Heritage Support Specialist

  • Department: Heritage
  • Location: 4Culture, 101 Prefontaine Pl S, Seattle, WA 98104
  • FLSA Status: Regular, Full-Time (37.5 hours), Exempt
  • Salary Range: Starting range is anticipated to be $26.99 - $33.65
  • Reports to: Chieko Phillips, Heritage Program Director
  • Apply by: Monday January 6, 2025, 5:00 pm PST
  • Anticipated Start Date: March 1, 2025

About Us

4Culture is an independent public agency, chartered under state law and King County ordinance in January 2003, after 35 years as the King County Office of Cultural Resources. The ideal candidate for this position champions public support for arts, culture, science, and technology and has demonstrated sustained commitment to advancing racial equity and social justice. As the cultural funding and services agency for King County, Washington, 4Culture works to make the region vibrant. The organization’s five program areas—Arts, Heritage, Historic Preservation, Public Art, and Science and Technology—put public resources to use all over King County.

Guided by a vision of a King County in which every person has what they need to explore and create culture, we’re working to become an actively anti-racist organization. We know that this work is urgent and ongoing; as a public agency, we’re committed to being transparent about our successes and failures. 4Culture is part of the system of white supremacy that has historically disadvantaged Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color. We are working to understand systems of structural racism, dismantle them with the tools available to us, and build up something equitable that supports and recognizes the value in cultural expression of all of people, especially those in King County.

About the Role

The Heritage Support Specialist provides support to the growth and evolution of King County’s heritage field within the framework of the 4Culture Heritage Program, as well as the broader cultural sector of King County through County Connected programs. This position provides administrative support for the work of the Heritage program and County Connected programs with an emphasis on coordinating the grantmaking process and collaborating with strategic partners to implement cultural support services activities.  The position reports directly to Heritage Program Director. Core aspects of this position include the following: 

  • Provide support for administration of County Connected programs and Heritage funding programs.
  • Work with 4Culture staff and partners to conduct outreach, surveys, data analysis, and technical support aimed at current and potential grant applicants.
  • Arrange logistics and provide administrative support for internal and external meetings

You will be most successful in this position if:

  • You are committed to supporting informal learning, public history, the development and preservation of historical and cultural resources for King County.
  • You value equally cultural organizations and individual practitioners, especially those historically underinvested in by cultural philanthropy and grantmaking.
  • You can work both independently and with 4Culture staff, board, County employees, media, and members of the general public effectively and professionally.
  • You have ability to prioritize multiple tasks and meet multiple varied deadlines.
  • You have experience with and enjoy working with data management.
  • You have strong written and oral communication skills, as well as aptitude for group facilitation and presentation, and interest in further developing these skills.
  • You enjoy working in a support capacity for programmatic work
  • You have familiarity with history and cultural resources in King County and Pacific Northwest.
  • You have understanding of trends, best, and current practices in heritage related fields.

Additionally, you will be prepared to take on this role if you have following experience, abilities, commitments, and skills:

Committed to:

  • Advancing racial equity and social justice in how you conduct your work.  
  • Building trust, accountability, and collaborative relationships with all stakeholders, including 4Culture staff, Advisory/Board members, and external stakeholders.
  • Excellent customer service and communication
  • Supporting the cultural sector of King County and all its districts

Experienced with:

  • Grant processes
  • Working directly with a range of cultural workers and people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
  • Supporting the presentation of ideas, guidelines, and policies to different types of people from diverse communities and backgrounds.
  • Providing solid customer service and support to internal and external stakeholders.
  • Working collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team on new initiatives. 

Skilled in:

  • Supporting several complex projects simultaneously, often in a deadline-oriented environment requiring creative and flexible solutions
  • Evaluating data in the form of charts, surveys, demographics, qualitative and quantitative
  • Data entry and management of large volume of data
  • Effective written and oral communication with both internal and external stakeholders including members of the public, 4Culture staff, Advisory Committee members, and Directors of the Board
  • Using Salesforce or other customer relationship software, Microsoft applications including, Word, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and other relevant administrative software and/or platforms

Have the ability to:

  • Be flexible and navigate ambiguity while remaining responsive to the needs of applicants and program participants
  • Remain detail-oriented while managing multiple timelines and tasks in context of a larger goal
  • Learn new digital systems, software, and other technology
  • Advocate for yourself and others including communicating your needs
  • Work independently and collaboratively in an open office environment (this position part-remote, part in-office).

Supervisory responsibilities:

  • This position has no supervisory responsibilities but may occasionally oversee interns and volunteers.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Support anti-racist, equitable grantmaking practices and procedures in the management, development, maintenance, and evaluation of Doors Open County Connected programs and Heritage funding programs.
  • Assist with administration of County Connected programs and Heritage funding programs’ funding application review process, including updating the application and guidelines.
  • Assist with responding to applicant questions, reviewing applications, assembling review panel information, scheduling panel meetings, recording panel comments and evaluation.
  • Assist with issuing grant contracts, tracking open contracts, and other grant administration tasks.
  • Assist with coordination and evaluation of cultural support services activities through collaborating with local and regional community representatives, cultural practitioners, cultural organizations, and fellow 4Culture staff
  • Assist departmental initiatives in broadening the pool of heritage organizations and practitioners who apply for and receive support from 4Cuture, in alignment with its racial equity initiative.
  • Identify, research, and develop innovative and timely content about the heritage field and broader cultural sector for marketing/communications needs.
  • Assist with coordination of On-Site Reviews for Heritage program-funded organizations.
  • Represent 4Culture at applicable local, state, regional and national events, meetings, and conferences. Examples include external panels and professional networks.
  • Arrange logistics for internal and external meetings for Heritage program. Serve as support staff for 4Culture Heritage Advisory Committee, including preparing meeting notifications, minutes, agendas, materials, and refreshments.
  • Maintain digital image library and Resource Room reference material.
  • Contribute to the overall health and welfare of 4Culture by participating on internal sub-committees that address overarching issues affecting the operations of the agency.
  • In accordance with King County records management law, regulations and best practice regularly utilize the County records management software Content Manager.

4Culture leadership has the right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time to ensure the success of the organization.

Minimum Qualifications:

We are looking for candidates that can demonstrate they have the skills listed above through a combination of their work, education, and life experience as demonstrated in their resume, and cover letter.

  • Two-years working within non-profit cultural organizations, cultural production, or museums; public agencies or departments, or equivalent combination of education and experience in related fields.
  • Enthusiasm for expanding the histories preserved and communities served through public resources, as well as interest in engaging with broader cultural sector
  • Experience with Salesforce or other customer relationship management software, and MS Office 365 including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and SharePoint. 

Desired Qualifications

  • Ability to exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality. 
  • Moderate fluency (written and spoken) in languages other than English.

Work Environment

  • Position works a 37.5 hour work week, Monday–Friday. 
  • This position will primarily be onsite 4Culture at 101 Prefontaine Pl S, Seattle, WA. Seattle. This position is hybrid (3 days in the office/2 days remote). 
  • Occasional early morning, evening and/or weekend hours are required.  
  • Alternative work arrangements may be considered and will be based on operational needs. 
  • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Compensation:

The pay range for this position is between $26.99 - $40.38. Starting range is anticipated to be $26.99 - $33.65. Salary will be negotiated and based on the selected candidate and their experience and includes a competitive package of benefits. It is classified as Regular Full Time, non-exempt.

Benefits of Working at 4Culture

Working at 4Culture provides the chance to support and learn from the cultural community that makes King County a vibrant region to live in. Our mission affirms a deep commitment to racial equity as we work with our community to end institutional and structural racism. We work toward this goal, while supporting the physical and mental health of all 4Culture employees. Maintaining an appropriate work life balance is essential to our work, and 4Culture prioritizes staff wellness and the continual evolution of a healthy organizational culture.

The perks of working at 4Culture include:

  • A 37.5 work week, flex schedule
  • 12 days of vacation in the first five years of employment
  • 12 days of paid Holiday (including Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples’ Day)
  • Sick leave and 12 weeks of paid Family and Medical Leave after working over 1 year at 4Culture; access to a lactation room.
  • Orca transit card
  • Attractive comprehensive health insurance package consisting of medical, dental, vision, and basic life and long-term disability insurance for employees.

To Apply

Apply online no later than Monday, January 6, 2025, 5:00 pm PDT. You will need to log in or create a 4Culture account in order to access the application.

Apply online no later than the deadline. You will need to log in or create a 4Culture account in order to access the application.

Please contact  if you have any difficulty with this process.

The privacy of applicants will be respected and preserved until the last phase of the hiring process. For example, references will be checked during the process of interviewing the finalists and with the applicant’s knowledge.

No Discrimination in Hiring

4Culture is committed to upholding and promoting equal opportunity in employment. We recognize that diverse perspectives, ideas, cultures, and life experiences of all employees are critical to our success. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that reflects our residents, meets the needs of the communities we serve, and leverages the power of our employee's individual uniqueness. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to creed, age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical handicap, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability unless such limitations are necessary for the performance of the role and no less discriminatory alternatives are available.

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