We're Hiring!
Brightworks is looking for a Part-Time After-School Collaborator / Playworker / Wonderful Human
Brightworks is a school that says “Yes.” You want to send a GoPro to the stratosphere in a weather balloon? Let’s do it! You want to build a sail car and go on a journey down an abandoned railway? Sure thing! You want to create a life sized simulation of a Mars habitat? Alright, let’s figure it out together! We trust that children are instinctual learners, and we value their partnership in their educational path. That is why we call our teachers “Collaborators”. We ask Collaborators to dream big, improvise, and learn alongside students. By taking the best practices from both early childhood education and hands-on, project-based experiential learning, we strive to meet students' needs in a flexible, mixed-age environment that breaks the traditional walls between school and the community outside the classroom. Brightworks is in its 12th year and currently consists of approximately 115 students ages 5-18.
AFTERCARE AT BRIGHTWORKS
We give kids the freedom to choose how they want to spend their afternoons, which means every day offers something new. A cluster of kids might be a 60’ Hot Wheels track. A few more might be dressed up in princess gowns making light-up fairy wands with LEDs and battery packs. Some kids might be baking vegan cookies in the kitchen, reading picture books together, doing acrobatic stunts on aerial silk, programming Scratch games, or building forts out of pillows and cardboard. The role of the Collaborator is to keep this chaos contained and help fill our space with rich tools, materials, and sources of inspiration that reflect kids’ interests. While the Collaborator will facilitate activities, it will rarely be with a group larger than a half-dozen kids. More often, the job is about listening to kids, playing with them, giving them the tools to express themselves, caring for them when they get hurt, and being a source of comfort, love, and joy at the end of their long day.
AFTERCARE COLLABORATOR POSITION, COMPENSATION, AND HOURS
We here at Brightworks are looking for a collaborator/playworker/afterschool expert (or plain ol’ rad human being) to join our team as an Aftercare Collaborator. This Collaborator will join a team responsible for the care of 5-12 year-olds in our aftercare program and potentially also support children’s play during other times of the school day, including lunch/park time.
The position is flexible and can be arranged to meet the needs of the right person, with the potential for hours ranging from 20-35 hours per week that are agreed upon at the time of hire. A weekly schedule: Would likely be 2:30 - 6:30 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays and 1:30 pm - 6:30 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Compensation will be based on qualifications and experience. Our scale ranges from $25.39 - $37.30/hour. Benefits may be available depending on the number of contracted hours agreed upon at the time of hire.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The position’s specific roles and responsibilities are similarly also dependent on the right fit and person, but in general, would include:
Helping curate and provide interesting play provocations as well as a rich, imaginative creative environment during Brightworks’ Aftercare program (all based upon and connected to the children’s interests and perspectives)
Developing meaningful, deep and supportive long-term relationships with the kids in Aftercare and across the school in general, as well as helping foster an overall culture of positive connection, caring and community;
Helping provide support and play opportunities during the school’s Lunch & Park Times, as well as potentially participating in BWX’s Community Friday times, where the whole school in all-ages, interest-based “clubs”.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We think great staff can come from any pocket of the world. Our staff has skills and interests in a dizzying range of fields from fiber arts to meditation, wine-making, adventure play and playwork, screenwriting, botany, interior design, digital fabrication, installation art, and social justice. We also want to make it clear that this is not a traditional education job — while we are open to candidates who come with educational experience (particularly those from Reggio Emilia-inspired or progressive education backgrounds), we’ve found that typically the best candidates are simply just positive, interesting, curious and creative people who are open to anything and excited about developing meaningful, long-term relationships with kids.
While we’re excited to get to know you and discover what stokes your passion, we’ll also take a particular interest in candidates that demonstrate the following superpowers:
Highly Fluent in the Languages of Children.
You need to be able to nimbly code-switch between talking to a five-year-old about their beloved stuffed bunny rabbit and a twelve-year-old about their favorite YouTuber. Being comfortable with how children naturally are — even when they’re at their loudest, wildest, and silliest — is key to being great at this job.
Relationship-builder.
Interested in building genuine, longer-term relationships with kids that can span over months and even years, as you become one of the constant, trusted go-to people for them who remain consistent and trusted at school over the years (even as they move on to different bands and work with different band collaborators).
Master Multi-tasker.
Sometimes little crises will erupt in Aftercare, like hurt feelings or stubbed toes. You’ll need to drop what you’re doing and tend to them. Sometimes multiple kids will vie for your attention and you’ll need to find a way to gracefully divide your time.
Comfortable with Mess (and/or Chaos).
Aftercare Collaborators play hard with kids, which means that you might leave work with grass stains on your knees or your fingernails painted purple or your shoes covered in sawdust. Leave your fancy clothes at home.
Curious, Creative, Collaborative, and Kind.
All of the characteristics that want to we nurture in children are the same values we look for in the folks we hire: Ask questions. Make things. Work together. Be nice. Never stop learning.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND HIRING TIMELINE
To apply to work at Brightworks, shoot an email to hiring @ sfbrightworks.org with the following PDF documents:
- Cover Letter (or other creative way to introduce yourself). How did you hear about us? Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you excited to work with us? Tell us about a recent project of yours that made you feel truly stoked!
- Résumé with relevant work experience. Please feel free to also include (or link to) any portfolio pieces showcasing other exciting and awesome stuff you’ve done before that might help give us a better idea of your passions and personality.
- We’re also looking for feedback and ideas! We’d love to hear from you, based on your own experiences and background, about how we might continue our quest to improve our school’s culture of play, creativity, and curiosity and we welcome any and all suggestions, inspiration, and interesting connections…
Brightworks is an equal-opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, pregnancy, and breastfeeding), sexual orientation (including heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality), national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, marital status, age, medical condition, genetic characteristics or information, military and veteran status, and physical or mental disability, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state or local laws.
- Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
- do NOT contact us with unsolicited services or offers
