Program Associate

The Brooklyn Rail is looking for a part-time temporary Programs Associate to join our programs team. Working with a full-time Programs Associate and reporting to the organization's Director of Programs, this role is essential to the smooth delivery of the Rail's beloved New Social Environment conversation program. 

Started in March 2020, The New Social Environment is a weekday conversation series delivered Monday–Friday at 1:00 PM ET on Zoom. Now at over 1,200 episodes, the program's events vary widely, covering contemporary art, performance, poetry, publishing, social justice, activism, and more with international viewership. What results is a unique, social art history, and living organism that accumulates from the diverse wisdom and experience of its participants. The program’s archive may be viewed here: https://brooklynrail.org/events/

Program Production: 

As a production support for the program, responsibilities are: 

• Act as “MC” for one weekly event on Zoom. This includes:  
• Public speaking: Introducing the public Zoom event following a script, as well as moderating the Q+A, and giving the concluding remarks as a representative of the Rail. Attend a read-through that morning with the Director of Programs
• Communication: Sending a thorough overview email to guests once they’ve been invited and confirmed by the Director of Programs; sending a morning email with the event link on the day of the conversation; sending the thank you email to guests following the event; creating artist dossiers, as requested, for hosts
• Meetings: Scheduling and running tech checks and run-throughs with all the program guests before their live event on Zoom, verifying name pronunciations, pronouns, and logging adjustments to slideshows 
• Technology support: Supporting guests with technology before and throughout live events 
• When supporting other team “MCs” on the program: 
• Recording support: Recording the program on Zoom and uploading to the organization's Drive storage and YouTube archive
• Audience support: Monitoring the audience and liaising across questions and technology questions; Posting links and gathering audience questions for MC review during the Q+A portion of the program
• Dossier support: Create in-depth dossiers for hosts on the program overall, as assigned by the Director of Programs. 
• Slideshow and document support: Working with the full-time Programs Associate, help assure all documents associated with the week’s programs are created and copyedited prior to the programs

Curatorial Administration: 

• Attend monthly “Ideas and Improvements” meetings organized by the Director of Programs and give input as to future programming, new hosts on the program, and new ideas for partnerships and collaborations

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree
• Passion for contemporary art
• Confidence in public speaking, with exceptional verbal and interpersonal skills and discretion 
• Ability to liaise with people of all backgrounds, age levels, and communications styles with professionalism and lack of assumption is a must
• Meticulous attention to detail across the minutiae of production 
• Editing experience a plus 
• Experience with Google Workplace, Microsoft Office, and Mailchimp. Adobe Suite and AirTable experience a plus

Specifics: 

• $20–$26 hourly, depending on experience 
• Three day week, with flexibility on weekdays worked 
• Occasional evening events as required
• Hybrid schedule
• This is a part-time temporary position that will commence mid-August and conclude at the beginning of December, 2025

The Brooklyn Rail is an equal opportunity employer that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected characteristic including, but not limited to, an individual’s sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy. We seek to recruit and develop a staff whose diversity reflects our community, and strongly encourage applications from people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of all ages, political beliefs, and cultures. 

About the Brooklyn Rail: 

Founded in October 2000 and currently published 10 times annually, the Brooklyn Rail provides an independent forum for arts, culture, and politics throughout New York City and far beyond.

Our journal, in addition to featuring local reporting; criticism of music, dance, film, and theater; and original fiction and poetry, covers contemporary visual art in particular depth. The Rail further fulfills its mission by curating art exhibitions, panel discussions, reading series and film screenings that reflect the complexity and inventiveness of the city’s artistic and cultural landscape. Other Rail initiatives include our small press, Rail Editions, and our recently launched curatorial endeavor, Rail Curatorial Projects, and our beloved weekday conversation series The New Social Environment. The Rail is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The journal is distributed free of charge around New York City, and ships to a growing list of national and international subscribers.

Learn more about the Rail via our website: https://brooklynrail.org/

Please email [email protected] with questions. 

Click here to apply.

We'll be reviewing applications on a rolling basis and encourage interested applicants to apply right away.

We cannot consider applications submitted after August 6.

08/06/2025