Ilakucaraq Project Manager

Job Description - Ilakucaraq Project Manager

Ilakucaraq Project

The Ilakucaraq Project (IP) supports Alaska Native youth in building cultural confidence and connection to heritage through youth-focused programming and professional development for adults who work with youth. This project is funded by the Alaska Native Heritage Center through a grant from the US Department of Education Alaska Native Education Program. The Alaska Humanities Forums role within IP is to engage educators that work with Alaska Native youth to become more culturally responsive and affirming in their relationship-building with students and families as well as their teaching practices with an emphasis on building connection between urban and rural communities. IP guides educators through a professional development program centered on Indigenous Awareness and Culturally Responsive Teaching that includes a graduate-level university course culturally immersive gatherings and supportive peer connections with a cohort of other teachers from around the state. Educators who come through IP programming gain the tools support and confidence to sustainably build welcoming school spaces that reflect and honor the cultures of their communities.

Position Summary

The C3 Program Manager will manage the Forums portion of the Ilakucaraq Project with the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) with specific emphasis on cultivating and supporting cohorts of educators and community partners including course instructors university staff and culture camp coordinators. The Manager will be an integral part of collaboratively envisioning the development of education and cross-cultural programs at the Forum. The right candidate will have a passion for and proven experience in cross-cultural work program development collaborative partnerships and working with rural communities in Alaska. This position will report to the Director of C3 Programs.

Essential Job Duties

Program Management
Cultivate strong relationships with program partners and participants across Alaska
Oversee the search for and onboarding of a C3 course instructor and support co-development of a syllabus for course with partner input
Recruit for build and support cohorts of educators
Identify and work closely with culture camp coordinators around the state
Ensure program meets goals outlined in grant and draft monthly performance reports for ANHC
Draft and manage contracts

Budget Management

Manage AKHFs portion of the Ilakucaraq program budget including drafting budget narratives and amendments with support from Director of C3 Programs and VP of Programs

Staff Management

Supervise and support Ilakucaraq Project Coordinator

Development Facilitation and Continuous Improvement
Lead the design and facilitation of gatherings for Ilakucaraq educator participants both virtual and in-person
Ensure program events follow the Forums preferred methodologies for gathering such as The Art of Hosting World Cafe and other models of convening and dialogue
Contribute to Forum team of facilitators by facilitating C3 Program and Forum internal convenings as opportunities arise
Participate in annual professional development to enhance skills in project design and facilitation
Present at and engage in statewide conferences to deepen our network of organizations and individuals working in education and in support of Alaska Native youth
Co-develop new program components to help deepen teacher connections within and across regions including for C3 program alumni engagement
Collaborate with Director of C3 Programs and other AKHF staff to develop new programming in response to need funding opportunities and Forum capacity including strategic statewide expansion of cross-cultural work beyond education sector

Program Coordination

Collaborate with ANHC staff to host partner meetings quarterly or more frequently as deemed necessary
Perform data collection project evaluation and reporting functions including logging participant information and activities
Participate in weekly Forum staff meetings and team meetings
Travel to summer culture camps and act as Forum staff representative as opportunities arise
Other duties as assigned.

Required Knowledge/Skills/Abilities
Must support and believe in the mission of the Alaska Humanities Forum;
Must be committed to supporting an equitable and inclusive organizational culture;
Must have an understanding of the history dynamics and challenges of Western education in rural Alaska;
Must have own transportation drivers license and reliable personal vehicle;
Must be able to pass state and federal background checks

Keys to Success

A successful candidate for this position will have the following mindset and approaches to the job:
Relationship building: The manager will engage and support people from different backgrounds perspectives and approaches both in-person and remotely. They aspire to make connections with people build trust and understanding and approach the smallest and largest of tasks with a team-oriented mindset.
Playing the long game: Meaningful work takes time and the arc of relationships is long. Conflict and/or resistance are expected as a normal part of deepening relationships and ultimately building trust.
Keeping a group connected: The manager is the primary architect of building a cohort - supporting adult educators in building close and supportive relationships with each other. They will approach this with intention and thoughtfulness.
Curious about and comfortable talking about culture: The thought of guiding others through exploring and articulating their own cultures feels interesting and exciting to to the manager.

Education/Training
Applicant must have experience working in Alaska (outside of Anchorage) and experience coordinating large in-person gatherings. Experience working in majority Alaska Native communities is preferred
Applicant will have demonstrated experience designing and facilitating group gatherings and conversations
Applicant must have demonstrated experience successfully planning and managing a project that takes place in rural Alaska
Applicant must have a bachelors degree or equivalent experience

Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 25 lbs;
Must be comfortable traveling in small (6-seater) airplanes and boats;
Comfortable driving participants in rental vehicles
Ability to participate in virtual meetings for up to four hours with short breaks;
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Microsoft Teams G-Suite Zoom.

Conditions of Employment

The Ilakucaraq Project Manager role is an exempt full-time position based at the Forum offices in Anchorage with a regular weekday work schedule of 40 hours per week. This position will involve some weekends & evenings. Benefits include medical dental disability ten paid holidays per year over 5 weeks of annual paid time-off and sick leave paid family leave and a 403(b)-retirement plan.

Application and Hire Date

The first round of applications will be reviewed on October 27.

Equal Opportunity Statement

At the Alaska Humanities Forum we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees without regard to race color religion sex pregnancy (including childbirth lactation and related medical conditions) national origin age physical and mental disability marital status sexual orientation gender identity gender expression genetic information (including characteristics and testing) military and veteran status and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We believe that diversity and inclusion among our employees are critical to our success and we seek to recruit develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

Benefits

The Forum offers several benefits including:

• Health Insurance
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• Life/AD&D/STD/LTD Insurance
• 403(b) plan with full employer match up to 3% gross salary (after 6 months)
• 10 annual holidays
• Paid Time Off and Sick Leave (total of 5.4 to 6 weeks per year depending on tenure)
• Parental Leave
• Bereavement Leave

Contact for Questions

For questions about this position contact Julie Rowland at or

Required Experience:

IC