Design & Program Manager

About Open Heart Magic

Open Heart Magic: Working on the front lines of when kids need help the most, right at their hospital bedsides

Open Heart Magic (OHM) began in 2004 with the mission of bringing the transformative and therapeutic power of magic to kids facing the toughest medical situations. At the end of 2019, more than 160 of our volunteer Hospital Magicians were performing and teaching kids magic at their hospital bedsides. OHM volunteers change the hospital experience for young patients by taking their minds off their fears, bringing them hope, and making them feel stronger to tackle their illnesses. In 2019, our Bedside Magic® programs reached over 12,000 children one-on-one at fifteen children’s hospitals in Chicago, Ann Arbor and Cleveland, including Lurie Children’s Hospital, University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic. In 2020, we launched an exciting new pilot program, Magic Delivery™, to help empower kids facing serious challenges without volunteer programming being offered.

CLICK HERE for a quick overview of our unique Bedside Magic program

CLICK HERE for a quick look at our new Magic Delivery program

Design a Brighter Future for Sick Kids

The Design & Program Manager is not your typical design position, because we are not your typical children’s charity.

The OHM community is filled with dynamic, talented, and dedicated people – more than 200 volunteers commit their time and energy to serve as Hospital Magicians, Board Directors, Professional Board members, and Charity Team athletes. We’re looking for someone who is eager to bring their own energy and talents to the OHM team while embracing a cause that is beloved by so many.

As Design & Program Manager, you will help advance OHM’s mission in two essential ways: 1) provide training and support to our amazing volunteer community; and 2) spread joy and hope through the OHM brand.

The OHM brand is fun, playful, upbeat, and adventurous – reflecting our community of highly invested and highly entertaining characters. We’re looking for a designer who is excited to be a driver of this identity while using their own creativity to build off the OHM brand.

Here’s who we are looking for:

• A creative, design-forward thinker who can maintain – and advance – our existing brand’s look and voice
• A fun, energetic, and responsive person who can gain the trust and respect of our volunteer community
• An independent driver and problem-solver who can manage multiple projects without missing a beat
• An outgoing, positive person who can connect with our small staff and large community
• Someone unafraid to learn – and master – new skills because nothing is quite like helping sick kids get their magic back

Here’s what you should have:

• 2-3 years of design and marketing experience, including designing internal marketing PDFs, external brochures, postcards, direct mailers, packaging design, and more
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite required (additional experience in Adobe Premier Pro is a plus); Mailchimp and social media savviness; willingness to learn new skills is a must
• A drive for wanting to manage events and activities for large groups of people
• An eye for editing, plus strong storytelling and writing skills
• Desire to learn, perform, and teach magic to volunteers; existing magic/performance experience of any kind is not required, but a plus
• Availability to work some nights and weekends for trainings, special events, and meetings
• Enthusiasm for participating as a volunteer to gain first-hand understanding of our programs
• Willingness to travel for volunteer community engagement in Ann Arbor and Cleveland
• Ability to accept feedback and direction while managing multiple projects
• Ability to lift and move 25 lb. boxes, set up events, and dive in to do whatever is needed
• Access to reliable transportation to OHM’s downtown Chicago (Loop) office

Here’s what you’ll spend your time doing:

• Event Marketing Oversight – create exciting, new designs and marketing materials that will enhance OHM fundraising events, campaigns, and Charity Team activities
• Brand Management – provide creative design solutions, consistent with brand identity, to support OHM’s internal and external marketing needs
• Content Development – create processes to capture stories from internal community and other meaningful content to position OHM as a nonprofit thought leader
• Volunteer Management – oversee hospital partner schedules and run volunteer activities, such as trainings, meetups, and National Conferences
• Training Oversight – serve as point person for Magic University training sessions, including class prep, training facilitating, connecting with trainers/students during the week, etc.
• Magic Development – work with Executive Director and Sr. Director of Marketing & Program Development on new performance tricks and Secret Lesson tricks
• Other duties – eagerly do whatever else is needed; everyone on OHM staff wear many hats

Compensation & Benefits:

• $44,000 to $50,050 in total compensation (salary plus bonus) to start, depending on experience
• Full-time position with flexible workdays
• Medical and 401(k)
• Mac laptop provided
• iPhone provided after 6 months
• Monthly Ventra card provided (if needed for work travel)
• Time off for sick days, vacation, holidays
• Future compensation based on performance and OHM growth

Ready to Work Magic for Sick Kids?

To apply for this position, please respond to the following questions in the body of your email and submit PDFs of your resume and three relevant design examples. If you prefer, you can submit a PDF of your full portfolio or provide a link to it.

1. Besides helping sick kids in challenging situations, why do you want to work for a non-profit and, specifically, for Open Heart Magic?
2. Which 5 software applications are you most proficient with?
3. Do you have any experience learning, performing or teaching close up magic? You don’t need to, but we’re curious.

Send your email to: [email protected].

Best of luck. We think you’re already incredible for wanting to work for a nonprofit that helps kids. Thanks for applying.