Assistant Manager, Sound Office

newschool; United States; On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The New School's Parsons School for Design seeks an Assistant Manager of the Sound Office for the Making Center in New York. This exempt administrative role supports sound, video, and related equipment across labs, studios, and spaces, coordinating with students, faculty, and staff.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree with 3-5 years of experience, strong knowledge of sound practices, and the ability to manage technicians, budgets, and schedules in a fast-paced environment year-round.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor's Degree and 3-5 years of relevant or professional experience within the industry.
• Flexible schedule - ability to work non-traditional hours including nights and weekends.
• Completion of university required staff trainings within the first 6 months of employment.
• Advanced knowledge of sound practices and related equipment/software.
• Experience maintaining, repairing, and troubleshooting equipment/tools.
• Full technical knowledge of sound technologies including monitors, microphones, mixers, and related gear.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of the Sound Office and oversee equipment checkout for students.
• Supervise full-time technicians and student workers: hiring, training, scheduling, and performance tracking.
• Manage a fixed budget for inventories, projects, and repairs.
• Assist supervisor with facility improvement projects, procurement decisions, and data collection on usage.
• Maintain calendars, shop signage, safety orientations, and documentation for labs and equipment.
• Coordinate with Making Center leadership and external vendors for repairs and maintenance.

Skills

Sound design

Equipment repair

Budget management

Customer service

Education

Bachelor's degree in field relevant to arts/production

3-5 years professional experience in related role

Tools

Studio equipment

Audio software

Mac OS

Job description

Join The New School At The New School, we redefine the boundaries of education, creativity, and innovation. Founded in 1919 and located in the heart of New York City, we are home to over 9,000 students from over 100 countries , offering more than 135 degree and diploma programs across our renowned colleges, including Parsons School of Design, The New School for Social Research, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, Parsons Paris, and the College of Performing Arts . Our progressive, interdisciplinary approach has earned us recognition as one of the most forward-thinking institutions in the world.

POSITION/ROLE OVERVIEW

Parsons School for Design, a division of The New School, seeks an Assistant Manager of the Sound Office for the Making Center. The Making Center is a collection of more than 70,000 sq.ft. of labs, shops, studios, and open workspaces that provide curricular support for making across a broad range of mediums and disciplines, and support experimentation and interdisciplinary collaboration. The Assistant Manager should be a personable, proactive, detail-oriented individual who will become integral to the daily workings of the facilities within the Making Center, with the ability to learn new skills and technologies as needed. This is a fast-paced, dynamic environment that runs year-round. The Assistant Manager will interface with students, faculty, and staff to support multiple processes and equipment resources for all users in a range of making practices including sound recording studios, equipment resources, and media production studios. This is an exempt administrative position that reports to the Assistant Director of Sound & Filmmaking Operations .

CORE CAPABILITIES, PRIMARY DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain a clean and safe working environment and uphold a respectful shop culture for students, faculty, and staff.
• Oversee daily workings of the Sound Office, a major resource open to New School students supporting sound, video, and related equipment available for on- and off-campus check-out.
• Management of full-time technicians and student workers, including interviewing, hiring, training, scheduling, tracking accountability, task assignment, scheduling/attending team and one-on-one meetings, and coordination and/or providing emergency coverage for unexpected absences.
• Manage a fixed budget, including tracking, planning, and prioritization of expenses related to inventories, schedules, projects, and repairs.
• Assist supervisor and Making Center Leadership with the following:
  • Facility improvement projects, shows and installations, and special initiatives as needed.
  • Hardware/software purchase recommendations as they pertain to the curriculum.
  • Maintaining policies and systems for checkout, satellite store, scheduling, record keeping, and inventories, in addition to generating macro and micro levels of usage data and statistics - evaluating and updating these as needed.
• Organize calendars and communications for facilities, including creation of website updates, shop signage, safety orientations, technical/instructional documentation for labs/equipment, workshops, class demos, deliveries, special events, and modified holiday hours.
• Work across systems in the Making Center, connecting separate areas in order to streamline efficiency and communication.
• Facilitate equipment repair and maintenance, including in-house repairs and coordination with external vendors to manage repair processes.
• Adapt to changes in the work environment; adjust approach and prioritize competing demands as necessary.
• Provide a high level of customer service, maintaining a positive and professional demeanor and attitude in all interactions with students, faculty, and staff.
• Cultivate a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming learning environment with productive and positive workplace relationships.
• Stay current with relevant technology and developments within the field.
• Attend regularly scheduled Making Center staff meetings and perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• A Bachelor's Degree and 3-5 years of relevant or professional experience within the industry.
• Flexible schedule - ability to work non-traditional schedules that may include nights and weekends, in addition to scheduling shifts with semester changes.
• Completion of university required staff trainings and necessary COF's for all Making Center Facilities within the first 6 months of employment.
• Advanced knowledge of a variety of sound practices; be familiar with equipment and software related to current sound design practices - including: studio-based and experimental processes, digital input/output, and industry-standard software applications.
• Experience maintaining, repairing, and troubleshooting equipment/tools.
• Full technical knowledge of sound-based analog and digital technologies, including but not limited to monitors, microphones, control panels, preamps, mixers, media players, Mac mini(s), tablets, and other sm