Winter Quarter 2025 to Spring Quarter 2025

Application Due Date: Friday, November 22, 2024, 5pm PST

Position Start Date: January 6, 2025 (Estimated)

Position End: June 30, 2025

TITLE: Emerging Arts Leader, Equity & Communications

DEPARTMENT/LOCATION: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, SAM Downtown

DEPARTMENT STAFF MENTOR: Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Seattle Art Museum connects art to life. SAM strives for its employees, volunteers, and interns to reflect the community in which it exists. Emerging Arts Leader internships are intended to open career pathways for individuals who bring dynamic backgrounds and perspectives to their work in art, museums, or community engagement.

While diversity can embody many characteristics, this internship program is intended to engage with historically under-represented groups in the museum field including, but not limited to, individuals of African American, Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander descent.

EMERGING ARTS LEADER, EQUITY & COMMUNICATIONS

Partnering with SAM’s Director for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, this intern will help support internal planning, coordination, and communications related to an exciting and multi-faceted grant-funded series of equity workshops, speaker series, and a comprehensive staff equity survey. This intern will specifically focus on:

• Coordinating and liaising for workshops, speaker series and listening circles, to be facilitated by both internal and external partners.
• Working with the SAM staff equity advisory group around research and recommendations for the Equity Speaker Series.
• Crafting clear and transparent communications about these initiatives for use in presentations, reports to committees, and external stakeholders.
• Developing a calendar of events related to the grant initiatives for internal promotion

• Maintain and update content for SAM’s internal equity page.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This intern will learn to navigate a multi-department organization, form meaningful professional relationships, and apply their own perspectives and leadership experience to work at the museum. In addition, this intern will:

• Develop a clear understanding of SAM’s current work in racial equity at both an institutional and departmental level.
• Learn to collect, organize, and summarize information from multiple sources into a cohesive report.
• Refine a writing style that clearly articulates program goals, outcomes, and impacts for an organization-wide audience.
• Develop authentic relationships with partners and contractors to establish trust, ensure follow up, and represent SAM's values of excellence and stewardship.

PAY RANGE: The hourly rate for this role is $20.76.

FSLA STATUS & COMPENSATION:

This intern will be hired as a temporary, non-exempt employee. Along with the above pay rate, this intern will be eligible for the following benefits:

• Paid sick time accrued at a rate of 0.0385 per hour worked, estimated at 12 hours total for a 20-week intern.
• SAM Savings & 403(b) Retirement Plan, with Roth option available.

Fringe benefits include two guest passes to SAM, access to RIC Fitness Center, Tier III AAM membership, discounts for SAM membership, Shop, and MARKET, access to member rates for ticketed events at SAM, and a subsidized ORCA card.

EXPECTED TIME COMMITMENT:

15 hours per week, from January 2025 through June 2025. Schedule is flexible within Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm office hours. Start and end dates are flexible depending on intern work/academic schedule.

Due to the hands-on nature of this internship, a majority of this position’s work will be on-site. Limited weekly hours for remote work may be available if flexible scheduling is needed.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1. Research, gather, and organize information related to SAM’s work on equity, diversity, and community partnerships.
2. Work across departments to support and coordinate upcoming equity workshops and staff listening circles. This may include meeting with staff partners, scheduling, and communications.
3. Support Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in writing and drafting presentation materials, as needed.
4. Develop a 30 minute gallery tour or equivalent presentation, featuring your interests, perspectives, and experience at SAM.
5. Complete a job shadow with frontline volunteers during open hours.
6. Complete a one-page reflection or blog post about your internship experience.
7. Attend enrichment sessions, informational interviews, and check-ins as available.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED

1. Demonstrated interest in the arts, equity, and community building. Competitive candidates will be able to articulate why this Emerging Arts Leader Internship supports their professional goals in museums or the wider arts industry.
2. Strong writing and communication skills, and ability to clearly articulate goals, progress, and outcomes to a professional audience.
3. Clear understanding of and ability to discuss concepts related to racial equity, intersectionality, and social justice.
4. Ability to work independently and take initiative on assigned projects.
5. Demonstrated proficiency in general computer use, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and the internet.
6. Ability to ask for help and accept supervision and evaluation of your work.
7. Ability to work with others professionally and tactfully.
8. Ability to adhere to museum policies and support management decisions in a positive, professional manner.

EDUCATION & REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

Applicants are not required to have previous professional or museum experience. Emerging Arts Leader internships are open to applicants at any stage of their career journey, including current and recently graduated students. At minimum, a high school diploma or equivalent is required.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Exposure: Work areas are primarily inside, in a climate-controlled environment with light background noise. Work is occasionally performed at other indoor and outdoor sites. 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES REQUIRED FOR ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Stationary Work: Approximately 80% of time is spent stationary while working at a desk. Balance of time (approximately 20%) is spent moving around the work area. Occasional extended periods of standing may be required when assisting at Museum events.

Communication: Clear and effective communication with volunteers, donors, members, the public, and co-workers is necessary.

Moving: The ability to move up to twenty pounds on occasion is necessary for moving files, equipment, and supplies. Must be able to regularly position self to access files.

Office Work: Ability to effectively and regularly operate a computer, keyboard, and other office productivity machinery, such as copy machines and printers, and ability to inspect, prepare, and use paperwork, files, equipment, and supplies is necessary.

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APPLICATION PROCESS (APPLICATION DEADLINE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 AT 5PM PST)

Applications are only accepted via the online form at https://seattleartmuseum.applytojob.com/apply.

Application materials in PDF format may also be sent to internships@seattleartmuseum.org.

Each application should include:

• Application Form (completed online)
• A Personal Statement of no more than 700 words detailing:
  • How your personal background or academic/professional experiences inform your perspective on leadership and community.
  • How questions of equity and inclusion shape your personal and professional goals.
  • What you hope to gain from this experience and how it might enhance your education and career plans.
  • How you consider yourself meeting the specific criteria set out in the job description for this internship.

• Resume, which describes experience you believe is relevant to this internship and your professional goals. This may include professional experience, volunteer work, extracurricular activities, passion projects, community service, or academics.
• One Letter of Recommendation, ideally from a teacher, supervisor, or mentor. Letters should be emailed directly to internships@seattleartmuseum.org, with the applicant name noted in the Subject line.

For additional information or to request reasonable accommodations for the application or interview process, please contact Human Resources at (206) 654-3188 or at internships@seattleartmuseum.org.

Offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check.

Please be aware that SAM does not sponsor work or study visas for interns at this time.

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Come as you are. At Seattle Art Museum (SAM), our members, visitors, and local community come from all walks of life, and so do our employees, volunteers, and interns. The plurality of our identities and experiences make us stronger, and better able to further our mission: connecting art to life. Our mission and vision call upon us to be responsive to a wide swath of cultural contexts and lived experiences, and as such, our 2024 - 2029 Strategic Plan directly addresses the role art plays in empowering and elevating social justice movements, and promoting structural change towards greater equity in our society. SAM is particularly dedicated to racial equity in the workplace, because we know that people of color are the most impacted when it comes to both historical and present inequities. As we strive to be a more inclusive and equitable workplace, we are particularly interested in engaging with folx who hold an identity that has been historically underrepresented in the museum field.

SAM is an equal opportunity employer. We are an equal opportunity employer, and consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, sensory, physical, or mental disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. SAM is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures, and will consider candidates for employment who may need a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the job. Please contact the Human Resources Department at HR@seattleartmuseum.org for additional information, or to request reasonable accommodations for the application or interview process.

We encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to building a diverse workplace, and a sense of belonging for each and every employee, because we know our organization is at its best when we include, celebrate and embrace difference. We encourage you to submit an application, even if your experience doesn’t feel like a 100% match with the position. We know applying for a job can be intimidating, and research tells us that womxn and folks of color are less likely to apply if they don't see themselves meeting or exceeding every single qualification listed. We encourage you to apply, even if you feel unsure about whether you meet every requirement in this job post. You could very well be a great fit for this role or others.

Want to learn more? If you haven't already, check out our Careers page for more on working at SAM.

Though we'd love to be able to reply to every question that crosses our desk, due to the high volume of applications we receive, our HR team is unfortunately unable to offer a response to inquiries requesting search status updates, inquiries about hiring timeline, or requests to be put in touch with directly with the Hiring Team. If your experiences and capabilities are well suited to an open role, our Recruiter or the Hiring Manager will reach out directly to schedule an interview. Thanks for your understanding!

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Last updated on Oct 24, 2024