Temporary Support Staff, Ravinia Lawndale Programs

Ravinia is both North America’s longest-running music festival and its most artistically diverse. Over 100 different events by a mix of classical, rock, pop, jazz, R&B, indie, and country performers make up a typical summer season on our two open-air and two indoor stages. Each year the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is featured in six weeks of concerts, many with Chief Conductor Marin Alsop. During the same summer months, the Ravinia Steans Music Institute provides young professional classical and jazz musicians with career-advancing training and concert settings. 

Offstage and year-round, Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education programs engage 75,000 children and adults—in schools with little to no music curriculum, in our Chicagoland communities, and at our 36-acre park—in our mission to make music equitably accessible to all.

Ravinia embraces diversity in all forms and is committed to providing an equitable and inclusive environment for all staff, musicians, guest artists, audiences, and community members. Ravinia is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage individuals of all identities and abilities to apply.

The Temporary Support Staff (TSS) position for the Ravinia Lawndale Programs will provide on-site logistical and administrative assistance for the Sistema Ravinia Lawndale Nucleo and the Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School.  The TSS will also provide support for events, family communication and materials/supplies inventory and organization.  Additional projects and responsibilities will be assigned as needed.  The projects, work and hours are contingent upon program needs and may shift.  The TSS will work under the supervision of the Ravinia Lawndale Program Manager.  

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Sistema Ravinia Lawndale (~20 hrs per week)
• Be on-site: assist with print requests, purchase requests, parent phone calls, setups/take downs, ensuring rooms are unlocked and have necessary supplies, instrument switches/inventory updates, take note of any concerning student behavior to report to PM/AM.
• Assist with weekly transportation needs, including bus scheduling and loading
• Set-ups, material/supply inventory on site
• Family Calls
• Schedule text reminders via Remind
• Event assistance

Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School (~5 hours per week)

• Schedule text reminders via Remind
• Student phone calls
• Roster updates
• On-site assistance as scheduled with PM on some Saturdays 
• Event assistance
   

Knowledge and Skills Required

• Superior interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds
• Detail oriented with strong organizational abilities
• Experience working with computers and data entry (Google platform experience preferred)
• Physical labor required; ability to move chairs, instruments, and supplies between locations and floors
• Willingness to learn and support
• A car is required to drive between program and event locations

Education and Experience

• Two to three years related work experience preferred
• Experience and desire to work with children and adults from diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds 
• Access to reliable transportation to move instruments and supplies and to travel between multiple program sites and events 
   

Work Environment

• Work at schools (Frazier and Gregory elementaries) and park district locations (Douglass, Homan Square, Franklin)  in the Lawndale and Austin communities  
• General hours and key dates listed below, schedules may change based on program needs 
• Physical labor required; ability to move chairs, instruments, and supplies between locations and floors

Weekly Hours:

• Monday, 12:30 - 5:30pm, Gregory Elementary 
• Tuesday, 12:30 - 5:30pm, Frazier International Magnet
• Wednesday, 11:30 - 4:30pm, Gregory Elementary
• Thursday, 12:30 - 5:30pm, Gregory Elementary

Key Dates & Event Support (required)

• Wednesday, 12/4, 11:30am - 6:00pm, Winter Concert Dress Rehearsal at the Kehrein Center for the Arts
• Tuesday, 12/10, 12:30 - 7:00pm, Winter Concert at the Kehrein Center for the Arts
• Thursday, 12/12, 1:00 - 8:00pm, Winter Recital at Douglass Park 
• Friday, 12/13, 10:00am - 3:00pm, Recital Prep at Douglass Park 
• Saturday, 12/14, 9:00am - 1:30pm, Winter Recital at Douglass Park 

Additional Details:

• Compensation: $20.00 per hour, average of 25 hours per week
• Job Period:  Immediate start -  December 14 
• Requirements: Contingent on successful completion of the CPD and CPS fingerprinting. 

About the Programs: 
Sistema Ravinia is an after school orchestral music education program that fosters youth empowerment and social development through exceptional ensemble training for students in three nucleos (Austin, Lawndale, Lake County) across Chicagoland. Sistema Ravinia, launched in 2012 in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, expanded to Lake County in 2015. Shaped by the philosophy of the noted El Sistema model, Ravinia has embraced the notion of transforming groups of children into communities of musicians who in turn transform their communities.  Students receive mentorship from teachers and administrators that make them feel loved and valued as an asset to their nucleo community. 
The Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School—hosted at Douglass, Franklin, Homan Square, and Piotrowski Parks as part of the Chicago Park District’s Arts Partners in Residence Program since 1998—provides hundreds of children, adults, and families residing in the under-resourced Lawndale community on Chicago’s West Side with access to tuition-free music classes in general music, voice, violin, guitar, and piano, fostering opportunities for artistic enrichment and the appreciation and joy of music.

Location: Lawndale Community on the westside of Chicago

Ravinia is an Equal Opportunity Employer

As an equal opportunity employer, Ravinia strongly believes that diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives is essential to our success and we strive to create and sustain an equitable and inclusive environment for all our employees. Ravinia does not discriminate on the basis of any protected status under federal, state, or local law. We encourage individuals of all identities and abilities to apply.

To learn more about Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play programs, visit bit.ly/RaviniaRTP.