Arts & Culture Associate

Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 63,273 - 77,334; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully paid health/dental/vision benefits

401k plan

Generous vacation and sick time

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

A community organization seeks an Arts and Culture Associate to enhance engagement through arts and culture in South Los Angeles. The role involves curating events, coordinating actions, and collaborating across departments to uplift community narratives. Ideal candidates should have strong communication skills, a commitment to social justice, and experience in project coordination. This full-time position offers competitive salary and benefits, aiming to support grassroots organizing through cultural initiatives.

Qualifications

• 1-2 years of experience in project coordination or event production.
• Strong skills in communication and writing.
• Commitment to social justice and understanding of issues in low-income communities.

Responsibilities

• Curate and develop dynamic arts and cultural projects.
• Coordinate the planning and execution of events and direct actions.
• Support arts and cultural programming to enhance community engagement.

Skills

Cultural fluency

Communication skills

Project coordination

Event production

Writing skills

Education

Bachelor’s Degree preferred

Job description

The Arts and Culture Associate position presents an exciting opportunity to enhance SCOPE’s utilization of arts and culture within our organizing strategies to educate, empower, and mobilize South LA residents to take action toward improving their material conditions.

This role centers cultural fluency and deep ties to Black and Brown communities in South LA. The ideal candidate keeps an ear to the street and is rooted in the cultural pulse of South LA—knowing who and what’s up-and-coming in Black and Brown cultural spaces. They are in tune with multigenerational artists, musicians, influencers, storytellers, businesses, and political figures who shape the community’s creative expression and cultural identity.

Responsibilities include curating and developing both signature and one-off events and activations—such as Black History Month Celebration, Earth Day, and Juneteenth—as well as supporting the logistical and creative elements of marches, rallies, protests, and direct actions. This includes designing visuals, coordinating performances, and integrating art, music, and storytelling to amplify campaign messages and build movement energy on the ground. The role also entails overseeing and implementing all aspects of event and action planning from start to finish, including booking venues, coordinating logistics, working with vendors and artists, managing production, transportation, and staffing.

The Arts and Culture Associate reports directly to the Communications and Cultural Programs Manager within the Communications team and collaborates across departments to integrate art, culture, and narrative strategy into SCOPE’s campaigns, actions, and community engagement. This position offers a unique opportunity to uplift joy, resistance, healing, and collective care through cultural work that amplifies grassroots organizing. The ideal candidate possesses exceptional communication skills, meticulous attention to detail, and a strategic vision to develop and implement innovative arts and culture initiatives that reflect and uplift SCOPE’s values, campaigns, and community power.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities (50%)

• Collaborate with local artists and staff to curate and develop dynamic arts and cultural projects that align with SCOPE’s mission and community objectives.
• Support arts and cultural programming to enhance community engagement and strengthen organizing strategies.
• Write and coordinate engaging content for multiple platforms, including email, blogs, websites, and other publications, that reflects the vibrancy and diversity of South LA.
• Generate original content for SCOPE’s social media channels, including but not limited to
• Contribute to the production and editing of materials such as brochures, flyers, and fact sheets, adapting content for digital dissemination as needed.
• Manage communication projects as assigned, liaising with relevant parties to ensure timely delivery of materials and maintaining consistency with SCOPE’s branding.

Event Planning / Action Planning (40%)

• Collaborate closely with Communications and Organizing team members to carry out cultural strategies and/or programming, including event production, creative digital and online strategies, and logistics.
• Coordinate the planning and execution of direct actions, rallies, marches, and public demonstrations in collaboration with staff, partners, and community leaders.
• Lead key aspects of art and cultural events and projects from concept to completion.
• Serve as the main point of contact for artists and event production vendors.
• Assist in planning and facilitating Arts and Culture committee meetings.
• Work with creative consultants to implement digital strategies.
• Track key work areas and provide regular reports and updates to the Communications and Cultural Programs Manager.
• Coordinate, review, troubleshoot, and provide feedback to creative consultants.
• Serve as a key thought partner and collaborator within the organization.

Organizational Development (10%)

• Support the communications skills development of staff and grassroots members through technical assistance, training, and identifying external resources as needed.
• Support the management and growth of SCOPE’s email list.
• Track, evaluate, and report on the effectiveness of communications activities.
• Provide cross-department support and capacity as needed.

Essential Knowledge and Abilities

• 1-2 years of experience in a project coordination or event production role.
• Bachelor’s Degree preferred, or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• A demonstrated commitment to social justice, racial justice, and economic justice, and a familiarity with the intertwined, intersectional issues that shape material conditions in low-income and communities of color, as well as their structural/root causes.
• A deep commitment to building a multiracial base of leaders in South Los Angeles.
• Stellar communication, presentation, problem-solving, and project coordination skills.
• Strong writing skills, including the ability to draft and carry out strategies.
• Prefer experience with economic/social/environmental justice, workforce development, labor organizing, advocacy, education, public administration, and/or working with communities of color and populations facing barriers to employment (e.g. formerly incarcerated/houseless/foster youth).
• Prefer familiarity with grassroots organizing, voter engagement, and campaigns.
• Excellent time and work management skills, and the ability to handle multiple projects and meet deadlines under pressure.
• Strong cultural fluency and deep ties to Black and Brown communities in South LA, with a sharp awareness of emerging artists, influencers, storytellers, and cultural leaders shaping local creative expression.
• Ability to effectively work with South Los Angeles community residents and SCOPE grassroots leadership.
• Ability to work independently and collectively, and possession of strong interpersonal communication skills.
• Willingness to work longer hours and weekends when necessary.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license, maintain current auto insurance, and reliable transportation.

Work Environment: This position operates 100% on‑site in a professional office environment, with occasional travel locally, statewide, and nationally for relevant meetings and events. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and photocopiers. The noise level in the work environment is usually consistent with that of a typical office’s noise level.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This job requires that the employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Also required is the ability to listen, hear, speak, read, write, concentrate, and climb stairs, bend, and stoop. Must be able to use a telephone and computer to accomplish a variety of job tasks.

Employment Type: This is a full‑time, exempt, at‑will staff position. Exempt employees are expected to work the appropriate and necessary time within reason in order to complete key assignments and related tasks on schedule. The schedule may fluctuate depending on organizational needs. This role is considered non‑supervisory, and non‑confidential and is therefore subject to union participation. Although a collective bargaining agreement has not yet been established, this position would be governed by a negotiated collective bargaining process between SCOPE and the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, UAW Local 2320.

SCOPE is committed to ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. We strongly encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for our open positions. SCOPE is an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to their race, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, age, disability, marital status or medical condition.

Compensation & Benefits

Competitive starting salary of $70,304, fully paid benefits (health/dental/vision), 401k, generous vacation and sick time, professional development, and room to grow professionally. SCOPE is a values‑based organization committed to challenging discrimination and oppression—people of color and people of diverse gender identities and abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

HOW TO APPLY

To Apply: Please submit 1) cover letter, 2) resume, 3) portfolio, and 4) three professional references. Also answer the following questions:

• What do you see as the value of arts and culture in a movement for justice?
• Tell us about your past experiences – projects you’ve led, collaborations you’ve built, or creative ways you’ve used art to connect with community.
• Paint us a picture of your South LA: what it means to you.

Please share a portfolio that shows your creative work and community impact. Videos/photos of events produced, flyers, writing samples, visual art, performance clips, social media campaigns, or any other projects that highlight your role in bringing arts and culture to life.