Director, Arts Technologies

AI Logan Center
Designed as a home for creative life of the University of Chicago campus and the City of Chicago, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts is a partner, resource, and catalyst for developing deeper cultural networks and richer creative projects at the University, across Chicago and beyond. An innovative hub for arts education and artistic practice, the Logan Center and its satellite spaces (MADD Center and Edelstone Darkroom) provides an environment that catalyzes creative inquiry and supports the arts practice and scholarship of our students, faculty, and staff often in partnership with the broader community. The 180,000-square-foot multidisciplinary University arts center – the Logan Center is designed to encourage collaboration across the artistic spectrum. With classroom and performance spaces supporting a full range of disciplines—theater, cinema, dance, music, creative writing, and visual arts.

A platform to showcase today’s most innovative creators across all media, the Logan Center acts as a locus for impactful and collaborative artistic programs with partners in nearby South Side communities and across Chicago and serves as a key catalyst for collaborative arts programming across the University. The Logan Center is committed to advancing artistic practice, inspiring creativity across generations, developing authentic partnerships on and off campus, evoking curiosity and discovery through transformative arts experiences, and advancing the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, excellence, collaboration, and innovation. To learn more please visit https://www.logancenter.uchicago.edu/.
With a team including full- and part-time professionals as well as students, the Director of Arts Technologies is responsible for the operation of the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Media Center, Logan Shops, Logan exhibitions programs, Logan classroom AV, Edelstone Darkroom and the Media Arts Data and Design Center (MADD) Arts Labs including the Hack Arts Lab and Weston Game Lab, at Crerar Library. The Director reports to the Executive Director of the Logan Center and works in partnership with the Humanities Division and ITS.

The Director of Arts Technologies provides strategic leadership integrating technology into curricular, co-curricular, and community engagement arts programs and ensuring that the Logan Center supports the artistic practice, scholarship, and exhibitions of our students, faculty, visiting artists, and University and community partners. The Director of Arts Technologies ensures that our resources support the curricular needs of Art History, Creative Writing, Cinema and Media Studies/Media Art and Design, Department of Visual Arts, Music, and Theater and Performance Studies and other academic programs working on the arts across the University through technological and exhibition resources including mechanical, analog, digital, and/or computational that are required in nearly all arts practices.

In addition, the Director supports the technology and exhibition needs for the co-curricular work of our students both individually and through student groups and partners and connects the work of our faculty and students to our broader community and community partners through the Digital Storytelling Initiative, MADD Arts Labs community engagement efforts, and more.

• Leads the strategic implementation of technology across the Logan Center and our satellite spaces (MADD Arts Labs and Edelstone Darkroom). With faculty, students, departments, RSOs, community partners, University Leadership, and other stakeholders, develops policies and initiatives that enhance the use of technology in artistic practice, teaching, and scholarship at the Logan Center and at MADD. Provides strategic leadership to the Logan Center’s support for student curricular and co-curricular artistic practice including Made@Logan projects. Plans, implements, and evaluates short- and long-term projects to further strategic objectives. Ensures that technology facilities are aligned with University, Arts, and academic program strategic visions.
• Leads the Logan Center’s Exhibitions programs, in partnership with Logan Center’s Executive Director, Senior Director of Programing and Engagement and DoVA leadership. Provides tactical support for exhibitions in the Logan gallery and throughout the building. Ensures exhibitions and related activities are aligned with strategic goals of the Logan Center and the Department of Visual Arts. Engages with presenting artists, curators, vendors, collaborators, and programmers to develop individual projects.
• Hires, trains, supervises and evaluates professional staff at the JLMC, Logan Shops, Exhibitions, and MADD Arts Labs. Provides annual performance reviews and sets professional development goals with all staff. Conducts regular staff meetings and planning sessions. Supports management, leadership, and professional development for all team members, through direct mentorship as well as formal development programs and training.
• Develops and implements data-driven operational, financial, and staffing models that deliver technological resources to all stakeholders. Approves operating budgets and supervises day to day financial processes as administered by area leaders. Partners with the Executive Director and development team to solicit and steward grants, fellowships, endowments, and other external funding.
• With approval from the Department of Visual Arts or other academic program, teaches one credit course per academic year.
• Acts as primary liaison to Information Technology Services for the Logan Center. Ensures overall compliance with relevant University IT policies and processes. Drives adoption of IT mandates, recommendations, and best practices across the Logan Center staff and in its administrative practices.
• Serves as a member of the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts staff and assists with various programs and projects. This includes coordination with the broader UChicago Arts Initiative, the Division of Humanities, and other media centers across the University, representing the Logan Center on various arts-related and technology committees both within the University and beyond, occasionally providing and/or coordinating arts technical support to University entities outside the Logan Center, advancing the Logan Center’s IDEA work.
• Manages employees by establishing annual performance goals, allocating resources, assessing annual performance, and determining individual merit, incentive and/or promotional increases.
• Advises internal and external stakeholders as a department liaison. Maintains appropriate internal, inter-institutional, and vendor relationships.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field. Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

• Postgraduate degree.

• 10 years media and fabrication technology and operations experience, including project management, design, development, analysis, implementation and support of online services and other technology projects.
• 5 years experience managing teams.
• Background working closely with faculty, students, staff, artists, and community members.
• Familiarity with and experience working in a variety of civic arts organizations.

• General knowledge of technologies used in arts related higher-education setting, including media (post-production and design software, digital print technology, analog and digital cameras, music studios, film and video production, electronic portfolios, etc); fabrication (wood- and metalworking, digital fabrication, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, etc); and computer (computer hardware, networking, operating systems, site licensing, deployment, etc).

• Effectively communicate complex technical details to managers, stakeholders and technical staff, and translate the needs of arts faculty and students to technology colleagues.
• Demonstrated ability in financial/ budgetary processes, such as analysis and reporting.
• Exceptional organizational skills. Oversee complex projects and schedules, maintain deadlines, work within budgets, set priorities, and manage several projects simultaneously. Successfully manage a workload that balances long-range planning with the unanticipated daily demands of Center operations.
• Clear, effective, and tactful oral and written communication skills; handle sensitive information with discretion.
• Demonstrated success in building collaborative relationships with diverse constituencies.
• Knowledge of the University of Chicago or another large research institution.
• Organizational and human relations skills; collaborate well and supportively and cultivate good relationships with various constituencies.
• The temperament to work with a diverse and demanding population.
• Self-directed and self-motivated, set goals and develop projects.
• Prioritize and execute multiple tasks simultaneously with an ability to view a project in its entirety.

• Occasional evening and weekend work.
• Move among distributed work locations.
• Considerable office work.
• Moves equipment up to 50 lbs.
• Occasional offsite visits to vendors, partner organizations, meetings with colleagues, etc.

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (preferred)
• References Contact Information (3) (preferred)

Information Technology
People Manager
Exempt
Monthly
37.5
Yes
No
No
No