Start Date: Preferred March 2019*

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Terms: Full time

The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (Public Lab) is a community--- supported by a 501(c)(3) non-profit---that develops and applies open source tools to environmental exploration and investigation. By democratizing inexpensive and accessible Do-It-Yourself techniques, Public Lab creates a collaborative network of practitioners who actively reimagine the human relationship with the environment.

Position Summary

The Education Manager is responsible for developing, expanding, and delivering education programming for Public Lab. This position manages teacher training, professional development opportunities, and program delivery to students, youth, and the public. This position works closely with the community development and DIY hardware kits teams, playing an important role in creating and facilitating innovative environmental learning.

The ideal candidate will be responsible for:

• Leading Public Lab's Education program area,
• Delivering programs to a cohort of New Orleans schools in academic year '19/'20, and supporting the program as it runs more independently in fall '20
• Supporting youth in articulating questions based on their environmental observations, developing a study design, collecting data, analyzing, and presenting results
• Orienting youth to a range of environmental monitoring approaches, including building DIY open hardware for data collection
• Writing lesson plans to support inquiry-based learning in both classroom and field settings, and resource materials for print, web, and multimedia
• Organizing an annual learning seminar for Gulf Coast educators
• Crafting additional professional development opportunities for teachers
• Participating in conferences and delivering seminars and presentations on a variety of topics, such as human environmental health and our changing landscapes
• Working with educators to help describe Public Lab's offerings within the context of grade-appropriate educational outcomes and deliverables
• Keeping current with pedagogical trends in order to communicate to educators the ways that Public Lab's approach to education relates to and differs from existing schools of thought
• Strategizing growth of the Public Lab Education program area, in and beyond the Gulf
• Supporting the sustainability of the Education program area through grant writing and other fundraising initiatives
• Coordinating closely with the rest of the Public Lab non-profit team and community
• Maintaining and adhering to nonprofit policies and procedures, Public Lab values, and the Code of Conduct

Education/Training

A Bachelor's degree is preferred and 2-3 years of demonstrated job experience in education (e.g. classroom, after school programs, museums, outdoor education programs) is required. Consideration will be given to those with exceptionally relevant experience in engineering and applied sciences.

Additional Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience designing and delivering teacher training programs
• Experience facilitating student-led inquiry
• Experience leading hands-on workshops and developing online tutorials

Skills, Knowledge, and Characteristics Required

• Dynamic communication skills -- in written, verbal and online formats; you should be able to translate the work of Public Lab to different audiences
• Enthusiasm for and dedication to the Public Lab mission
• Integrity in all situations
• Knowledge of ecological systems and basic scientific principles and methods
• Knowledge of strengths and limitations of various learning theories
• Ability to communicate with youth, and promote and develop student's desire to learn
• Skill in utilizing effective teaching strategies
• Ability to evaluate and revise one's own instructional practices and programs
• Proficiency in a variety of collaborative software such as Slack, Google Docs, Asana and Dropbox
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• The ability to balance multiple competing tasks and requests, and enjoyment from efficiently working toward goals and deadlines
• A desire for and fulfillment from working on a team, but also an ability to work independently on job tasks
• Incredible interpersonal skills, demonstrating great communication, kindness, respect, and patience within our collaborative work environment
• An enjoyment of problem solving and the ability to put this to use in areas where organizational operations could be improved
• Willingness to work remotely with colleagues, including your manager

Compensation is between $40,000-$45,000, based on experience and qualifications. Public Lab offers a benefits package that includes four weeks starting vacation time in addition to federal holidays and personal days, 75% coverage of health benefits, a 401k and paid sabbaticals. This job requires occasional work outside regular business hours. Currently, two years of funding has been secured for this position.

Please send a single document containing a cover letter and resume to jobs@publiclab.org by February 1, 2019. No phone calls please.

* If you are currently teaching, we will consider a May 2019 start date.

Public Lab is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse, multicultural work environment. We encourage people with different ability sets, people of color, and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions and identities to apply.