Ceramics/Sculpture Studio Manager at California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Posted on May 24, 2023 – open until filled
The Ceramics/Sculpture Studio Manager is responsible for supervising, maintaining, and ensuring safe use of the Ceramic and Sculpture studios of the California College of the Arts.
They must have current and significant experience with studio processes, materials, and technology and a commitment to maintaining an open, accessible and safe learning environment.
The manager provides technical assistance and operational support to Ceramic Program courses, majors and graduate students as well as for interdisciplinary, youth, and extension courses in their area of responsibility. In collaboration with the 3D Studio Operations team, this position also supervises the operations of the Sculpture Studios to ensure a well-maintained, safe, and friendly environment.
The Ceramics/Sculpture Studio Manager supervises a team of 10-12 student workers and works with their Studio Operations colleagues to provide safety and technical expertise for all Ceramics and Sculpture students/faculty and interdisciplinary projects across the College.
They are responsible for developing and enforcing studio use and access policies, delivering safety orientations, and ensuring that studio use is in compliance with College policies and regulations for health, life, and safety.
Studio Managers collaborate with program Chairs and teaching faculty to ensure consistent, reliable, and appropriate support in the studio teaching and learning environment.
They are responsible for managing studio funds, procurement of materials and equipment, and collaborates with annual and long-term studio planning. Studio Managers should be comfortable with the use of digital systems for financial, scheduling, and inventory management.
Studio Managers regularly participate in campus-wide projects for campus unification and studio sustainability.
Experience with a student population is key; the Studio Managers work directly with studio users and interact on a daily basis with students, including many international students and English-language learners, shaping their CCA educational journey.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:
STUDIO OPERATIONS – 40%
• Manages and studio facilities and equipment to ensure a well-maintained and safe environment; supervises and supports daily operations.
• Maintains equipment inventory and manages studio materials and supplies. Repairs and/or sends equipment out for repair as needed.
• Delivers general mandatory studio safety orientations for all studio users; provides specialized, advanced or tool-specific orientations and training as required.
• Manages storage and handling of studio materials, including hazardous materials; maintains inventory documents, updates catalog of Safety Data Sheets, supports semiannual waste pickup and attends mandatory HazMat trainings.
• Supports and participates in College-level initiatives and long-term projects for campus unification and studio sustainability.
• Acts as a fully contributing team member of Studio Operations and the 3D Studio Operations unit; participates in mutual support and collaboration to the benefit of the CCA Studios and the College as a whole.
• May be assigned to other responsibilities within Studio Operations when courses are not being offered in their studio, and in other situations where the workload in the primary area of responsibility is reduced.
MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION – 30%
• Independently manages a team of 10+ student workers, which includes: managing the labor budget, creating the student worker schedule, writing and updating job descriptions, hiring, administration of timesheets, performance management, training workers in studio tasks and safety, and providing
• Manages/provides supervisory support to 2 Graduate Student Assistants: 1 within Ceramics, 1 within Sculpture.
• Collaborates with their leadership to plan and execute the annual studio budget, including materials, supplies, equipment, and student worker funding requests.
• Coordinates with colleagues and supervisor on the creation and administration of policies and procedures that are consistent with studio operations across the college and responsive to the needs of programs, faculty, and students.
• Maintains and updates studio manuals, orientation and access records, shared studio calendar, and • Portal web page. Keeps studio documents organized and accessible per departmental and College guidelines.
ACADEMIC ROLE / SUPPORT – 25%
• Meets regularly with program Chairs and Academic Administration staff to ensure alignment of activities and facilities with curricular needs and goals.
• Provides feedback on course scheduling and works with stakeholders to optimize studio support.
• Works with Chairs, faculty and studio users on course-specific needs: this may include ordering materials, providing or supporting specialized demonstrations, or researching best practices and safe use of new or unusual studio processes or materials.
• Creates an open, friendly, studio environment while promoting and actively communicating the safe, healthy use of materials, processes, and techniques to all members in the Ceramic and Sculpture Studios.
• Works with the College community in a culturally-competent manner, consciously creating opportunities for inclusive and equitable access.
Non-Essential Job Functions – 5%
• Manages students in distress.
• Offers technical oversight and back-up support for other CCA studios when needed.
• Receives annual training in First Aid, CPR, and AED use.
• Serves as a member of the College’s Emergency Response Team.
• Performs additional duties as required.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
• Education & Professional Qualifications
• BA or BFA, or equivalent professional experience required.
• 3 years working experience in a relevant field.
• Experience in art, design, and/or architecture education or production preferred.
Administrative & Management Experience
• Confident using independent judgment in decision making.
• Experience collaborating and working in a team setting required.
• Developed organizational and task management skills; strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Familiarity with and/or ability to learn a variety of software applications for financial, scheduling, and inventory management, including Google Suite, WebCheckout, Airtable, Adobe Suite, and others.
• At least one year of managing an operating budget of 5-10k annually.
Specialized Knowledge & Skills
• Familiarity with different clays, glazes with different firing ranges – cone 05 thru cone 10, and plaster types.
• Understand fabrication methods for handbuilding, wheel throwing, slip casting, and plaster mold making.
• Orders and tracks clay and sculpture material usage.
• Ability and desire to keep skills and knowledge current in a rapidly changing field.
• Ability to use, maintain, and instruct others in the use of studio equipment, tools, and processes including (but not limited to): Blaauw gas kiln, electric kilns, pugmill, potter wheels, HVLP spray guns, stationary wood shop equipment (tablesaw, bandsaw, sander, chop saw, etc), MIG welder, Oxy/Acetylene Torch
• Comfortable working with, maintaining, and providing safe instruction in the use of hand and power tools for general fabrication in wood, metal, and plastics.
• Ability to troubleshoot and repair studio equipment, and to work with exterior vendors for specialized repair, upkeep, and purchasing.
• Knowledge of and commitment to health, sustainability, and safety in studio practice and materials use.
• Experience with basic fabrication and repair, light construction and facilities maintenance is preferred.
Interpersonal Skills
• Proven success establishing and maintaining positive and cooperative working relationships; commitment to quality of service
• Strong work ethic; ability to work independently and proactively.
• Must demonstrate competence, reliability, and honesty.
• Ability to work in a culturally-competent manner with diverse groups and individuals, including • English-language learning students and historically disenfranchised populations.
• Experience working with a student population is highly desirable
Working Conditions
• This position works in hot and cold environments.
• This job requires long periods of sitting, standing, or repetitive tasks.
• Noise levels are moderate
Physical Requirements
• Must possess the ability to safely perform the physical work required of all duties, including manual dexterity, agility, strength and coordination.
Ability to lift 50 lbs.
• Must possess a valid California driver’s license and be able to operate a full-sized pickup truck.
• Must have the ability to operate material handling equipment, including pallet jacks and forklifts. Training and certification will be provided.
Please note that in an effort to keep the CCA community safe, the College requires all staff, faculty, and students who are on campus to be fully vaccinated, including to have received a booster shot (if eligible). The job responsibilities of this position will require time regularly spent on campus, and therefore the incumbent will be asked to follow the CCA vaccination requirement, unless an exemption is approved. Please reach out to hr@cca.edu with any questions.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:
The compensation for the position is $32 per hour.
CCA offers a comprehensive benefits package, including the choice of five medical plans, generous holiday, sick & vacation time, a retirement match and tuition remission. CCA covers an average of 91% of the medical plan cost for the employee only and an average of 82% for employees with dependents. More information can be found here: https://portal.cca.edu/working/office-human-resources/employee-benefits.
POSITION DETAILS:
CCA considers a full-time work week to be 37.5 hours per week.
Schedule: Monday – Friday, 9am-5:00pm
Work Mode: Campus Based
This position is covered under the staff union collective bargaining agreement and will be required to contribute to union dues/agency fees.
Application Instructions
Applicants are required to attach a cover letter and resume. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Recommended document file formats are Word or PDF. If there are multiple attachments, we recommend compressing/zipping your files into a zip format file. There is also a place in the application for you to provide a link to large documents. Please submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions.
Application Deadline
For staff positions, screening begins immediately and continues until the position is filled.
EEO Statement
As an educational and cultural institution, California College of the Arts has a responsibility to provide access and opportunities for all people, with special attention to supporting groups historically underrepresented in higher education.
We believe that a culturally diverse campus is integral to academic excellence, and our student, faculty, staff, and trustee bodies should reflect the diverse world in which we live, with attention to race, ethnicity, religious creed, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and ability.
California College of the Arts is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from individuals who will contribute to its diversity.
Questions?
Please address any questions to hr@cca.edu.
