How well does HPAC pay its team?
A full-organization compensation analysis, overall positioning, the roles most out of line, the internal-equity story, and a budget-constrained plan for where limited dollars go first. Revised with the Co-EDs' review: corrections applied, the market sample doubled, and every figure now click-traceable to its source.
Executive summary
A full-organization read of how Hyde Park Art Center pays its 25-person staff, benchmarked against arts nonprofits in Chicago and the Midwest first, then the broader and cross-sector market, and anchored to HPAC's $3.7M budget. Built only from HPAC's 2026 salary file, the 1C–6M bands, the org chart, the job descriptions, and the employee handbook. Round 3 incorporates your review: two band corrections, two new job descriptions, confirmed part-time hours, your co-ED ruling, and a market sample doubled: 57 → 115 live postings (Section 2 lists every change).
HPAC is a responsible, broadly market-aligned employer for its budget and sector, not a systemic under-payer - and the doubled market sample confirmed every headline verdict. Managers and coordinators are solidly at market; the five directors trend a notch below market, with the Director of Finance the single clearest gap. The two co-EDs are benchmarked as full EDs per your ruling, at market per leader; the co-ED model is a leadership-cost structure, not under-payment. Your two band corrections made the internal story stronger: all 23 full-time roles sit inside their published bands. The action list is short: one real market move (Finance), a couple of targeted director alignments, a few optional alignments, and paperwork hygiene that costs nothing (two stale job descriptions + two band codes in the salary sheet).
ETHOS concluded HPAC sat below the 25th percentile for essentially every role (about −36% at leadership). That rested on modeled survey blends that implied an executive-director market of ~$220–288K and a finance-director market of ~$174K for a $3.7M organization. No independent evidence supports those figures. Actual peer pay from 19 organizations' IRS filings puts a comparable ED at $111–161K and a director of finance at $122–130K; budget-banded surveys and now 115 live postings agree. ETHOS itself re-leveled two roles down ~$40K mid-engagement. The real gap is roughly 1.5–2× smaller than reported, and it is concentrated, not universal. (Full reconciliation in Section 4.)
The prioritized plan, in one glance
- Do first (Tier 1): bring Director of Finance toward $112–118K (the one real market gap), and knock out the $0 hygiene items: refresh two stale job descriptions and fix the two band codes in the salary sheet so next year's review starts clean.
- Next (Tier 2): align the Director of Exhibitions toward the other directors; restore the Preparator's recent cut. Optional if funded: small market alignments for the Individual Giving & Events Manager and E&R Manager (A).
- Awareness (Tier 3): the cross-sector pull on Finance & Marketing can't be matched within a nonprofit budget, retain with total comp, mission, and flexibility. On timing: this market data ages quickly, as this sweep showed (postings churn weekly, and several strong comps closed inside our own 4-day capture window).
Every figure in this report traces to a tiered, clickable source: the small chips under each role card and beside key claims jump to the exact evidence in Section 10, and every source lists where it was used, so you can travel in both directions. Open questions for you and Jen are collected in the Notes section.
What changed in Round 3
Your review came back 2026-07-04 (thank you - welcome, Jen). Here is every change it drove, plus what we added beyond it. Nothing was changed silently.
The Executive Summary stands on its own and assumes no prior draft. This section tracks what changed since the last version (Round 2) for readers who saw it – come back once you have the overview.
Your corrections, applied
- Manager of Youth & School Programs is 3C, not 2C. This kills our "paid above the band maximum" flag - it was an artifact of the band code in the salary sheet (the sheet itself says 2C; your email overrides it). At 3C the role sits comfortably in band. 2026 salary file
- Individual Giving & Events Manager is 3C, not 3M. This dissolves the "people-manager paid below IC peers" inversion - the sharpest equity flag in v2 - and with it the ~$3K Tier-1 fix. (Worth noting: our JD-based responsibility read had already matched this role to individual-contributor comps; your correction confirms the JD analysis was right and the band code was the outlier.) What remains is a modest, optional market alignment. 2026 salary file
- The Operations & Public Events Manager JD is stale, not the role mis-banded. You told us the "Finance & Operations Coordinator" pay line is a leftover from before an internal promotion - and the salary history corroborates it (a mid-2025 move consistent with Coordinator→Manager). The v2 "over-banded" verdict is withdrawn; benchmarked as a manager the pay is at market. The $0 fix is now a JD refresh. HPAC JDs
- Executive Assistant: settled, not re-hiring. v2 inferred a re-hire from the original 2026 hiring post still circulating. Removed everywhere.
- Part-time hours confirmed (Ceramics Studio Tech 25 hrs/wk; Creativity Camp Coordinator 32 hrs/wk) - the hourly comparisons are now computed from real hours, and doing that surfaced one genuine data question for you (below).
- Co-EDs benchmarked as full EDs, per your ruling, with the shared-responsibility tempering note in the leadership read.
Your requests, delivered
- The market sample doubled: 57 → 115 live postings. A four-track sweep on 2026-07-04 added 58 net-new live employer-stated postings, each a countable row - Chicago/Illinois first, then the Midwest boards that actually post ranges (Twin Cities, Pittsburgh), then pay-transparency states as labeled context. Every new posting links to its live URL in Section 10. Nine more ranges were found but excluded because the postings had closed - we don't count stale data. The punchline: the doubled sample confirmed every headline verdict and moved none of them materially. July sweep
- Exhibitions & Residency Manager (A) vs (B) - you were right, and it's fixed. v2's charts had A's market median below B's; that was a comp-set artifact. A is now benchmarked against management-weighted residency-field comps and B against coordinating-scope exhibitions comps: A's median lands ~$70K, B's ~$55K - A above B, as the 3M/3C logic says it should be. Full evidence chain on the two role cards. July sweep
- The two new job descriptions are ingested (Ceramics Studio Technician; Senior Caretaker / Facilities & Operations Manager). JD coverage answer: besides yours and Jen's, we appear to still be missing Senior Manager of School + Studio Programs, Senior Finance & Operations Manager, and the seasonal Creativity Camp Coordinator (if a formal JD exists). HPAC JDs
What the re-check surfaced (new, for your confirmation)
At the confirmed 25 hrs/wk, the salary sheet's $26,223 works out to ~$20.17/hr (assuming 52 paid weeks) - but the role's own 2025 posting offered $22–25/hr to start, and the sheet's 2026 figure is exactly a 3%-style rollover of the 2025 line, which may predate the mid-2025 hire. If the person in the seat is actually at $22/hr+, the sheet needs updating and the verdict improves. Worth a 30-second check of one number. 2026 salary file HPAC JDs
- PT benefits nuance: the new Ceramics Tech JD grants a 401(k) match after 6 months (and the 2025 sheet shows one), so v2's "part-time = $0 benefits" was too strong - softened to "no health coverage; retirement match available." The 2026 benefits cell reads $0 - flagged for the same 30-second check.
- Senior Caretaker JD says it reports to a Co-ED; the org chart places it under Finance & Operations. Which is current? (Doesn't change the pay verdict; worth reconciling.)
- Camp Coordinator hourly depends on season length: at 32 hrs/wk, $8,487 is $33/hr over 8 weeks, $27 over 10, $22 over 12 - all comfortably above the seasonal camp-staff market (~$15–16/hr at peer arts camps). Tell us the camp dates and we'll pin it.
- The living-wage floor moved - we re-verified it live for this revision. MIT's February 2026 update raised the Cook County single-adult living wage to $25.44/hr ($52,909/yr), which now sits above HPAC's three lowest full-time salaries (it didn't last year). Those roles are still at market; the living-wage lens is a separate, values-based test - and Section 8 + the Tier-3 plan now reflect the new line. We re-checked this number precisely because stale data vintage was one of our critiques of the prior review; the same rule applies to us. MIT living wage
How to read this
The method is a four-ring triangulation: peer actuals, sector surveys, the live market, and a cross-sector check, weighted by credibility, never blindly averaged.
Ring 1, Peer 990 actuals T1: what 19 comparable arts/culture nonprofits actually paid, read straight from their IRS Form 990 filings (ProPublica). The strongest single signal, but 990s only report the executive director and a handful of top staff, so manager and coordinator pay never appears there.
Ring 2, Sector surveys T2: current-edition compensation surveys, PNP Staffing 2026 (a Chicago table by budget band), the AAMD 2025 art-museum survey, and Illinois government wage data (IDES / BLS).
Ring 3, The live market T1: now 115 currently-open postings with real employer-stated salary ranges: the original 57 Illinois postings (reliable because Illinois' pay-transparency law requires them, including the Chicago Artists Coalition board you flagged), plus the July expansion you requested - 58 net-new live postings across the Midwest and pay-transparency states, each linked to its live URL in Section 10.
Cross-sector check: for the two roles that compete with for-profit employers (Marketing & Communications Manager, Director of Finance), what the Chicago for-profit market pays.
- The bands (1C–6M) are HPAC's own pay structure: the number is the level (1 = entry, 6 = executive) and the letter marks the track – C for coordinator / individual-contributor roles, M for manager roles. So “3C, not 3M” means the same level, re-tracked from manager to individual contributor.
- Compa-ratio is where a person sits inside their own band: base pay ÷ the band midpoint. 0.90 is low in band, 1.00 is dead-center, 1.10 is high in band. It is a different yardstick from market position – a role can sit high in its HPAC band and still be below the outside market, because the band itself can sit below market.
- The two Exhibitions & Residency Managers are shown as (A) and (B) – lettered rather than named, to keep the comparison about the two roles rather than the two people in them.
- A little other shorthand: IC = individual contributor; n = the number of comparable data points (a “thin n” means few live comps, so we hold that read loosely); peer-990 = pay read from peer organizations' IRS Form 990 filings.
The rules we followed
- Pay came only from your 2026 salary file. Salary lines in the job descriptions were ignored (you flagged them as outdated); the JDs were used to match responsibilities to comparable market roles. Round 3 taught us - via your Operations-JD correction - that JDs can also lag internal promotions, so where a JD and your current description disagree, your word wins and the JD gets flagged for refresh.
- Total compensation = base + benefits. Benefits are health (100% of premium, up to $7,380.21/yr), healthcare reimbursement (up to $2,000), and the retirement match (up to 4% of base). PTO is genuinely generous but hard to dollarize, so it is treated qualitatively. We did not invent a number.
- Your 1C–6M bands and org chart drive the internal-equity analysis (is pay scaled to responsibility?).
- A note on the comparison basis: HPAC figures are shown as base salary. Peer figures from IRS filings (Ring 1) are total compensation (base + benefits); survey and posting figures are typically base. Where an HPAC base is measured against a peer total-comp range, the comparison is deliberately conservative: HPAC’s own total compensation (base plus ~10–21% in benefits) would place it somewhat higher. This never changes a verdict, so the positioning shown is a floor, not a ceiling.
Every load-bearing figure now carries small source chips - like this: PNP 2026 AAMD 2025 - that jump to the exact evidence entry in Section 10 and light it up. And it works in reverse: every source entry lists “used at” chips that jump back to each claim that rests on it. New live postings also carry a ↗ link to the posting itself, so you can verify any number against the primary source in one click.
Overall positioning
Where HPAC sits as an organization, and how that squares with last year's ETHOS review.
Executive pay vs. organization size
Each dot is a comparable arts/culture nonprofit (top-executive total comp against annual budget, from IRS filings). HPAC's per-leader pay sits right on the trend line for its size, mid-market, not low. HPAC 990 June sweep
HPAC point = total comp per co-ED ($148,640, FY2024 public 990). The organization pays two co-EDs, so its combined executive-leadership cost is higher than a single-ED peer, the structural story in Section 5.
ETHOS used modeled survey blends (CompAnalyst, "Chicago metro · arts & culture · <25 FTE"). Even inside that scope, the model blended in larger and better-funded organizations and national data, producing benchmarks that look inflated for a $3.7M art center: an ED market median around $288K and a finance-director median around $174K. Our peer-990 actuals, real pay at 19 real organizations, put those same roles at $140K and $124K. Three independent methods (peer actuals, budget-banded surveys, live postings - now 115 of them) all land in the same, lower place. ETHOS's own mid-engagement correction (re-leveling two roles down ~$40K) points the same way. We trust the actuals. ETHOS 2025 July sweep
The honest read is more useful than either extreme: HPAC is at market overall, trending modestly below at the director level, a targeted set of fixes, not an emergency.
Real Chicago-arts peer actuals (ETHOS used none) · the live Illinois market · responsibility-based job matching (which caught mislabeled roles) · a real internal-equity / band-integrity analysis · an itemized total-comp picture · and a budget-constrained, prioritized plan. ETHOS's report was titled a "wage equity" review but contained no actual pay-equity analysis, addressed in Section 7.
Role-by-role benchmarks
Every role against its market range (25th–75th percentile), with HPAC’s current pay marked and color-coded by verdict. Grouped by leadership, managers, and coordinators. The source chips under each card jump to the exact evidence in Section 10.
Benchmarked per leader, as a full Executive Director - your call at review: "we both wanted to be treated and paid as full Executive Directors." Each co-ED at $140,595 base sits around the 50th-60th percentile of the single-ED arts market for a $3-5M org (peer-990 median ~$148K); the July expansion added budget-comparable ED postings ($80.5-135K across MN/PA/LA/NY) that keep this read intact. The tempering note you asked for: the two of you share the hardest responsibilities, so the org buys shared leadership at ~$281K combined base - a deliberate structure, priced fairly per leader. Board-set (6M).
The single clearest market gap - unchanged after doubling the sample. Peer-990 actuals put a $2-7M arts Director of Finance at $122-130K (DuSable $124K, Marwen $120.75K, Arrowmont CFO $136K); HPAC's $100K base sits below the peer 25th percentile, and the July sweep corroborates (Seattle arts Controller $90-115K live). Finance also commands a cross-sector premium. HPAC has already moved this role $93.6K -> $100K since the prior study - the recommendation is to finish that move.
Well-positioned (~45th percentile). Peer-990 actuals cluster $107-123K (Hubbard $100K, Chicago Opera $110K, Albany Park $119K); surveys run a touch lower (PNP $90-99K, AAMD $99.4K). Hold; monitor next cycle.
Carries an unusually broad span (the ~80-person teaching-artist pool reports up through this role). Scope-weighted, the market is wide: narrow museum-education surveys say ~$79.5K (AAMD) / $90-99K (PNP Programs), while broad VP-of-programs 990 actuals run $122-129K. The July expansion confirmed the barbell (small orgs post $42-60K, large institutions $75-130K; the thin middle is real). At ~40th percentile for the breadth of the role; a watch item, not an urgent move.
The lowest-paid of the five directors and lowest within its own band; it took a pay cut in 2025. Non-collecting art-center exhibitions leadership benchmarks ~$93K (AAMD) to $105K (Midwest); the AIC curator band ($100-120K) is a flagship ceiling. At ~35th percentile - an internal-equity flag worth correcting toward the other directors.
A 'Director' with zero direct reports, reporting under the Director of Education - functionally a senior partnerships/program manager. Paid high within band (4C), consistent with that senior-manager scope.
Senior program manager. At/above the nonprofit program-manager market (IDES Social/Community Service Managers ~$77.5K).
At/above market for a nonprofit finance/operations manager.
Corrected at your review: this role is 3C, not 3M - which dissolves the "people-manager paid below IC peers" inversion we flagged (that finding was an artifact of the band code in the salary sheet; our own responsibility analysis of the JD had read it as an individual-contributor/program-lead role, and your correction confirms it). As a 3C at $62,000 it sits healthy in its band (compa 0.97). Against the individual-giving market ($63-67K median; July adds Union Arts $73K, Pittsburgh Opera $55-59K, Albany Symphony $58-65K) it is at the low end - an optional $1-3K market alignment, no longer an equity fix.
At market for a grants/institutional-giving manager (AAMD Development Manager $63.1K; live $60-65K).
At market within the nonprofit sector ($59-69K). But this is a cross-sector role: the for-profit Chicago equivalent runs ~$140K. HPAC cannot match that within budget - retain via total comp, mission, and flexibility, and document the risk.
A player-coach: studio management plus a real teaching load (Master's required, 3-5 courses/term). Blended studio-manager + senior-teaching-artist comp; at market for the blend.
Corrected at your review: this role is 3C, not 2C - which dissolves the "paid above the band maximum" flag (another salary-sheet band-code artifact). At 3C, $58,000 sits comfortably (if low, ~22% of band) inside the band, and at market for a program manager ($58-77K). No action needed beyond fixing the code in the sheet.
Slightly below the nonprofit facilities/operations market (AAMD $84.2K; IDES $77.5K; the July sweep adds MoMath $66-80K and Lincoln Center's assistant-level ops role at $70-75K, both NYC), though paid high within its own 3C band (compa 1.10). The newly provided Senior Caretaker JD confirms the genuine breadth of this role - building maintenance, city code compliance, HVAC, vendor negotiation, capital-project point of contact, and the 20-year building & envelope schedule - which supports the current banding. (One note: that JD says the role reports to a Co-ED, while the org chart places it under Finance & Operations - worth reconciling.)
Re-benchmarked at your request - you were right. The v2 charts showed A's median below B's; that was a comp-set artifact (A had been matched to a residency-coordinator set). Round 3 rebuilt A's benchmark with management-weighted comps from the residency field - honest caveat up front: only two live, full-time comps exist this cycle, so n is thin. The method, stated plainly: the range spans the two live FT comps' midpoints - Center for Contemporary Printmaking studio/AIR manager $50-60K (midpoint ~$55K) and MANCC assistant director $80-90K (midpoint ~$85K, university-embedded upper anchor) - and the median line (~$70K) is their mean. Two further data points corroborate the level but are deliberately NOT counted: the Chicago Artists Coalition's near-identical role at $26/hr (~$54K full-time-equivalent, but deliberately scoped part-time) and Hawthornden $75-90K (closed Jan 2025 - excluded under our own no-stale-data rule). Result: A's market read sits above B's, as the 3M/3C band logic says it should be. At $62,000, A is below that read and low in its own band (18%) - a coherent optional alignment (+$3-6K), held loosely given the thin n (the fall re-run would firm it up). One documentation note: A's JD reads as a program-lead role; per your correction pattern on the Operations JD, we treated the JD as stale post-role-change and your current description (manages full-time staff) as ground truth - worth refreshing that JD too ($0).
Re-benchmarked against coordinating-scope exhibitions comps (no professional-staff management): Pocosin $40-45K, Newfields $53-58K, ICA San Diego $58-60K, SITE Santa Fe $60K (context). Market median ~$55K; at $56,650 B is at market, low within its 3C band (compa 0.89). The A/B pair now reads consistently: A benchmarks higher than B, matching the band structure.
Corrected at your review: the JD's "Finance & Operations Coordinator" pay line is a leftover from before the internal promotion (Coordinator to Manager; the old JD was expanded but that line never updated) - and the salary history corroborates the promotion (a mid-2025 move to $55,000). So the v2 "coordinator work in a manager band" verdict is withdrawn. Benchmarked as the manager it is: arts-nonprofit operations managers run $45-70K (Chatham Baroque $48-52K, Attack Theatre $45-55K, Bramble $60-70K, August Wilson Center $50K+), putting $56,650 at market. The $0 recommendation that remains: refresh the JD so the next review doesn't trip on the same line - and the pre-promotion duty split (60% front desk) in that JD likely needs updating too.
New in 2026 and settled in the role (v2's "appears to be re-hiring" read came from the original 2026 hiring post still circulating - corrected per your review). At/above the nonprofit/arts EA market ($55-60K), and the July sweep added a near-perfect budget-matched anchor: the Schubert Club (a ~$3M music nonprofit) is hiring an EA to its Artistic & Executive Director at $48-53K. HPAC's $62K reflects this EA's unusually broad HR + fundraising-ops scope.
At market (AAMD Development Coordinator $51K; PNP $50-59K).
Took a cut in 2026. Salaried preparators run $55-70K in Chicago; hourly $21-33/hr. At the low end - worth restoring toward $58-60K.
At market (AAMD Education Program Associate $49.2K; PNP $50-59K).
The lowest full-time salary at HPAC; at market for a front-desk/services coordinator. Living-wage note (re-verified for Round 3): MIT's Feb-2026 Cook County single-adult figure rose to $25.44/hr ($52,909/yr), which now sits above this salary - see Section 8; a market-fair salary can still trail the living-wage line, and this one now does.
Ceramics Studio Tech - at your confirmed 25 hrs/wk, the salary sheet's $26,223 works out to ~$20.17/hr (52 paid weeks assumed). That is at the low end of the market (closest peer: Lillstreet, $22/hr for contract kiln labor) - and below HPAC's own 2025 posted starting rate of $22-25/hr for this exact role. Because the sheet's 2026 figure looks like a formula rollover that may predate the mid-2025 hire, we flagged the actual rate as a one-number check for you (Section 2) rather than calling a verdict on it. If the real rate is $22/hr+, the role is cleanly at market.
Creativity Camp Coordinator - at your confirmed 32 hrs/wk, $8,487 for the season is $22-33/hr depending on season length (8-12 weeks) - comfortably above the seasonal arts-camp market (~$15-16/hr at peer camps). Excluded from the FT positioning per your comfort with the seasonal role; tell us the camp dates and we'll pin the hourly exactly.
Internal equity & band integrity
Is pay scaled to responsibility? Yes - and with your Round-3 band corrections applied, the answer got cleaner. The marker below shows where each person sits inside their own band (left = band minimum, right = maximum).
Compa-ratio = base pay ÷ band midpoint. Navy = inside band; amber = above the band maximum; red = below the band minimum. Bands per HPAC's published 2024 structure. HPAC bands 2026 salary file
With the corrected band codes, all 23 full-time roles sit inside their published bands (compa 0.89–1.10) - consistent with an organization that runs transparent bands and a Pay Equity Committee. v2 showed four equity flags; two of them were artifacts of band-code errors in the salary sheet and are withdrawn (the Individual Giving & Events "inversion" and the Youth & School "band creep"). That is a genuinely stronger internal story than the one we sent you last week, and it came from your own corrections.
1 · Director of Exhibitions & Residency is the lowest-paid of the five directors and lowest in its own band (compa 0.92, 20% of band), and took a cut in 2025. Aligning it toward its director peers is both a market and an equity move (~+$5–7K, Tier 2).
2 · E&R Manager (A) sits low in its 3M band (18%) while its management-weighted market median (~$70K) runs above its current pay - internally and externally consistent signals. An optional alignment (+$3–6K) if funded.
Round 3 turned the old "re-band" recommendations into something cheaper and more durable: fix the paperwork, not the pay. Two job descriptions are stale after internal changes (Operations & Public Events Manager; likely E&R Manager A), and the salary sheet carried two wrong band codes that generated false findings in two separate reviews now. An hour of updates prevents the next consultant - or the next board question - from tripping on the same wires. HPAC JDs 2026 salary file
The co-ED to lowest-coordinator ratio is about 2.8 : 1, compressed and equitable for the sector (many EDs run 4–6× their lowest staff). org chart
Total compensation
Base pay is only part of the story. HPAC's benefits and leave package is genuinely strong, and it materially narrows the gap to higher-paying sectors, especially for lower-band staff.
Benefits add ~10–21% on top of base
Navy = base salary; gold = modeled benefits value (4% retirement match + $7,380.21 health + $1,000 reimbursement). Benefits are a larger share of pay at the lower bands (~21% at the bottom vs ~10% for the co-EDs), so the lowest-paid staff are better positioned on total comp than base alone suggests.
HPAC offers an unusually rich package that is hard to price but very real to staff: uncapped paid sick leave, ~9 paid holidays plus a 10–14 day paid winter break and a late-summer "Quiet Week," 16 weeks of paid parental leave, up to 24 weeks of medical leave, a 6-week paid sabbatical at 10 years, and 1–2 remote days a week for eligible roles. Plus dental, life, an HSA option, pre-tax transit, and a professional-development subsidy. This is a major retention asset, and the honest way to present it is as a qualitative strength, not a fabricated dollar figure. (Last year's review claimed benefits add "19%" with no itemization; the ~10–21% here is built from your actual plan.) handbook ETHOS 2025
v2 modeled part-time roles at $0 benefits. The new Ceramics Studio Technician JD grants 401(k) matching after 6 months plus closure-day PTO - and the 2025 salary sheet shows a match paid - so the honest statement is “no health coverage; retirement match available.” (The 2026 benefits cell for that role reads $0 - flagged for your quick check alongside the hourly-rate question in Section 2.) HPAC JDs 2026 salary file
Wage equity
The deliverable "equity" layer, done honestly, within what this data can support.
Last year's review was titled a "Compensation & Wage Equity Review" but did not actually analyze pay equity. This study delivers the equity layers the data can support: ETHOS 2025
- Band integrity (Section 6): are people paid consistently within their band for their responsibility? After your corrections: yes, fully - all 23 FT roles in-band, with two targeted alignment items.
- Internal relativities: manager↔coordinator, director↔director, and ED↔coordinator scaling (~2.8:1), compressed and equitable.
- A living-wage floor - re-verified live for Round 3, and it moved: MIT's February 2026 update puts the Cook County living wage for a single adult at $25.44/hr ($52,909/yr pre-tax) - which now sits above HPAC's three lowest full-time salaries ($50,000 Student Services; $50,923 Teen Programs; $52,530 Development Coordinator; all were above the prior year's figure). Market-wise these roles are still at market (Section 5); the living-wage lens is a different, values-based test - and it just tightened. This upgrades the Tier-3 "phased floor lift" from a watch item to a timely one for the Pay Equity Committee's agenda. (We re-checked this precisely because data vintage was one of our critiques of the prior review - same rule applied to ourselves.) MIT living wage
You said you'd consider scoping it and flagged the small dataset (23 FT staff) plus performance/tenure factors. That concern is methodologically correct - regression-style gap analysis is unreliable at n=23, and any consultant who promises one at this size is overselling. What is defensible at HPAC's size, if the Pay Equity Committee wants a next phase: (1) a cohort-level descriptive review (band-by-band pay positions with demographic overlays, no statistical claims); (2) a documented-rationale check - is every pay decision (hire, raise, promotion) written down with its reason, so tenure/performance factors are auditable rather than assumed; and (3) hiring-range discipline - posted ranges honored at offer. Scoped that way it's a process audit, not a statistics exercise, and it holds up. Out of scope here either way (needs firewalled HR data); surfaced as an option, not a finding.
The decision
Increases are hard, so the value is sequencing. Because HPAC is already close to market, the list is short, led by one real gap (Finance) - and Round 3 made it cheaper: two of v2's Tier-1 fixes dissolved with your band corrections, replaced by zero-cost paperwork hygiene.
~0.5–0.8% of budget; up to ~$39K (~1.1%) w/ optionals
This is not a large correction. HPAC pays responsibly for its size and sector - a conclusion that survived a doubling of the market evidence and got stronger under the corrected band data. The plan is a short, prioritized list: one real market move at Finance, two targeted director-level alignments, two optional alignments if funded, and paperwork fixes that cost nothing - the core list funds for under 1% of budget, and even with every optional it stays around 1%.
Sources & evidence
Every benchmark traces here - and now the tracing is two-way. Each entry and table row below is an anchor: chips throughout the report jump to it, and its “used at” chips jump back to every claim that rests on it. New postings link out to the live listing (↗).
10.1 · The materials you gave us + prior art
2026 salaries.xlsx - the ONLY source for HPAC pay figures (your rule; JD salary lines ignored). Round 3: two band codes in the sheet corrected per your review (Manager of Youth & School Programs is 3C, not 2C; Individual Giving & Events Manager is 3C, not 3M) - worth fixing in the file itself so the next cycle starts clean.
Salary Band Levels & Descriptions.xlsx (2024 ranges, +3% over 2022). Drives the internal-equity / compa-ratio analysis in Section 6.
Used only to match responsibilities to comparable market roles - never for pay. Round 3 added the Ceramics Studio Technician and Senior Caretaker (Facilities & Operations Manager) JDs you sent. Still missing vs the roster: Senior Manager of School + Studio Programs, Senior Finance & Operations Manager, and the seasonal Creativity Camp Coordinator (plus, as expected, the two co-ED roles).
Reporting structure - who reports to whom - for the span and relativity analysis.
PTO, leave, and flexibility policies - the qualitative half of total compensation (Section 7).
Public filing; per-co-ED total compensation ($148,640) anchors the positioning scatter in Section 4.
The prior outside review this study re-tests. Its benchmarks came from modeled CompAnalyst survey blends (ED market ~$220-288K; finance ~$174K) that no independent evidence supports; it re-leveled two roles down ~$40K mid-engagement. Reconciled in Section 4.
Our earlier three-ring study of a subset of roles - method foundation; every figure re-derived fresh for this full-org pass.
Chicago nonprofit salary table by budget band ($2.1-10M column used); survey fielded Aug-Sep 2025.
Association of Art Museum Directors - art-museum-specific, '<$5.0M' budget band with 25th/median/75th. Skews high (collecting museums); used as an upper reference.
Illinois Department of Employment Security - state occupational wage data (Chicago metro cuts).
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment & wage estimates.
Living-wage floor reference for the lowest full-time salaries. Re-verified live 2026-07-04: the Feb-15-2026 update puts the single-adult figure at $25.44/hr ($52,909/yr pre-tax) - it ROSE past HPAC's three lowest FT salaries since the prior figure (data vintage matters; the prior review's numbers were never aged, and we hold ourselves to the rule we criticized).
Live Illinois postings with employer-stated ranges (required by the IL pay-transparency law, eff. Jan 2025); ~17 from the Chicago Artists Coalition board you flagged. The 26 individually-named rows are in table 10.3; the remaining June captures were role-grouped entries (several teaching-artist/assistant posts and similar) that feed the market ranges rather than standing as named rows - the June research record holds the full capture.
Built at your request ('57 is not small, but... double it... broaden the search to other cities'). Sample now 115 live employer-stated postings (57 + 58) - your doubling bar, met with named rows you can count in table 10.4, every one linked to the live posting. Geography: Chicago/IL first, then Twin Cities and Pittsburgh (the Midwest boards that post ranges), then pay-transparency states as labeled context. (The sweep captured ~15 further live rows - same-organization repeats and context-grade part-time/non-arts posts - consolidated into the narrative rather than tabled; they are in the research record, not counted here.)
10.2 · Ring 1: peer compensation from IRS filings T1
Click a column header to sort. 19 peer organizations; the director-level and ED rows are shown. Total comp = base + other, from Form 990 Part VII (via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer). The last column lights up with “used at” jumps for rows that carry claims in this report.
| Organization | City | Budget | Role | Total comp | FY | Used at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DuSable Black History Museum | Chicago | $4.3M | Director of Finance | $124,182 | 2024 | |
| DuSable Black History Museum | Chicago | $4.3M | VP Education & Programs | $129,110 | 2024 | |
| DuSable Black History Museum | Chicago | $4.3M | VP Exhibits & Collections | $117,322 | 2024 | |
| DuSable Black History Museum | Chicago | $4.3M | President & CEO | $223,217 | 2024 | |
| Marwen Foundation | Chicago | $2.7M | Executive Director | $169,950 | 2024 | |
| Marwen Foundation | Chicago | $2.7M | Director of Finance | $120,750 | 2024 | |
| Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts | Gatlinburg TN | $6.9M | CFO | $135,942 | 2024 | |
| Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts | Gatlinburg TN | $6.9M | Chief Advancement (Dev) | $136,133 | 2024 | |
| Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts | Gatlinburg TN | $6.9M | CEO | $187,354 | 2024 | |
| Hubbard Street Dance | Chicago | $4.4M | Director of Development | $100,243 | 2023 | |
| Albany Park Theater Project | Chicago | $2.0M | Co-Executive Director (ea) | $152,806 | 2025 | |
| Albany Park Theater Project | Chicago | $2.0M | Director of Development | $118,970 | 2025 | |
| Arts Club of Chicago | Chicago | $3.5M | Executive Director | $144,707 | 2024 | |
| TimeLine Theatre | Chicago | $3.0M | Executive Director | $130,931 | 2025 | |
| Chicago Opera Theater | Chicago | $2.7M | Director of Development | $109,884 | 2024 | |
| Rebuild Foundation | Chicago | $3.3M | Director of Programs | $126,988 | 2024 | |
| MOCAD | Detroit MI | $2.0M | Co-Director | $140,001 | 2024 | |
| Beverly Art Center | Chicago | $2.3M | Executive Director | $115,000 | 2024 | |
| Evanston Art Center | Evanston IL | $1.7M | President & CEO | $110,844 | 2024 | |
| Elmhurst Art Museum | Elmhurst IL | $1.3M | Executive Director | $128,552 | 2024 | |
| South Side Community Art Center | Chicago | $1.7M | Executive Director | $109,231 | 2024 | |
| Intuit: Intuitive & Outsider Art | Chicago | $2.3M | President & CEO | $104,988 | 2025 | |
| Northern Clay Center | Minneapolis | $2.2M | Executive Director | $99,592 | 2024 |
Executive Director (n=15): $111K / $140K / $161K · Director of Finance (n=3): $122K / $124K / $130K · Director of Development (n=4): $107K / $114K / $123K · Director of Education/Programs (n=3): $122K / $127K / $128K. Director of Exhibitions had only one clean 990 point ($117K), deferred to the AAMD survey ($93K median).
10.3 · Ring 3: the June sweep - 57 live Illinois postings T1
Captured 2026-06-30 under the Illinois pay-transparency law; ~17 from the Chicago Artists Coalition board. The 26 individually-named rows are below; the remaining June captures were role-grouped entries (teaching-artist and assistant posts without single-row detail) that feed the market ranges - the Excel appendix carries every row below verbatim plus 5 additional June captures (31 named rows there), and the June research record holds the full capture.
| Role posted | Employer | Type | Posted range | Location | Board | Used at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Director | Lawyers for the Creative Arts | Arts-services nonprofit | $150,000-$175,000 | Chicago, IL (hybrid) | CAC | |
| Executive Director (PT, $130K-budget org) | Cultural Access Collaborative | Arts-access nonprofit | $50,000-$60,000 | Metro Chicago (remote) | CAC | |
| Finance Consultant (controller for arts orgs) | Arts FMS (via TOC Arts Partners) | Arts-finance firm | $75,000-$100,000 | Remote (national) | CAC | |
| Senior Director of Development | All Stars Project of Chicago | Youth nonprofit | $115,000-$125,000 | Chicago, IL | ynpnchicago | |
| Director of Development (Individual Donors) | (employer not captured) | Chicago nonprofit | $100,258-$120,225 | Chicago, IL | Indeed (employer-provided) | |
| Director of Development | Chicago History Museum | History museum | $80,000-$90,000 | Chicago, IL | Glassdoor (employer-provided) | |
| Corporate Gift Officer | Griffin Museum of Science & Industry | Science museum | $60,000-$75,000 | Chicago, IL | Indeed | |
| Curator of Education & Public Programs | City of Elmhurst (museum) | Municipal museum | $81,000-$121,500 | Elmhurst, IL | Indeed | |
| Curator - Painting & Sculpture of Europe | Art Institute of Chicago | Major art museum | $100,000-$120,000 | Chicago, IL | Indeed (AIC careers) | |
| Associate Curator | Art Institute of Chicago | Major art museum | $70,000-$80,000 | Chicago, IL | Indeed (AIC careers) | |
| Development Manager | Project: VISION | Youth nonprofit | $60,000-$65,000 | Chicago, IL | ynpnchicago | |
| Dev & Communications Coordinator | Juvenile Protective Association | Nonprofit | $50,000-$60,000 | Chicago, IL | ynpnchicago | |
| Social Media Manager | Cradles to Crayons | Nonprofit | $68,000-$75,000 | Chicago, IL | ynpnchicago | |
| Production Manager | Music of the Baroque | Arts nonprofit | $55,000-$65,000 | Chicago, IL | CAC | |
| Venue Operations Manager | Bramble Arts Loft | Arts nonprofit | $60,000-$70,000 | Andersonville, Chicago | CAC | |
| Strings & Orchestra Program Manager | Merit School of Music | Arts/education | $50,000 | Chicago, IL | CAC | |
| Youth & Families Support Services Manager | Project: VISION | Youth nonprofit | $60,000-$68,000 | Chicago, IL | ynpnchicago | |
| Electric Kiln Load/Unload Technician | Lillstreet Art Center (closest peer) | Community art center | $22/hr (contract, 9 hrs/wk) | Chicago, IL | Lillstreet careers | |
| Youth Ceramics Instructor | Northbrook Park District | Public arts programs | $25-$35/hr | Northbrook, IL | CAC | |
| Preparator (PT) | City Colleges of Chicago | Public college/gallery | $21.31-$24.59/hr | Chicago, IL | Indeed | |
| Custom Picture Framer (art handling) | The Conservation Center | Art conservation | $60,000-$70,000 | Chicago, IL | CAC | |
| Assistant Conservator, Paper | Art Institute of Chicago | Major art museum | $55,000-$62,000 | Chicago, IL | Indeed | |
| Front Desk / Marketing Coordinator (PT) | Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center | Arts nonprofit | $18-$20/hr | Rogers Park, Chicago | CAC | |
| Marketing & Audience Services Coordinator (PT) | Chicago a cappella | Arts nonprofit | $22/hr | Chicago, IL | CAC | |
| Financial & Art Logistics Coordinator | Northwestern University | University (arts logistics) | $51,346-$64,473 | Chicago/Evanston, IL | CAC | |
| Operations Coordinator (FT) | Project: VISION | Youth nonprofit | $45,000-$50,000 | Chicago, IL | ynpnchicago |
10.4 · Ring 3: the July expansion - 58 net-new live postings T1
Captured 2026-07-04 at your request. Every row carries the employer's own stated range and an ↗ link to the live posting; liveness caveats are printed in-row rather than hidden. Nine additional employer-stated ranges were found but excluded because the postings had closed (Hawthornden, SITE Santa Fe, Texas State, Illinois Holocaust Museum, Goodman, Halsey, Arts Midwest, Detroit Opera, Joslyn) - we don't count stale data. Five rows were independently re-verified end-to-end the same day.
| Role posted | Employer | Type | Posted range | Location | Board | Used at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Director | Minnesota Marine Art Museum ↗ | Art museum (budget-comparable) | $80,500-$130,000 | Winona, MN | AAM jobHQ | |
| Executive Director | Attack Theatre ↗ | Dance nonprofit | $90,000-$110,000 | Pittsburgh, PA | Employer site | |
| Executive Director deadline just passed | Foci MN Center for Glass Arts ↗ | Community arts center (small) | $60,000-$70,000 | Minneapolis, MN | Employer site | |
| Executive Director | Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre ↗ | Theater nonprofit | from $125,000 | New Orleans, LA | AFTA Job Bank | |
| President & CEO | 4A Arts ↗ | National arts advocacy | $120,000-$135,000 | Remote (NY) | Idealist | |
| President & CEO org budget ~$500K | Fredericksburg Area Museum ↗ | History museum | $100,000-$105,000 + bonus | Fredericksburg, VA | AAM jobHQ | |
| Executive Director (PT) part-time | Society for American Music ↗ | Scholarly music nonprofit | $55,000-$65,000 | Remote | AFTA Job Bank | |
| Controller (finance lead) | Seattle Chamber Music Society ↗ | Performing arts nonprofit | $90,000-$115,000 | Seattle, WA | NABA | |
| Director of Finance context: large org | Vizcaya Museum and Gardens ↗ | Museum (large) | ~$175,000 anticipated | Miami, FL | NABA | |
| Director of Learning & Engagement | Museum of Nebraska Art ↗ | Art museum (budget-comparable) | $55,000-$60,000 | Kearney, NE | AAM jobHQ | |
| Director of Education & Rural Arts | North Dakota Museum of Art ↗ | Art museum (small) | $42,000 | Grand Forks, ND | Springboard for the Arts | |
| Director, Education context: >$10M org | Museum of the City of New York ↗ | City museum (large) | $95,000 | New York, NY | NYFA | |
| Sr Director, Membership & Giving context: major org | Shedd Aquarium ↗ | Cultural institution (major) | $130,000-$140,000 | Chicago, IL | AAM jobHQ | |
| Director, Feitler Center & Head of Education context: university | Smart Museum of Art (U Chicago) ↗ | University art museum | $125,000-$150,000 | Chicago (Hyde Park), IL | NYFA | |
| Director of Development, Arts context: university | DePaul University ↗ | University advancement | $74,367-$100,000 | Chicago, IL | Indeed (employer-provided) | |
| Director of Institutional Support context: major org | Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra ↗ | Performing arts (major) | $95,000-$105,000 | Pittsburgh, PA | Employer careers | |
| Chief of Development context: major campaign | The American LGBTQ+ Museum ↗ | Museum (startup, $30M campaign) | $227,150 | New York, NY | AAM jobHQ | |
| Sr Dir of Education & Community Engagement context: major org | Country Music Hall of Fame ↗ | Museum (major) | $90,000-$130,000 | Nashville, TN | AAM jobHQ | |
| Senior Curator (exhibitions lead) context: university | Weisman Art Museum (U Minnesota) ↗ | University art museum | $90,000-$100,000 | Minneapolis, MN | Employer site | |
| Development Manager (top dev role) | Chicago Jazz Philharmonic ↗ | Arts nonprofit | $52,000-$59,000 | Chicago, IL | Indeed (employer-stated) | |
| Institutional Giving Manager open-until-filled since April | Roosevelt U / Auditorium Theatre ↗ | Historic performing-arts venue | $65,000-$80,000 | Chicago, IL | Roosevelt careers | |
| Education Manager context: large foundation | Cantigny (McCormick Foundation) ↗ | Museum/park campus | $75,000-$85,000 | Wheaton, IL | Indeed (employer-provided) | |
| Marketing & Communications Manager re-verified live 7/4 | Schubert Club ↗ | Music nonprofit (~$3M) | $49,000-$54,000 | St. Paul, MN | Springboard for the Arts | |
| PR & Communications Manager context: large org | Ordway Center ↗ | Performing arts center (large) | $58,000-$65,000 | St. Paul, MN | Springboard for the Arts | |
| Grants Manager | New Native Theatre ↗ | Theater (small) | $58,000-$68,000 | Minneapolis, MN | MCN Career Center | |
| Membership Manager | American Craft Council ↗ | National craft nonprofit | $60,000-$63,000 | Remote (Mpls HQ) | Employer site | |
| Marketing & Communications Manager | American Craft Council ↗ | National craft nonprofit | $60,000-$63,000 | Remote | Employer site | |
| Annual Fund Manager board page JS-gated; range from GPAC roundup | Pittsburgh Opera ↗ | Opera company | $55,000-$59,000 | Pittsburgh, PA | GPAC roundup / nonprofittalent | |
| Operations Manager | Chatham Baroque ↗ | Early-music ensemble (small) | $48,000-$52,000 | Pittsburgh, PA | GPAC / nonprofittalent | |
| Operations Manager | Attack Theatre ↗ | Dance company | $45,000-$55,000 | Pittsburgh, PA | GPAC / nonprofittalent | |
| Studio / Facility Manager | Industrial Arts Workshop ↗ | Community metal-arts studio | $40,000-$50,000 | Pittsburgh, PA | GPAC / nonprofittalent | |
| Manager, Ticketing & Box Office Ops | August Wilson Center ↗ | Cultural center | $50,000+ | Pittsburgh, PA | GPAC / nonprofittalent | |
| Events Manager context | Pittsburgh Botanic Garden ↗ | Garden (culture-adjacent) | $52,000-$59,000 | Pittsburgh, PA | GPAC / nonprofittalent | |
| Ceramics Studio Manager rural low-cost market | Brockway Center for Arts & Technology ↗ | Community arts/tech center | from $38,000 | Brockway, PA | Indeed (employer-provided) | |
| Annual Fund Manager | Albany Symphony ↗ | Orchestra | $58,000-$65,000 | Albany, NY | Chronicle of Philanthropy | |
| Individual Giving Manager | Union Arts Center ↗ | Arts center | $73,000 | Sparkill, NY | Employer PDF | |
| Individual Giving Manager context: Bay Area premium | La Pena Cultural Center ↗ | Cultural center | $80,000 | Berkeley, CA | Employer posting | |
| Institutional Giving Manager context: funder | ArtsFund ↗ | Arts grantmaker | $75,000-$80,000 | Seattle, WA | Employer site + JD PDF | |
| Residency & Exhibitions Manager (PT) the closest role-match to HPAC's E&R pair; deliberately part-time (~$54K FTE-equivalent) | Chicago Artists Coalition ↗ | Arts nonprofit (small) | $26/hr, up to 20 hrs/wk | Chicago, IL | CAC board + IG | |
| Assistant Director, Creative Research & Ops re-verified live 7/4; university-embedded | MANCC (Florida State U) ↗ | Choreography residency center | $80,000-$90,000 | Tallahassee, FL | Alliance of Artists Communities | |
| Collaborative Printer & Studio Manager | Center for Contemporary Printmaking ↗ | Print studio w/ residency | $50,000-$60,000 | Norwalk, CT | Alliance of Artists Communities | |
| Programs Coordinator (Ceramics & Outreach) | Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft ↗ | Craft school w/ residencies | $40,000-$45,000 | Columbia, NC | Alliance of Artists Communities | |
| Exhibitions Manager (hands-on, non-exempt) | ICA San Diego ↗ | Contemporary art nonprofit | $28-$29/hr (~$58-60K) | Encinitas, CA | Balboa Park jobs | |
| Exhibitions Manager verify liveness | Newfields (Indianapolis Museum of Art) ↗ | Art museum (large) | $53,000-$58,000 | Indianapolis, IN | Newfields ATS | |
| Executive Assistant (to Artistic & Exec Dir) re-verified live 7/4; budget-matched EA anchor | Schubert Club ↗ | Music nonprofit (~$3M) | $48,000-$53,000 | St. Paul, MN | MCN Career Center | |
| Registrar/Receptionist (front desk) | Minnetonka Center for the Arts ↗ | Community art center (~$2M) | $18-$22/hr FT | Wayzata, MN | MCN Career Center | |
| Program Assistant (front desk/registration) | Garrison Art Center ↗ | Community art center (small) | $40,000-$42,000 | Garrison, NY | NYFA | |
| Camp Administrator (seasonal) seasonal camp comp | Wyoming Fine Arts Center ↗ | Community arts-ed | $16/hr (~25 hrs/wk, summer) | Cincinnati, OH | Employer careers | |
| Summer Camp Assistant (seasonal) seasonal camp comp | Wyoming Fine Arts Center ↗ | Community arts-ed | $15/hr (Jun-Aug) | Cincinnati, OH | Employer careers | |
| Assistant Registrar for Collections | Buffalo Bill Center of the West ↗ | Museum (mid) | $40,000-$45,000 | Cody, WY | ARCS Career Center | |
| Teen Programs Coordinator context: NYC major | Studio Museum in Harlem ↗ | Art museum (large) | $33-$37/hr | New York, NY | NYU museum-studies board | |
| School & Tour Programs Coordinator context: NYC | International Center of Photography ↗ | Museum/school | $25.64-$28.72/hr | New York, NY | Employer site | |
| Facilities Manager | National Museum of Mathematics ↗ | Museum (mid) | $66,300-$80,000 | New York, NY | Idealist | |
| Assistant Manager, Theater Ops & Facilities context: large NYC | Lincoln Center Theater ↗ | Theater (large) | $70,000-$75,000 | New York, NY | Idealist | |
| Art Preparator I context | Chrysler Museum of Art ↗ | Art museum (large) | $21.00-$24.04/hr | Norfolk, VA | ARCS Career Center | |
| Preparator context | The Baker Museum (Artis-Naples) ↗ | Art museum | $26/hr | Naples, FL | ARCS Career Center | |
| Marketing Coordinator context | New Bedford Whaling Museum ↗ | Museum (~$7M) | $45,000-$50,000 | New Bedford, MA | Employer careers | |
| Associate Registrar, Collections context | Perez Art Museum Miami ↗ | Art museum (large) | $55,000-$65,000 | Miami, FL | ARCS Career Center |
Research ran two independent methods (automated web-data collection + manual search), June and July passes. Figures are credibility-weighted across rings, not averaged; far-from-budget institutions are labeled context and inform ceilings only. The full peer table, all survey rows, every named posting, the internal-equity workbook, the total-comp model, and the prioritization live in the accompanying Excel appendix (HPAC-Compensation-Data-Appendix.xlsx - downloadable from the sidebar).
Two live openings would be outstanding comparators but publish no range: the John Michael Kohler Arts Center CFO (Sheboygan - a superb budget/mission match for the Finance benchmark) and the South Side Community Art Center Manager of Collections & Archives (your closest Chicago peer). If either would share their budgeted range with a friendly org, both benchmarks sharpen further.
Notes & questions for Aaron & Jen
Round 2's five questions are answered and folded in (thank you). Here's the closed loop, plus the short new list Round 3 surfaced. (Your typed notes print with the document.)
Answered at your review - and applied
- Co-EDs: benchmarked each as a full ED, tempered by the shared-responsibility note. ✓ Section 5.
- PT hours: Ceramics Tech 25 hrs/wk; Camp Coordinator 32 hrs/wk. ✓ Hourly comparisons recomputed (and one new rate question surfaced, below).
- Demographic pay-equity audit: your small-sample caution is methodologically right; scoped honestly as an optional process-audit next phase in Section 8.
- Scope-outs: the seasonal Camp Coordinator stays excluded from the FT positioning per your comfort - Jen, the door is open if you read it differently.
- Executive Assistant: settled, not re-hiring - the inference is removed everywhere. ✓
New questions (Round 3)
- Ceramics Studio Tech: what is the actual current hourly rate? (Sheet implies ~$20.17/hr; your 2025 posting offered $22–25/hr to start - the sheet may be a rollover that predates the mid-2025 hire. Same check: the 2026 benefits cell reads $0 but the JD grants a 401(k) match.)
- Creativity Camp: what are the season dates? (Pins the hourly: 8 weeks → ~$33/hr; 10 → ~$27; 12 → ~$22 - all above the seasonal camp-staff market.)
- Job descriptions: besides yours and Jen's, we appear to still be missing Senior Manager of School + Studio Programs, Senior Finance & Operations Manager, and the seasonal Creativity Camp Coordinator (if one exists). And two title checks: is the "Youth & Family Programs Manager" JD the same role as the roster's "Manager of Youth & School Programs"? Is the "Teen Programs Manager" JD the roster's "Teen Programs Coordinator (FT)"?
- The Senior Caretaker JD says the role reports to a Co-ED; the org chart places it under Finance & Operations - which is current?
- Jen: any roles you'd scope out of the positioning, or context we should fold in now that you're in the loop?
- The ~2-month market re-run you floated: this sweep validated the idea, since postings churn weekly and several comps closed inside our capture window.
When you’re done: click Copy my notes and paste them into a reply email to Sean, or use Email my notes to open a pre-filled message. Your typed notes also print with the PDF.
Prepared for Hyde Park Art Center · June 2026, revised July 4 2026 (Round 3, incorporating the Co-EDs' review) · Built only from HPAC-provided materials + public benchmarks.
Data appendix: HPAC-Compensation-Data-Appendix.xlsx · A working draft for review, figures and verdicts are open to your correction.