About Our Job

With competitive pay, great benefits, and endless opportunities, working for the City and County of Denver means seeing yourself working with purpose — for you, and those who benefit from your passion, skills, and expertise. Join our diverse, inclusive, and talented workforce of more than 11,000 team members who are at the heart of what makes Denver, Denver. 

What We Offer 

The City and County of Denver's Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) offers Arts and Culture programming throughout the year at many of our 30 recreation centers. We offer a wide variety of classes in areas such as: fine arts, pottery, ceramics, sewing, music, dance, creative writing, and a wide range of crafts and creative early childhood programming (18 month – 5 years), youth programming (6-18), and adult programs (18+). Our Recreation Instructors lead classes of 4-12 participants through a preset schedule of weekly sessions to become familiar and confident in the topic area of choice. Our programming offers our Instructors the opportunity to teach a variety of age groups in recreation centers throughout the city. 

Location 

In this position you can expect to work on site at a Denver Recreation Center

What You’ll Do 

Denver Parks and Recreation offers Arts and Culture programming throughout the year at many of our recreation centers. We offer a wide variety of classes in areas such as: fine arts, pottery, ceramics, sewing, music, dance, creative writing and a wide range of crafts and creative early childhood programming (18 month – 5 years), youth programming (6-18), and adult programs (18+). Our Recreation Instructors lead classes of 4-12 participants through a preset schedule of weekly sessions to become familiar and confident in the topic area of choice. Our programming offers our Instructors the opportunity to teach a variety of age groups in recreation centers throughout the city.

Our department is looking to hire a friendly and fun Activity Leader, Pottery Instructor who has a passion for connecting communities through the arts.

In this role you will:

• Create, plan, implement, and instruct pottery classes for Denver’s communities, including youth and adults
• Firing student pottery, loading, and unloading kilns
• Create supply lists for classes
• Setup before, and breakdown/cleanup after each class
• Respond to class-specific inquiries from participants and community members
• Collect and report feedback to the Arts and Culture Program Coordinators for future programming improvement
• Manage pottery spaces to ensure they are clean, orderly, and organized
• Assist coordinators with future programming ideas and community engagement; help mentor newer art instructors as need

What You’ll Bring 

We value diversity of ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, gender, religion, language, ability, and experience and exemplify this through the makeup of our team at all levels. You'll be right at home here if you cultivate strong relationships and push yourself, your work, the people around you and Denver to the next level. 

Our instructors must have a passion and knowledge of arts and culture activities and should possess strong skills in communication and organization. We are looking for candidates who are enthusiastic about connecting communities and sparking creativity.

Additionally, our ideal candidate will possess one or more of the following:

• Expertise in pottery, ceramics, and using a kiln
• Experience teaching throwing on a pottery wheel
• Experience working with all age groups and diverse communities
• Prior experience planning, managing, or coordinating art programs
• Bilingual skills preferred, but not required
• Ability to travel between Denver’s recreation centers throughout the city as needed

Required Minimum Qualifications 

We realize your time is valuable so please do not apply if you do not have at least the following required minimum qualifications: 

• Education Requirement: Graduation from high school or the possession of a GED, HiSET or TASC Certificate 
• Experience Requirement: Two (2) years of experience (paid or volunteer) as an instructor in an organized specialized formal program.
• Education and Experience Equivalency: Additional appropriate education may be substituted for the minimum experience requirements 
• Licensures/Certification: Requires certification in CPR/First Aid at the time of application or prior to completion of probation period.  Licensure and certification must be kept current as a condition of employment.

About Everything Else

Job Profile

To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here.

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Agency

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law. 

It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact [email protected] with three business days’ notice.

Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.