Director of Maker, Arts & Design

Established in 1972 Mount Vernon School serves over 1250 students in Preschool through Grade 12 on our 40-acre Atlanta campus. Grounded in Christian values Mount Vernon prepares all students to be college-ready globally competitive and engaged citizen leaders. Mount Vernon School anchors the Mount Vernon Organization as a destination of inquiry innovation and impact. Through MVSO the online division of our Upper School and MV Ventures our research and educational consultancy our organization is living its mission to design a better world by providing unique and differentiated value for all community members now and into the future.

The Program

As we look at programs like The Rhode Island School of Design & Savannah College of Art & Design we continue to explore how we might build a program where form intersects naturally with function where studio habits of mind complement the design thinking process where an inquiry-based approach leads students to create original functional industry-grade work and allows them to have an impact on their world today.

The Team

The Arts & Design Team is known as MV Studios because real work gets created in a studio. Whether its an art studio dance studio recording studio film studio or maker studio incredible original work is being created by students at Mount Vernon every day. This team helps to facilitate and coach our students as they level up their creative design skills. As a collaborative team they work together to create interdisciplinary projects engaging immersive experiences and personalized creative pathways for students to design a better world.

The Role

This role will require someone with expertise in arts education and maker education with an eye toward innovation/integration. As the director this role will build relationships of trust with 20 team members and facilitate curricular alignment manage resources/budget and coordinate logistics for a full season Grade 6-12 Maker Arts & Design events.

Responsibilities

• Align Maker Arts & Design programs with the mission/vision of the School
• Partner with Lower Campus Admin to plan & coordinate Lower Campus extracurricular programming
• Develop stories highlighting Maker Arts & Design achievements for social media and school communications
• Coordinate Maker Arts & Design staffing spaces & schedules in collaboration with divisional leadership
• Monitor and communicate trends/innovations in Maker Arts & Design education with admin & staff
• Support and advocate for Maker Arts & Design programs & faculty
• Coordinate volunteers (Mount Vernon Arts Alliance) & guest artists
• Track student engagement/retention in Maker Arts & Design programs
• Design communicate and manage operations for extra-curricular arts programs including budgeting purchasing contracts scheduling and team communications.
• Plan and produce arts events and showcases (dance music theatre film digital arts maker and visual arts) coordinating logistics spaces technical schedules and front-of-house needs.
• Coordinate scheduling and support AVL tech needs and other production support roles
• Teach and/or coach based on school need and candidate skills/background
• Attend school division & department meetings
• The Director of Maker Arts & Design will report to the Associate Head of School & work with each divisions administration

Core Competencies

• Lifelong Artist/Maker What does the future hold for artists makers and the creative economy Candidates should have a wealth of experience in various art forms as well as real world experience in the arts/design industry and an eye towards a strategic approach to innovating the arts.
• Innovative Connector Our Maker Arts & Design instructors are called connectors because we believe that Maker Arts & Design connects people cultures & academic disciplines. Building a network of external experts to partner with our instructors and connect with our students is essential scaling our innovative programming.
• Opportunity Builder What opportunities can we make available for students to demonstrate their artistic and maker skills How can we showcase students in deep and meaningful ways by engineering opportunities for students to inspire peers parents and professionals
• Detailed Planner Planning events communicating schedules and activating volunteers requires a planner who looks ahead breaks down projects into actionable steps and executes with efficiency. At Mount Vernon we make incredible things happen even when it means jumping in to set up for an event or manage complex projects.
• Faculty Champion Each of our team members manages a robust program of their own. Having a champion who can help them manage and amplify their programs means building trust with someone who cares deeply for them and their programs.
• Data Collector We can only manage what we measure. How are we tracking engagement & success by embedding data collection into our systems and processes

• Bachelors Degree/Experience in Arts Design Education or related field
  • Masters Degree in Arts Design Education or Leadership preferred
• Experience managing a team of teachers/directors
• Strong character with a drive for excellence a team-oriented spirit and a commitment to meeting the learning and social-emotional needs of students
• Experience in a variety of Maker Arts & Design-related skills preferred
  • Industry experience preferred

Start Date July 1 2026

This job description is intended to describe the basic elements of the job and should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities skills efforts or working conditions associated with the job. This job description does not constitute a contract. It may be modified or amended at any time as determined in the Schools discretion.

The faculty and staff of The Mount Vernon School believe the fair and equitable treatment of employees is critical to fulfilling its mission and purpose. It is the policy of The Mount Vernon School to conduct business and provide equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to race color age religion gender sexual orientation national origin disability status protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws.