Job Purpose: The Education Program Manager is primarily responsible for fostering, designing, managing, maintaining, and growing Artist Boat’s Adventure Program for K-Grey learners. A large focus of this program is on maintaining and fostering partnerships with a variety of entities to develop and implement grants and contracts designed to provide outdoor and place-based experiences via kayak, foot, vessel, and other platforms of learning (workshops, residencies, professional development, birding, on-site camps, and afterschool or summer programs) in order to bring K-Grey learners to the coastal environment for environmental education experiences that result in attitudinal and behavioral changes that improve environmental quality. The Education Program Manager is primarily responsible for fostering and maintaining Eco-Art Workshop and Adventure Programs, Eco-Art Residencies and companion public art initiatives, Eco-Art Curriculum and Professional Development to meet and exceed national standards for programs increasing ocean literacy, ECO and Eco-Art Camps at the Coastal Heritage Preserve during school breaks and summer, Habitat Restoration Adventures and nativescaping on school campuses, and Beach Engagement Programs (Beautify the Bucket, Bucket Brigade, and World Ocean Day). This person is responsible for assuring all programs are founded in traditional environmental education and focused on increasing science and arts literacy through place-based, project-based, and marine science education methodologies for persons K-Grey.

Personality: The Program Manager must be a highly motivated individual who is a natural leader that fosters and maintains collaboration and partnership. They must be a planner who is deadline driven seeking to gain a high level of performance in the field of environmental education. The Manager must be able to enjoy working with people as much as being in the field and also documenting and reporting on program achievements and/or data. The desk work must be as important as the fieldwork, the grant applications must be as important as managing the grants, and training environmental educators must be as important as program delivery. The Program Manager is the person responsible to maintain a standard of deliver to participants through a cycle of evaluation and critique and feedback. This person must value working with partners and direct reports face to face and over the phone to foster connections and sustain proactive communication to meet deliverables and sustain momentum.

Essential Function: It will be essential for the Program Manager to assure all components of grants, contracts, partnership agreements and contracts, and teacher agreements for adventures programs are met to the standard agreed on and delivered on time.  The Program Manager assures assistance with education program grant narratives that are aligned with national, state, and other critical plans and standards for education program delivery in the marine environment. A vital role will be modeling professional standards of partner recruitment, partner interaction, and program delivery for Eco-Art Educators. An essential function will be meeting the performance goals of grants, measuring performance, evaluating programs, and assuring deadlines are met. The Program Manager will be responsible for delegating to Eco-Art Educators, Education Coordinators, and Habitat Specialists clearly and concisely with deadlines so they are accountable and responsible for various program goals, assuring a high level of standard is met for all components of the program that maintains and fosters Artist Boat’s reputation.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Carries out the initiatives of the Executive Director and Board of Directors in accordance with the strategic plan and leads Artist Boat in fulfilling its mission to promote awareness and preservation of coastal margins and the marine environment through the disciplines of the sciences and the arts
• Foster, maintain, and grow relationships with the Artist Boat partners, including other non-profit organizations, schools and school districts, funding agencies, local businesses, consultants, legislators, city and county governments, parks departments and boards, federal agencies, property owner associations, and others
• Maintain an active presence with local municipal staff, non-profit partners, school district and campus administrators, grantors, federal and state agency staff, and academic partners
• Ensures an environment where performance is measured through meeting specific goals, meeting deadlines, and assuring recruited partners are maintained
• Manage, coordinate, design, implement, and deliver programs funded by grants or partners to experience the bay through classroom workshops, residencies, professional development, and adventures (walking, vessel, kayak, birding)
• Manage educational grants to meet deliverables, within policies and regulations in a timely manner for reports to grantors
• Establish mechanisms for volunteers to participate in adventure programs
• Directly supervises the design, implementation, and delivery of Eco-Art Workshop and Adventure Program to youth, teachers, and members of the general public
• Directly supervises and trains Eco-Art Educators working on Eco-Art Workshops and Adventures, Eco-Art Residencies, Project SIT, Professional Development, and Curriculum Development
• Responsible for all components of safety and training; must sustain the standards implemented and developed over the 19-year history of Artist Boat
• Review and evaluate program staff, the results of Eco-Art Workshops and Adventure, Eco-Art Residencies, Professional Development, and Curriculum Development activities
• Assist and recommend allocation of resources for program effectiveness and efficiency
• Daily supervision of Eco-Art Educator’s tasks and time management goals
• Assist in development of organizational and program policies regarding the program
• Grants management and writing for Eco-Art Workshops and Adventures, Eco-Art Residencies, Professional Development and Curriculum, and Community Adventures
• Assures collection and record keeping of statistical data on demographics of the programs
• Be willing and able to drive own vehicle to destinations throughout the Galveston Bay region
• Be able to tow kayak and / or habitat trailer
• Be able to utilize personal cell phone to communicate with co-workers, partners, teachers, and some participants in the field
• Manage programs from Galveston Bay to the Coastal Bend and Bays, and across counties
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Requirements:

• Bachelors (or Masters) degree of Science and/or of Fine Art (preference to environmental sciences, marine sciences, natural resources or fine arts)
• Ability to use existing technology to achieve desired results
• Advanced capability with Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Willingness and ability to transfer to Apple computer and companion software
• Ability to manage spreadsheets of financial resources provided by grants and programs, manage and record demographics and numbers of participants by program and year
• Ability to manage people, programs, and goals through time and resource management tools
• 5+ years of experience in outdoors education, arts, and/or environmental education
• 3-5 years of coordination or program management in non-formal environments and outdoors with history of collaboration with multiple entities and programs
• 3+ years of experience as Director or Program Manager at non-profit organization
• Ability to implement and maintain a training program for Eco-Art Educators

Starting Salary: Salary ($55,000 to $75,000) depending on experience, evidence of grants management experience in non-profit with extensive education program service, evidence of management of education program staff of 3 to 8 people in non-formal educational environment, depth of knowledge of Galveston Bay and Gulf environmental community and resource and education management, and proven ability to foster partnerships and secure grant funding.