Philadelphia area (strongly preferred).
- Experience with storytelling through the arts (strongly preferred).
- Experience tailoring a provided curriculum to serve the needs of participating students.
- Experience in trauma-informed arts practice.
- Experience using arts education as an opportunity to process personal experiences and explore views and values.
- Experience using arts education to create social dialogue and change.
About First Person Arts
First Person Arts is Philly’s original storytelling arts nonprofit. We believe that everyone has a story to tell and that the art of storytelling has the power to change lives.
Since 2001, we have helped ordinary Philadelphians become extraordinary storytelling artists who transform the drama of their real lives into memoir and documentary art.
We offer programming that serves the diverse communities that call the greater Philadelphia area home. Our programming includes monthly StorySlam storytelling competitions, Applied Storytelling educational programs, a podcast drawn from our digital archive of more than 10,000 story files, and TRIGGER, a gun violence intervention program with the City of Philadelphia DBHIDS EMOC program.
Our annual First Person Arts Festival brings together all these audiences and communities by hosting established and emerging artists across many artistic forms and formats.
Commitment to diversity
First Person Arts is an equal opportunity employer. This means we are committed to recruiting, training, compensating, and promoting all of our employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex, disability, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender, or any other protected classes set forth under applicable law. We are dedicated to reflecting the diversity, and multiculturalism, of our viewers, creators, partners, and communities. Inclusion is at the heart of what we do and at the core of our values.
How to apply
Applications are open until the position is filled.
To apply, please provide a thoughtful cover letter and resume to RHall@firstpersonarts.org
First Person Arts is an equal opportunity employer.
* First Person Arts does not discriminate in its hiring practices on the basis of race, age, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, or different ability.