Chief of Innovation and Workforce Development

CHIEF OF INNOVATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

About Us

Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) is devoted to enriching the lives and education of Maryland’s youth through educational and culturally diverse arts programs. Through Arts for Learning, professional teaching artists from all disciplines partner with educators, schools, and school districts to provide -- on average -- over 560,000 hours of learning in, through, and about the arts to more than 155,000 Maryland students annually.

Arts for Learning is a mission-driven organization that values community, innovation, and passion. The staff, board, and teaching artists have a shared commitment to advance equity in the field of education by working tirelessly to generate opportunities for students to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts.

Job Description:

The Chief of Innovation and Workforce Development is a senior leadership role responsible for advancing innovative strategies that strengthen arts-integrated learning and expand workforce development pathways in the creative and education sector. This leader will design and implement forward-thinking programs that connect the arts with career readiness; support teaching artists, classroom teachers, and young adults; and help existing programs continue to innovate so that more students have transformational opportunities through the arts.

Working collaboratively across departments and with external partners, the Chief of Innovation and Workforce Development will develop scalable initiatives that empower educators, teaching artists, and students while aligning with the needs of public education, and emerging trends in arts education, creative industries, and lifelong learning.

The Chief, Innovation and Workforce Development is a full time, exempt position that will report to the Chief Executive Officer.

Responsibilities Include:

Strategic Innovation

• Lead the development and implementation of innovative programs that integrate the arts and culture with workforce and career development pathways.
• Identify emerging trends in public education, including arts education; creative industries; and workforce development to inform new initiatives.
• Design pilot programs and scale successful models that expand access to arts-based learning and career readiness opportunities.
• Cultivate partnerships with school districts, cultural organizations, workforce agencies, and industry partners.
• Leverage or influence state public policy and legislation to develop or scale opportunities.

Workforce Development

• Build and oversee professional development and career advancement pathways for teaching artists and creative professionals.
• Develop credentialing, training, and mentorship opportunities that strengthen the educators and the creative workforce.
• Align programs with regional workforce priorities and creative economy initiatives.
• Support educators and administrators in integrating arts-based skills such as creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving into career readiness programming.
• Oversee innovation and workforce-focused programs, ensuring quality, equity, and measurable outcomes. Programs include:
  Bloomberg Arts Internship, an alternative certification pathway program for fine arts teachers (in development) and an apprenticeship pathway for young adults (in development.)
• Establish evaluation frameworks to measure program impact, workforce outcomes, and community benefit.
• Manage a $3M+ budget, grant-funded initiatives, and staff. This position has two direct reports, Director of Bloomberg Arts Internship and Manager of Workforce Development.

Partnerships & External Engagement

• Represent the organization in statewide and…