Assistant Costume Shop Manager

Assistant Costume Shop Manager

The School of Theatre and Dance in the College of the Arts is looking for an Assistant Costume Shop Manager to join our team. The successful candidate will collaborate with students, staff, and faculty to create costumes for theatre and dance productions. Additionally, this role will assist the Costume Shop Manager with operational functions and curriculum needs. The costume area supports between three and four productions per semester (fall, spring, summer).
The University of Florida College of the Arts intends to be a transformative community, responding to and generating foundational shifts in the arts and beyond.  As business and academic professionals, artists, scholars, advisors, and teachers, we, the staff of the College, embrace the complexity of our evolving human experience and seek to empower our colleagues, students, and faculty to respond to and shape that experience fearlessly through critical thinking, creativity, constructive questioning, and respectful dialogue. We seek a colleague who engages with openness and enthusiasm for the work and the mission of the college. We seek a colleague who possesses skills in designing and facilitating work that advances curiosity, inclusion, open intellectual discourse, and the well-being of all in an environment of complex diversity. We seek a colleague who identifies as a trusted steward of resources, balancing institutional requirements and the demand for innovative solutions.
The School of Theatre and Dance intends to engage in human-centered production practices. We work collaboratively to encourage healthy work-life integration and believe in fostering a positive work atmosphere that recognizes and appreciates the contributions of our staff.  

The University of Florida is an equal opportunity institution dedicated to building a broadly diverse and inclusive faculty, seeking faculty of all races, ethnicities, genders, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.   

Responsibilities:

• Support costume shop workflow, documentation, and communication as construction, alterations, and crafts move through the production process.
• Support the realization of costume design renderings or sketches through costume construction, alterations, and embellishments.
• Facilitate costume fittings in collaboration with Costume Shop Manager and Lecturer in Costume Technology by coordinating fittings for each production with stage management, leading fittings, and documenting fittings notes to inform costume shop workflow.
• Support daily operations and maintenance needs in the costume shop and costume area related spaces including measurements, stock organization, costume borrow/loans, equipment maintenance, and related managerial responsibilities.
• Assist with construction of garments for costume builds, including creating mock-ups for fittings.
• Support the Costume Shop Manager in training undergraduate wardrobe teams and developing wardrobe paperwork.
• Support the Costume Shop Manager with supply inventory and purchasing.  
• Attend and participate in school meetings and dress rehearsals as needed.
• Communicate with professional staff, faculty, and students to manage time effectively in order to complete projects by production deadlines.
• Interact with graduate and undergraduate students as a professional role model in the Costume
• Shop.
• Fulfill other duties as assigned, demonstrating flexibility and adaptability in contributing to the overall success of the School of Theatre and Dance.

$45,000 with a comprehensive and highly competitive leave and benefits package. *

High school diploma or equivalent and six years of relevant experience. Appropriate college coursework or vocational/technical training may substitute at an equivalent rate for the required experience.

Preferred Qualifications in order of importance:

• Appropriate vocational/technical/manufacturers training may qualify as relevant experience.
• Bachelor’s degree and two (2) years of professional costume technology, or equivalent
• experience. 
• Working knowledge and skills in costume construction and flat patterning. Draping and tailoring skills a plus. 
• Working knowledge of crafts and/or millinery skills. 
• Ability to engage with students learning at varying skill levels. 
• Ability to collaborate, plan, and prioritize work assignments with students and professional staff. 
• Knowledge and ability to maintain, operate, and provide guidance for costume shop sewing equipment, including domestic and industrial sewing machines, sergers, blind hemmers, cover stitch, steam irons, and cutting tools. 
• Ability to lift up to 30 pounds and stand for extended periods of time.  
• Awareness of costume shop health and safety protocols.
• Evidence of work that advances curiosity, inclusion, open intellectual discourse, and the well- being of all in an environment of complex diversities.

Location and Schedule:

This position is expected to perform their duties on the UF main campus in Gainesville, Florida. 

The standard working hours for this position are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. However, occasional evening and weekend commitments are anticipated. Flexibility in scheduling is available to ensure a harmonious balance between work and personal life.
Expected start date 07/01/2024

Application Deadline: Review of applications will begin April 23, 2024, and continue until an applicant pool is established. To ensure full consideration, all application documents must be submitted by April 22, 2024 at 11:55 p.m. (ET). Applications received after this date may be considered at the discretion of the committee and/or hiring authority. 

Application Process: Applications must be submitted via the University of Florida’s online application system at Careers at UF.

Online applications must include the following:

The Search Committee may request additional materials at a later time. 

Inquiries may be sent to:
Joseph Musgrove
Chair, Assistant Costume Shop Manager Search
Email: [email protected]

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call +1 (352) 392- 2477or the Florida Relay System at +1 (800) 955-8771 (TDD). Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. Searches are conducted in accordance with Florida's Sunshine Law.

SCHOOL OF THEATRE + DANCE: The light-filled Nadine McGuire Theatre and Dance Pavilion is home to the School of Theatre + Dance (SoTD). The School’s international full-time faculty of 35 recognized artists and researchers, complemented by adjunct and guest faculty and staff, including full- and part-time professionals. The School offers MFA curricula in acting and in design, which includes scene design, lighting design and costume design; BFA programs in acting, musical theatre, and theatrical production with concentrations in costume, digital media, lighting, scenic, and sound; and a BA with concentrations in general theatre, stage management, and theatre management. The School features two degree programs in dance designed to develop the individual voice of the dance artist, a BFA and a BA. Approximately 200 students major in the artistically diverse curricula of the School of Theatre + Dance. Through its production program, outreach and innovative programming, the School of Theatre + Dance provides multiple cultural opportunities annually to thousands of members of the University and the greater community. The University of Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance and the National Association of Schools of Theatre. For more information, visit www.arts.ufl.edu/theatreanddance .  

THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: The mission of the College of the Arts is to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond.  We achieve the university’s mission by training professionals and educating students as artists and scholars, while developing their capacities for critical study, creative practice, and provocation.  The College offers baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Approximately 1,700 students are pursuing majors in degrees offered by the College of the Arts under the direction of 130 faculty members in its three accredited schools— the School of Art + Art History, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre + Dance, and in the Center for Arts in Medicine, the Digital Worlds Institute, and the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship. In addition, the college comprises the University Galleries, and the University level of the New World School of the Arts in Miami. 

The University of Florida: The University of Florida is a comprehensive learning institution built on a land grant foundation, ranked one of the top five best public universities in the nation in U.S. News & World Report. We are The Gator Nation, a diverse community dedicated to excellence in education and research and shaping a better future for Florida, the nation and the world. Our mission is to enable our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit. UF is a graduate research institution with more than 50,000 students and membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Gainesville, which is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most livable cities, is located midway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the University and the community comprise the educational, medical and cultural center of North Central Florida, with outstanding resources such as the University of Florida Performing Arts (Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Squitieri Studio Theatre, the Baughman Center, University Auditorium), the Harn Museum of Art, the Florida Museum of Natural History and in the community, the Hippodrome State Theatre and Dance Alive National Ballet.

*In addition to salary, the University of Florida (UF) offers low cost State Health plans, a number of Dental plans to fit you and your family’s needs, and Vision. Domestic partner coverage through GatorCare is also available. Optional plans such as life, disability, legal and accident insurance are also available.

UF provides a variety of leave programs including vacation, sick leave, 11 paid holidays, personal leave days, and family medical leave. TEAMS employees accrue approximately 22 vacation days annually, 13 sick days annually, and 4 personal leave days, typically used during the holiday closing period (accruals based on full-time employment). UF also provides you the flexibility to deal with life’s challenges by offering paid family leave, eight full weeks of leave over a 24-month period.

Build a retirement roadmap with competitive pension plans, investment accounts and a host of voluntary add-ons, such as 457 deferred compensation and 403(b) plans.

UF Employees are also eligible for the GatorPerks discount program , which provides big savings at various business and retailers!

Explore UF’s plethora of benefit options here: TEAMS Benefits