Job Posting: Place-Based Educator

Job Posting: Place-Based Educator

The Place-Based Educator works as part of a dynamic team of board, staff, partners, and volunteers to support the Katahdin Learning Project. 

The Place-Based Educator with Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters will be an experienced environmental educator and work through the summer 2023 season to assist and lead programs for youth in Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Katahdin Region communities. The Place-Based Educator will follow pre-designed lesson plans, help prepare lesson materials and help with clean up after the lesson. The educator may be asked to work additionally during special events such as Teacher Camp. A successful candidate must be enthusiastic about working with youth and helping connect them to their community, nature, and the national monument.

For general management and support, this position works under the supervision of the Education Coordinator. 

This seasonal part-time position will ideally start on May 19, 2023, and end on August 25, 2023. This position’s schedule is variable and the employee will be expected to work between 2-4 days/week, 6-8 hours/day. Specific weekdays and number of days negotiable. 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

    • Katahdin Learning Project (90%)
      • Assist and lead pre-determined interpretive programs for K-12 youth in Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and surrounding communities.
      • Prepare lesson activities, maintain supplies, and help with post-lesson clean up and surveys
      • Provide fun, safe, and educational experience for students
      • Distribute first aid supplies to teachers for students on an as-needed basis
    • Professional Development (5%)
      • Provide Leave No Trace Trainer course
      • Assist with Teacher Camp, a workshop for teachers provided by KLP
      • Attend a range of outdoor recreation courses when applicable and available
      • Participate in Career Exploration Badge program and recruit other students for the program
  • Other duties as assigned (5%)
    • Submit timecard on a biweekly basis
    • Submit expense report on a monthly basis
    • Friends operates with other teams including Management, Finance, Development, Grants, and Communications. There may be discrete tasks assigned from these teams.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND KNOWLEDGE QUALIFICATIONS:

  • PREFERRED EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS: Current First Aid and CPR certification (Wilderness First Aid Preferred). Maine Recreation Guide a plus
  • PREFERRED EXPERIENCE LEVEL: 1-3 years
  • PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS: Experience working with children in outdoor setting.

SKILLS QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Active Listening – Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Active Learning – Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Learning Strategies – Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Instructing – Teaching others how to do something.
  • Social Perceptiveness – Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Time Management – Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
  • Judgment and Decision Making – Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Risk Management- Able to decipher between safe and unsafe activities and manage appropriate risk
  • Knowledge of Excel Spreadsheets – ability to use Excel programs at a basic level
  • Knowledge of Google Docs, Sheets, Email – ability to use programs for basic communication 

WORKING CONDITIONS & PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Working Conditions include exposure to: Dirt, heat/cold, office environment, outdoor environment, inclement weather, and biting insects

This work requires computer access. Candidates are required to have access to a public or personal computer to communicate through email, use shared organizational documents, and submit time cards and expense reports.

Physical demands Include: Carrying backpack up to 15 lbs, sitting, standing, walking, hiking, kneeling, handling/repetitive motion, driving, use of keyboard or other digital dexterity, peripheral vision, Use of written or verbal sources of information, like reading reports, Use of oral communication to perform work

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The Place-based Educator is paid $23 an hour, subject to federal and state tax withholdings.

The availability of benefits –  including health, dental, and insurance coverage – will be based on the employees’ regular working hours. Part-time employees who work between 20 and 40 hours per week accrue Paid Time Off on a prorated basis. As a new employee, health, dental, and vision coverage becomes effective on the first day of the month following the first full month of employment, subject to the enrollment rules of the insurance carrier and provided that applications for enrollment are received by the insurance agent in a timely fashion.

LOCATION & TRAVEL

Friends maintains an office in Patten, Maine. The Place-Based Educator is based in Patten. Travel to other locations within the Katahdin Region, particularly into Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, is a frequent requirement of this job. The employee must maintain a reliable car and valid driver’s license. Travel on rough, dirt roads will be required on a regular basis. 

This job description is not intended to be and should not be construed as an all-inclusive list of all the responsibilities, skills or working conditions associated with the position.  While it is intended to accurately reflect the position’s activities and requirements, Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and assign other duties as necessary.

External and internal applicants, as well as position incumbents who become disabled as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, must be able to perform the essential job functions (as listed on this job description) either unaided or with the assistance of a reasonable accommodation to be determined by management on a case by case basis.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please submit a resume and the names and contact information for three references to the Katahdin Learning Project team at klp@friendsofkww.org with the subject line: Place Based Educator. Priority will be given to applications received on or before May 12, 2023 and candidates may be considered until the position is filled.