Dance Studio Program Manager (Early Childhood Dance Teacher)

This position is for someone who loves young children, teaching dance, creating fun, and developing others!

JOB TITLE: Early Childhood & Supplementary Program Manager (covering the areas of Early Childhood Dance, Class Assistant, and Camp programs)

JOB LOCATION: Oak Park, IL

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full-time (32-40 hours a week) hourly, non-exempt employee

COMPENSATION: Starting pay is $20 an hour. Alternative pay rate offered for teaching hours.

BENEFITS: Medical, dental, vision insurance, 401K with employer matching, paid time off (sick leave), select paid holidays, birthday floating holiday, uniform stipend, studio rental & usage perks, on-location substitute instructor available when necessary, pre-scheduled vacation during studio off-weeks (approximately 5-7 weeks per year: Spring Break, Summer-Fall Session Break, Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break)

REPORTING:

• Manager: reports to the Program Operations Manager
• Co-workers: works with other Program Managers and administrative team members. Coordination with instructors and their program manager occurs daily.
• Direct Reports: manages seasonal summer camp staff (approx. 8 part-time), and youth volunteer class assistants. (Class Assistants are not employees, but this role oversees and manages them similar to employees as part of their training program.)

EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY: Dance studio in Oak Park is looking to fill a full-time Early Childhood & Supplementary Program Manager position with responsibilities of the Early Childhood Dance Program, Class Assistant Program, and Camp Program. This position is also part of our Front Desk Staff.

A typical Friday for this position begins at 2:00pm with office work before customers arrive. This might include updating lesson plans for early childhood dance classes, responding to customer phone calls or internal emails, reviewing class assistant schedules, or planning fun recital choreography. Customers arrive for classes between 3:30pm and 8:30pm. This time is spent greeting students, assisting with customer service needs, teaching dance classes for ages 2-9, executing any special customer experience initiatives, and providing support to other instructors. Friday evening may finish with supervising a Parents’ Night Out childcare event until around 9:30pm when all students are picked up and the facilities are closed for the end of the night.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Early Childhood Dance Program

• Design, update, and maintain curriculum for ages 2–9, ensuring alignment with developmental milestones.
• Plan and execute theme weeks, term transitions, and seasonal updates (e.g., switching out class props for new terms).
• Prepare and update lesson plans, class expectations manuals, and recital choreography for PreCombo and beginner-level classes.
• Serve as lead instructor for PreCombo dance classes (ages 2–5) and other assigned early childhood classes.
• Train and mentor instructors in early childhood teaching techniques and classroom management.
• Coordinate communications to parents, including curriculum updates, event notices, and special recognitions.

Class Instruction

• Prepare for class (syllabus or own design if no syllabus)
• Teach class
• Take accurate attendance
• Recital choreography, music, projection, costume selection completed and provided on time
• Communicate or learn any shared recital choreography, music, projection, or costume
• Recital picture poses
• Recital practice videos
• Complete Pre/Beginning Recital Stage Layout forms for applicable classes
• Provide student class-level recommendation
• Communicate studio events and information to students in class
• Participate in themed weeks
• Assist at recital

Class Assistant Program

• Recruit, schedule, and supervise Class Assistants, ensuring adequate coverage for all classes, events, and rentals.
• Foster a positive and inclusive work environment, promoting TranscenDance Studios core values
• Maintain a high level of Class Assistant satisfaction.
• Coordinate Class Assistant session schedules and supervise shift trades, ensuring adequate coverage for classes, rentals, and events (community festivals, recital, etc.)
• Lead training meetings (3 per year)
• Oversee and approve shift logs
• Oversee tier advancement
• Continue to improve and develop the Class Assistant Training Program so that membership is firmly established as a highly sought-after stepping stone, valuable to students seeking leadership and education careers.
• Plan end-of-season gifts
• Plan and lead end-of-season pizza party

Camp Program

• Curriculum design
• Supply ordering
• Scheduled email communications
• Recruit, train, and manage lead and assistant counselor staffing
• Oversee and approve camp staff shift logs

Front desk & admin support

• Lobby presentation
• Secondary lobby supervision
• Secondary customer service
• Recommendation Form completion
• Team invitation completion
• Additional administrative support as needed
• Substitute for front desk admin when necessary

SHIFT SUMMARY:

This position includes shifts and responsibilities that may fluctuate seasonally. Hired employee will work 5 days a week and may be scheduled on a varying combination of weekday and weekend days.

A sample school year schedule might be:

• Sunday off with the exception of special events
• Monday 2:00-9:45pm
• Tuesday 2:00-9:45pm
• Wednesday 2:00-9:45pm
• Thursday 2:00-9:45pm
• Friday off with the exception of special events
• Saturday 8:00am-2:00pm

A sample summer schedule might be:

• Monday-Friday 8:30am-3:30pm (Summer Camps)

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Background in Early Childhood Education, child development, or a related field (required).
• Minimum 2 years of teaching dance to children ages 2–9 (required).
• Competence in the styles of ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop for ages 2-9 (required).
• Knowledge of emotional and physical developmental abilities for ages 2-9 (required).
• Applicants must submit to and pass a background check for working with children (required).
• Proficiency in Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Drive) and comfortable learning industry-specific software (e.g., class registration, scheduling tools) (required).
• High school diploma or equivalent (required); Bachelor’s degree (preferred)
• Prior experience in program coordination, youth program management, or event planning (preferred).
• Experience supervising and developing staff or volunteers (preferred).
• Reliable mode of transportation enabling dependable timeliness (required).

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Operational & Administrative Skills

• Ability to design and deliver engaging, developmentally appropriate lesson plans to instructors.
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple programs, deadlines, and seasonal calendars simultaneously.
• Basic budget management skills, including tracking expenses and staying within preset budgets.
• Accuracy and attention to detail in administrative work, including scheduling, recordkeeping, and customer account management.
• Enjoyment of administrative duties and willingness to handle a variety of program coordination tasks.

Customer Service & Interpersonal Skills

• A genuine love for working with children ages 2–9.
• Delight and creativity in interacting with parents and children.
• Ability to respond to inquiries professionally and within required timelines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for both internal and customer-facing needs.
• Demonstrated ability to build rapport with children, parents, and staff, fostering a positive and inclusive community.
• Conflict resolution skills and the ability to maintain professionalism under pressure.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, especially during events.
• Ability to manage direct reports.

Physical & Scheduling Requirements

• Ability to work a flexible schedule that includes evenings and weekends during the school year, and daytime hours during summer camp sessions.
• Capable of light physical activity related to class instruction, event setup, and program materials.
• Willingness to partake in light housekeeping duties (note: custodial crew handles overnight cleaning).

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, functions or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, functions, activities or responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice.

TO APPLY, PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

• Name
• Address
• Phone
• Email
• Cover letter
• Resume
• Current employment and recent employment history
• Potential conflicts
• 3 references

Thank you!

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Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $20.00 - $45.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person