Program Coordinator, Creative Economy

Reports to: Senior Program Director, Creative Economy 
Position Type:  Exempt, Full-Time 
Funding: Funded through NEFA’s FY28 (May 31, 2028); possibility of extension TBD. 

About the New England Foundation for the Arts

The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) is a 501(c)3 social impact organization that builds, sustains, and fights for arts and culture through grantmaking, partnerships, and advocacy in New England, the nation, and beyond.

As an organization, NEFA believes the freedoms to create, access, express, and share arts and culture are human rights and essential to a just society and thriving communities. As an employer, we are dedicated to dismantling the systemic inequities, barriers, and actions that have excluded individuals and communities from professional opportunities.

NEFA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is invested in creating an equitable and inclusive working environment and organizational culture. We are committed to hiring individuals who share and support our values, and who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. NEFA does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other classes or characteristics protected by law.

About the Position

NEFA’s Creative Economy program strengthens New England's creative community by supporting its visibility, connection, and knowledge building. This is in service of the vision of a sustainable, inclusive, and resourced New England creative economy that is valued by all New England communities. The Program Coordinator, Creative Economy, is a steward of programmatic and organizational goals, balancing a mix of front-facing and administrative tasks. They work closely with users of CreativeGround.org, and other constituents within the New England creative economy; coordinate community engagement and promotional efforts that support and enhance the reach of NEFA’s programs, service, and impacts; and provide administrative and logistical support for department activities and events. They will play a critical role implementing narrative strategy and plans to grow and deepen engagement with New England’s creative economy network.

This position reports to the Senior Program Director, Creative Economy, and works in close coordination with the Program Manager. The Program Coordinator is responsible for organizing all communications and community building activity: implementing engagement and promotional campaigns and distributing materials; providing direct technical assistance to constituents and CreativeGround users; supporting meetings, workshops, trainings, and events; tracking trends, and cohort lists; and building relationships and gathering stories to share with stakeholders and partners. This position requires relational care, excellent communication, attention to detail, and project coordination, an aptitude for online marketing, an appetite for learning new platforms and tools, comfort with direct constituent engagement and public speaking, and a passion for building community with New England’s artists and creative enterprises. This role collaborates with NEFA’s grant program staff to advance the organization’s mission and impact in the region, and with NEFA’s communications staff to support storytelling and enhance brand coherence across the organization.

Essential Functions - % of Time

Program Storytelling and Impact – 35% 

• Coordinate with Senior Program Director and Communications Contractor to produce and distribute marketing content, campaigns, and materials to key stakeholders;  
• Support the implementation of the department’s communications plan, clarify and improve processes, document updates, and support sharing with identified partners and stakeholders;  
• Maintain the department’s editorial calendar, content lists, campaign plans, and toolkits for constituents; 
• Edit and help distribute program communications, including monthly eblasts, blog posts, social media campaigns, and audience-specific invitations;  
• Copyedit and manage CreativeGround site content in accordance with search engine optimization (SEO) best practices and maintain branding across platforms, events, and communications; 
• Track and report on constituent response to communications, community engagement activity across platforms, and in-person events to inform program plans and activity; 
• Support NEFA staff in their integration of CreativeGround and Creative Economy communications across relevant program activities including maintaining the staff toolkit and shared marketing calendar; 
• Maintain Creative Economy Program contacts tracking in Salesforce. 

Community Engagement and Support – 35% 

• Coordinate and implement strategies to expand the CreativeGround user base and broader regional creative economy network using an existing rubric to research prospective, untapped, or underserved audiences; 
• Connect with constituents to capture CreativeGround profile spotlights, community stories, and testimonials for data storytelling; 
• Identify relevant events around the region for community engagement and information sharing; present and exhibit about creative economy programs and tools; 
• Support constituents at virtual and live events hosted by the Creative Economy department such as workshops, conferences, meetings, and CreativeGround demonstrations throughout New England and follow up with participants to build relationships; 
• Invite creative economy cohorts and local leaders to engage in cross-promotions and social sharing; 
• Provide promotional assistance, information, and other support to creative community leaders, CreativeGround users, project partners, and other constituents; 
• Cross-train to help provide technical assistance to CreativeGround users and give input on site design and user experience enhancements; 
• Respond to phone and email inquiries related to community building and promotion. 

Program Coordination – 20% 

• Coordinate logistics for creative economy workshops, meetings, and other virtual and live events including scheduling, locating/securing meeting location, catering, tracking participant attendance; 
• Prepare agendas and correspondence for program staff and other internal meetings; 
• Support preparation of materials for external partner and advisory group meetings; 
• Support Creative Economy team in meetings by notetaking, summarizing discussions, and identifying next action steps; 
• Participate in program planning and evaluation discussions. 

Connecting and Learning – 10%  

• Represent the program and organization at conferences, meetings, performances, and other events; report on learning and outcomes; 
• Participate in organization-wide convenings and events, planning sessions, and working groups. 

Scope 

Does this position supervise others? 

No 

Internal/External Contacts

Develop, maintain, and support positive relationships with a variety of external constituents such as the CreativeGround Communications Contractor, prospective and current CreativeGround users, event participants, and community leaders. Support the team in developing and managing relationships with partners. Establish strong, collaborative relationships with NEFA staff, specifically in communications, tech & data, regional grant program staff. Engage in and support program planning and evaluation activities with team members, colleagues, consultants, and constituents. 

The position requires attendance at New England-wide events that occur beyond or outside “traditional” business hours. 

Financial/Operational Resources Impacted

$ 0 

Decision Making/Problem Solving

Support community engagement, storytelling, and promotional efforts which advance the program’s mission and objectives. Communicate effectively with internal and external program stakeholders. Provide superior constituent support services and technical assistance to external constituents. Research and implement strategies to enhance community engagement; implement communications plan; support CreativeGround site improvement plans. Coordinate planning for creative economy workshops, meetings, and other events. 

FY27 Coordinator Starting Salary

$69,000 

Opportunities for Advancement

At the beginning of their tenure in the role, staff in Coordinator level positions should set performance, development, and skill-building goals with their supervisor based on the expectations of the role and needs of the department. After two (2) years in a Coordinator position, employees who have a proven track record of success in their role, have accomplished or made significant progress toward their performance goals, and have demonstrated steady growth as measured in their annual performance assessments, may be considered for promotion with careful consideration of department conditions. 

Qualifications 

Required

• 2-4 years of professional experience in communications/marketing and/or front-facing constituent support roles; 
• Outstanding communication skills – verbal and written – with an understanding of adapting authorial voice to different audiences;  
• Facility with public speaking, presenting, networking, and directly engaging with diverse constituents; 
• Knowledge of online marketing campaign tools and strategies including experience developing, copyediting, and maintaining content for websites, ecommunications and social media tools;  
• Past experience with project coordination; Excellent organization with the ability to track multiple priorities and processes concurrently and clearly communicate and collaborate with team members; 
• Ability to digest, synthesize and distill information into action items and complete tasks within a predetermined timeline; 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite; familiarity with any of MailChimp, Canva, Google Analytics, Asana, Drupal, and Salesforce a significant plus; 
• Experience with patiently assisting or instructing constituents, partners, and other stakeholders; 
• First-hand knowledge of the needs and nuances of working artists and creative and cultural workers across New England; 
• A valid driver’s license and the interest and ability to travel around New England; 
• Appreciation for and identification with NEFA’s mission, vision, and values and experience centering equity, diversity, intersectionality, and accessibility as priorities in your work.

Preferred

• Experience in meeting and event planning; 
• Background in marketing/design, data visualization, and/or creative economy research or initiatives. 

Workplace Requirements 

NEFA is a multi-state organization and an evolving and dynamic workplace. NEFA staff work in a variety of contexts, including in-person in Boston and remotely across New England and New York. For this position we welcome applications from individuals who are interested in working in-person or hybrid schedules ideally within a reasonable commuting distance that allows for at least one (1) day in the office per week for in-person team meetings. 

Physical/Mental Demands

Stationary position, occasional lifting (up to 15 lbs.), frequent travel (local/regional, including to events during hours outside 9-5 work hours), reasoning, decision-making, detailed work, communication, organization skills, reading, processing, synthesizing, analyzing.  

Application Instructions 

All candidates will apply using the application form at nefa.org/about/employment. If you need assistance in order to fully participate in the hiring process, you may request an accommodation by contacting NEFA’s co-accessibility coordinator: accessibility@nefa.org | tel/tty 617-423-1390. 

We ask all candidates to submit a current resume and a cover letter describing their interest in and preparedness for the role, and to respond to a limited set of questions about relevant skills. Please note that NEFA restricts the use of generative AI in our work. We request candidates submit materials that represent their unique voice, perspective, and original thoughts, to provide us with an accurate picture of your personal communication style and capacity to perform the essential duties of this role. 

The deadline to apply for this position is Monday, September 28, 2026. NEFA staff will review all applications submitted by the deadline. Applications received after the deadline may not be reviewed if the existing candidate pool is deemed sufficient. A NEFA team member will contact candidates selected for interviews approximately two weeks following the deadline. Please note, due to the volume of applications we receive, and our limited internal capacity, team members are not able to respond to every applicant individually. We kindly request you not contact individual NEFA staff about the hiring process. Instead, we invite you to direct your questions to the hiring team by email us at jobs@nefa.org.