Poetry Out Loud Outreach Coordinator Short Term

About the Montana Arts Council:

The Montana Arts Council is the state agency established to develop the creative potential of all Montanans advance education spur economic vibrancy and revitalize communities through involvement in the arts.

We are a small team of creative people dedicated to supporting the arts in all their forms across Montana and maximizing access to great arts experiences for all Montanans. We conduct a variety of programs work collaboratively together stay responsive to constituent needs and communicate effectively with Council members leaders and lawmakers our constituents and each other.

Job Overview:

The Montana Arts Council (MAC) with support from the National Endowment for the Arts administers Montana Poetry Out Loud a poetry recitation program and competition serving high school students statewide.

The Poetry Out Loud Outreach Coordinator (OC) leads participant recruitment efforts disseminates promotional and curricular materials to school administrators educators and students; supports prospective and current participants through print resources and digital newsletters phone calls emails and messaging; tracks outreach contact with schools and students; and provides administrative support for all competitions. An outreach team of four adult professionals assists in supporting the work of the OC.

The Poetry Out Loud Outreach Coordinator works under the guidance of MACs Arts Education Director.

This position is short term up to 90 days maximum over 24 work weeks. 12 work weeks prior to Winter Break; 12 work weeks January through late March.

• Estimated start date: Tuesday September 30 2025

• End date: Thursday March 26 2026

The typical schedule will be three days each work week (usually Tuesday through Thursday) with some weekend work hours as needed. Up to 2 hours in office is expected at the beginning of the week to include meeting with Arts Education Director (Tuesday afternoons preferred).

This position requires working with a computer and a phone. Most work is performed remotely with up to four hours of on-site work required during non-competition weeks and up to 18 hours of on-site work required during competition weeks.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Responds to email or voice mail inquiries about the program;

Consistently communicates one-on-one with prospective and involved participants through a variety of formats including phone email and messaging;

Tracks outreach contact with participating schools and students using Microsoft Excel;

Assists in conducting regional and state-level competitions;

Prepares and sends email newsletters to the program listserv;

Supports educators and student participants through check-ins and reminder messages;

Assists with the distribution of program resources and virtual learning sessions;

Collects and prepares collected data for program reports; and

Meets with the Arts Education Director at the MAC office or virtually one day per work week.