Associate Director of Transdisciplinary Programs

The Denbo Center for Humanities & the Arts at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville is a research center housed within the university’s College of Arts and Sciences and located in its own historic off-campus suite housing seminar and reading rooms, conference space, fellowship offices, and communal spaces. The DCHA represents nine arts and humanities departments but also collaborates with departments in many other colleges to support humanistic research across disciplines. The Center’s vision includes nurturing responsible research, supporting faculty researchers, and growing public humanities and collaborative projects (with public communities as well as university STEM and social science research communities). The scope of our programing can be seen at our website at https://humanitiescenter.utk.edu.  We seek a dynamic, flexible, and hardworking professional who shares our vision, thrives in developing out-of-the-box approaches to new challenges, and is committed to increasing external funding and public outreach for the arts and humanities at the University of Tennessee.

The Associate Director of Transdisciplinary Programs (ADTP) supports the efforts of the Denbo Center for Humanities & the Arts. The DCHA is a transdisciplinary research institute that creates humanistic and arts programming addressing the diverse research needs of UT faculty and graduate students as well as those of faculty in the international arena. The DCHA also engages humanities and arts advocacy and public education through public humanities programming, collaborations with regional and national organizations, transdisciplinary grant initiatives, and collaborations with an international network of humanities centers and institutes. Through its activities, the DCHA advocates for the value of the arts and humanities to human and planetary flourishing and incubates new research in the arts and humanities. The ADTP reports to the director of the DCHA and develops, coordinates, and implements the center’s research and public arts/humanities programs. The ADTP directly supports Center efforts to increase funding and innovate programming through external grants and program initiatives that bridge disciplines within, and professional fields outside of, the university.

Education, Experience, Skills, and Knowledge needed:

• Bachelor’s Degree required (Master’s Degree or higher preferred)
• Knowledge of, or degree in, arts and/or humanities disciplines
• 5 years of administrative experience, 7 years of experience preferred
• Preference for work in higher education
• Ability to ideate creative programs furthering the DCHA’s humanities research and public outreach priorities
• Experience with project and program management
• Excellent oral and written communications skills
• Ability to utilize funds effectively and in accord with determined budgets
• Ability to understand and interpret federal, state, and nonprofit funding regulations and policies
• Ability to research and identify funding sources for arts and humanities work
• Ability to be successful in grants application and management
• High standards of professionalism and ability to communicate effectively with diverse populations, including university administration, faculty, staff, students and regional and international public partners
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, with the organizational and strategic skills to develop and sustain multiple complex projects simultaneously
• Demonstrated ability to
  • Work independently with minimal supervision
  • Solve problems creatively
  • Be a constructive and cooperative member of a team
  • Navigate complex relational dynamics with a variety of stakeholders
  • Manage and meet deadlines on multiple tasks while maintaining quality
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, Adobe, and Google software
  • Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed and to travel as needed.

Duties include the following:

ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONS (65%):

• Plans, coordinates, and implements all DCHA research programming (identifying stakeholder needs, defining program parameters, executing programming and space utilization, keeping records, and assessing impact) to design meaningful, creative, inclusive programs
• Working closely with other DCHA staff and with staff in the College of Arts and Sciences, plans and executes external events—including, but not limited to, in-person and virtual conferences, convenings, lectures, performances, and fundraising events—from beginning to end, including budgeting, speakers, event scheduling, itineraries and agendas, attendee lists and communication plans, menu planning and catering, event design, audio/visual equipment, rental orders, space reservations, swag, transportation and parking requests, security, event location setup and breakdown in coordination with vendors, staffing and event staff scheduling.
• Working with the Director, identifies new event and programming opportunities and new collaborative partnerships to increase the visibility of the DCHA
• Maintains a working knowledge of the DCHA’s existing internal and external funding sources and proactively monitors federal and foundation research databases to find new sources of external funding
• Provides funding information and event execution assistance to any future centers housed in the DCHA, and coaches, mentors, or supervises their program staff if requested.
• Develops, implements, and assesses training of students or faculty working on DCHA events and programs.
• May occasionally report on programming initiatives to DCHA advisory bodies.

FINANCIAL (20%):

• Works with DCHA staff and university financial managers to develop and administer program budgets, and provides regular reports to the center director
• Submits proposals to grant agencies and foundations in order to secure external funding
• Works with DCHA and university staff to enter grant and contract data into appropriate University systems to ensure the accuracy of event contracts and grant proposals, compliance, and budgets and to ensure completion of grant projects, track award expenditures and payments, and complete contracts
• Ensures programs adhere to their budgets and provides reports regularly to DCHA director concerning program expenditures
• Helps DCHA Director prepare annual budget in relation to programming needs.

DATA ANALYTICS (15%):

• Works with DCHA staff to gather, compare, and analyze data including follow-up event reports and participant surveys to make recommendations for future operations of programs
• Gathers, analyzes, and synthesizes data on national humanities programming trends, public humanities opportunities, and grant opportunities to support new DCHA programs
• Gathers, analyzes, and synthesizes data on existing programs to create reports for grants agencies and DCHA program reviews
• Conducts needs assessments among faculty, students, and public stakeholders to maximize DCHA programming and event impact.
• Maintains accurate public and confidential program records: records and compiles data concerning program expenditures and awards, and gathers data and compiles program and operational reports
• Prepares for external reviews by ensuring programs meet record-keeping requirements based on professional and university standards.

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.

Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to [email protected], or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to [email protected], or by phone at 865-974-0717.