ABOUT EDUCATION OUTSIDE:

At Education Outside, we’re committed to advancing science in public schools, outdoors. We transform school gardens into lush, living laboratories. Education Outside employs a service corps of emerging leaders who work full-time at 40+ Bay Area public elementary schools to bring nature and science directly into the hands of 17,000+ students.

ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH AMERICORPS:

AmeriCorps is an 10-month service commitment that meets a community’s critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. Education Outside partners with AmeriCorps to provide full-time service opportunities in the Bay Area supporting communities’ critical needs in education. Education Outside AmeriCorps members dedicate 1700 hours of volunteer service per term in exchange for leadership and career development, and a living stipend provided by our AmeriCorps grant. For more information, please visit www.americorps.gov.

OUR MISSION:

Education Outside advances science education and environmental literacy by teaching outdoors in public schools. We spark children's interest in science and connect them to the natural world through hands-on learning in school gardens.

Additional Position Summary:

At the student level, with an understanding of science as the lens through which students develop a connection to and become responsible stewards of the natural world, the Director of Education (DOE) is the primary champion for and expert in science education at Education Outside. At the corps member level, knowing the challenges educators face in urban public schools as well as AmeriCorps’ focus on career development, the DOE will ensure that the training we provide members is directly applicable, skill/career enhancing, and fun. The DOE serves as the liaison between Education Outside and curriculum developers, and works to ensure a consistent, rigorous, and integrated approach to all education programs. The DOE works with department staff to deliver trainings weekly. It is the responsibility of the DOE to understand the field of outdoor learning and keep abreast of current trends and best practices. The DOE reports to the Chief Strategy Officer and serves on the Education Outside leadership team.

Leadership and Management (30%):

• Oversee Education Outside’s core education framework which guides and informs the organization’s pedagogical approach, best practices, professional development, and corps member performance management.
• Serve as a resident expert in theory, research, and practice of environmental education, including topics such as inquiry-based learning, diversity and equity, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and how to create scientifically and environmentally literate students at a young age
• Develop new educational initiatives to expand and deepen Education Outside’s programmatic potential
• Create, manage, and monitor annual professional development and curriculum budgets and participate in budget development as a part of the leadership team
• Directly supervise the strategy and education department’s staff members
• Collaborate with the Chief Strategy Officer on the development of new revenue generating strategies and program models
• Work with the Education Outside Program Team and other staff to create, implement, and evaluate organization-wide educational goals and outcomes, both short and long term that keep Education Outside at the leading and growing edge of environmental education
• Oversee the development and revision of education content on the Education Outside website

Professional Development (30%):

• Oversee Education Outside’s corps member professional development program and annually evaluate it in order to deepen and enrich its offerings and ensure that it’s engaging, provides all corps members what they need to be successful, and is NGSS-focused
• Work with Professional Development Manager to plan, conduct, and evaluate workshops and design and develop new workshops in response to research and evaluation
• Promote innovative ways to incorporate the NGSS science practices into corps member education per Education Outside’s Theory of Change.
• Collaborate with the Director of Programs and the Program Team to develop teaching resources in response to changing trends in environmental and science education nationwide

Curriculum (30%):

• Oversee the development of Education Outside’s curriculum, ensuring that all lessons are NGSS-aligned and represent best practices for teaching outside
• Ensure that Education Outside’s curriculum design and implementation are explicitly aligned to Education Outside’s theory of change, core educational framework, and strategic priorities (including expansion), as well as to state and federal content standards, including the NGSS
• Guide any internal and external curriculum working groups or developers

Partnerships (5%)

• Represent Education Outside and take an active leadership role among select local and regional committees, conferences and professional associations related to environmental education, garden-based education, and/or science education
• Lead the ongoing development and strengthening of partnerships with like organizations, schools, and community organizations and seek opportunities to develop new ones
• Serve as Education Outside’s liaison to public school district-level science leadership

Development (5%)

• Support the CEO and Chief Development Officer with development functions, including assisting in the cultivation of potential donors and partners, planning and implementing funded projects, coordinating the gathering of information for grant reporting, and assisting the stewardship of donor relationships
• Co-develop and oversee/manage multiple grant budgets
• Attend and present at board meetings as needed

COMPETENCIES

• Collaboration
• Attention to Communication
• Managerial Courage
• Vision & Creative Thinking
• Strategic Agility

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s Degree or PhD (preferred) in science or education-related field; teaching credential a plus
• 5-10 years of experience in nonprofit management, school administration, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Demonstrated leadership, vision, and follow-through
• Extensive experience teaching children, adults, and professional educators
• Significant experience managing multiple projects
• Proven communication and coaching/mentoring skills
• Exemplary budget and project management skills
• Experience developing innovative programs, trainings, and curricula
• Exceptional writing, editing, and public speaking skills
• Sophisticated understanding of and demonstrated commitment to issues of diversity and equity in education
• Strong pedagogical foundations in experiential and inquiry-based learning
• Experience in garden-based education
• Passionate commitment to Education Outside’s mission and vision
• A high degree of intercultural competence, and a commitment to building a diverse team