Vice President of Educational Programming

Position Summary

The Vice President of Educational Programming serves as the senior leader responsible for transforming ARI’s archaeological research, cultural resource preservation, land stewardship initiatives, experimental archaeology projects, and historical investigations into meaningful educational experiences that inspire curiosity, stewardship, and lifelong learning.

Reporting Relationships

• Vice President of Operations
• Director of Youth Education & Educator Resources
• Director of Adult Education & Lifelong Learning
• Additional educational staff, contractors, interns, and volunteers as assigned

Essential Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive educational strategy: Develop and refine ARI’s educational philosophy, interpretive framework, and learning outcomes to ensure a consistent and impactful educational experience across all public-facing initiatives.
• Provide strategic oversight for all educational programs: Provide strategic oversight for youth programs, educator resources, field trips, camps, workshops, tours, lectures, public experiences, digital learning initiatives, and lifelong learning opportunities.
• Stewardship of Educational Excellence: Ensure all educational experiences reflect ARI’s mission, values, and commitment to accurate interpretation. Establish, monitor, and evaluate learning outcomes across educational offerings.
• Leadership & Staff Development: Lead, mentor, supervise, and evaluate educational leadership staff. Foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Work collaboratively with Archaeology, Land Stewardship, Historic Research & Preservation, Institutional Advancement, Marketing, Volunteer Engagement, Operations, and Finance to ensure educational experiences accurately reflect and support organizational initiatives.
• Financial & Operational Management: Develop and manage departmental budgets and resources responsibly. Collaborate with the Director of Finance to evaluate program profitability, cost recovery, earned revenue opportunities, and long-term financial sustainability.
• Community & Organizational Leadership: Serve as a member of ARI’s leadership team. Build strategic relationships with schools, educators, universities, Indigenous descendant communities, museums, government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and community partners to expand ARI’s educational impact and create mutually beneficial opportunities.

Educational Leadership & Strategy

• Develop and implement a comprehensive educational strategy that advances ARI’s mission, vision, strategic priorities, and organizational goals.
• Lead the development and ongoing refinement of ARI’s educational philosophy, interpretive framework, and learning outcomes to ensure a consistent and impactful educational experience across all public-facing initiatives.
• Establish annual departmental goals, budgets, revenue targets, performance measures, and strategic priorities in partnership with the Executive Director, Vice President of Operations, and Director of Finance.
• Ensure educational programming reflects current archaeological investigations, cultural resource management efforts, land stewardship projects, experimental archaeology initiatives, and historical research.
• Identify opportunities for educational innovation, partnerships, audience growth, emerging technologies, and organizational advancement.
• Develop long-term strategies that increase public understanding, stewardship, and support for cultural resource preservation.
• Ensure educational initiatives support ARI’s broader goals related to research, preservation, stewardship, public engagement, membership growth, volunteerism, and fundraising.

Program Development & Educational Impact

• Provide strategic oversight for all educational programs, including youth programs, educator resources, field trips, camps, workshops, tours, lectures, public experiences, digital learning initiatives, and lifelong learning opportunities.
• Ensure programs communicate not only what we know about the past, but how knowledge is discovered, evaluated, preserved, and shared.
• Support the development of innovative educational tools, curriculum resources, immersive interpretation methods, digital learning platforms, and technology-enhanced educational experiences.
• Regularly evaluate programs and identify opportunities for growth, improvement, and innovation.
• Establish goals, expectations, and standards for educational facilitators and staff.
• Ensure educational experiences remain relevant, engaging, accessible, and aligned with participant needs and organizational priorities.

Stewardship of Educational Excellence

• Maintain standards for educational content, facilitation, participant experience, accessibility, risk management, and safety.
• Promote innovation while preserving educational quality, authenticity, and organizational integrity.
• Utilize participant feedback, evaluation data, and organizational metrics to improve educational effectiveness.
• Champion a culture of continuous learning, improvement, and excellence throughout the Educational Programming Department.

Educational & Mission Impact Evaluation

• Develop and implement systems to evaluate educational effectiveness, participant outcomes, and mission impact across all educational programs, experiences, and initiatives.
• Audit programs based on participant learning, engagement, stewardship outcomes, volunteer conversion, membership growth, community awareness, donor engagement, and support for ARI’s mission.
• Evaluate the extent to which educational programs advance organizational goals related to archaeology, preservation, stewardship, historical research, public engagement, and cultural resource protection.
• Work collaboratively with department leaders to identify opportunities for educational initiatives to support research, preservation, stewardship, fundraising, membership development, volunteer engagement, and organizational sustainability.
• Utilize qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate program success, inform decision-making, and guide resource allocation.
• Review educational program portfolios to ensure organizational resources are aligned with strategic priorities and mission impact.
• Develop reports, dashboards, and outcome measures that communicate educational and mission-driven results to leadership, staff, board members, funders, and stakeholders.
• Foster a culture of evidence-based decision-making, continuous improvement, and organizational learning throughout the Educational Programming Department.

Leadership & Staff Development

• Lead, mentor, supervise, and evaluate educational leadership staff.
• Foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Support staff professional development, leadership growth, and succession planning.
• Build and maintain a high-performing educational team capable of delivering exceptional participant experiences.
• Encourage educational staff to remain connected to ARI’s active research, preservation, stewardship, and community engagement efforts.
• Empower team members to develop innovative programs, partnerships, and educational initiatives.

Community & Organizational Leadership

• Serve as a member of ARI’s leadership team.
• Build strategic relationships with schools, educators, universities, Indigenous descendant communities, museums, government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and community partners to expand ARI’s educational impact and create mutually beneficial opportunities.
• Represent ARI at conferences, meetings, and events.
• Communicate ARI’s mission, values, and educational offerings to diverse audiences.
• Represent ARI at community events, fundraisers, and other activities.
• Advocate for ARI’s mission and programs within the community.