Director, Guest Education & Academy Volunteers

About the Opportunity:

Reporting to the Chief of Education and Learning, the Director of Guest Education and Academy Volunteers is responsible for the strategy, conceptualization, implementation, and assessment of public programming and volunteer engagement at the Academy, including all formal and informal facilitated programs and presentations offered to Academy guests.

In addition, the Director of Guest Education and Academy Volunteers leads the direction and provides oversight of the Academy’s Volunteer Program including its staff, public facing volunteers (such as those that engage our visitors), behind-the-scenes volunteers that support operations throughout the institution, and teen volunteers. 

Furthermore, the Director also oversees internship programs that connect with public programming and research. 

The Director works most closely with managerial leaders in the Education and Learning Division and collaborates with teams from other Divisions such as Exhibits, Guest Experience and Sales to ensure that we are meeting the Academy’s goals for visitor satisfaction, entertainment value, and educational value.

As a member of the Academy Leadership Team, this individual participates in strategic level decision making for the Academy as a whole, in addition to representing the Academy externally to board members, donors, and partners.

Organizational Culture:
Join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision and values! Currently, the Academy's strategic plan includes three initiatives – Hope for Reefs, Thriving California, and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at https://www.calacademy.org/about-us/major-initiatives.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are intrinsic to Academy culture and operations, from recruitment and retention to science and advocacy.

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every one of the qualifications for the position.

This position is based in San Francisco, California. Staff are currently expected to work from the Academy offices at least 2-3 times per week, which may fluctuate based on business needs. Please do not apply if you are not able to work onsite. Candidates are required to have up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment, absent qualifying exemptions in accordance with applicable laws. Individuals receiving a conditional offer of employment from the California Academy of Sciences will be provided the full text of the vaccination policy. The California Academy of Sciences is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace, to protect its employees, volunteers and guests.

Position Duties & Responsibilities:

• Design and articulate a vision for a 21^st century informal learning institution to maximize attendance, guest engagement, science learning, transformative environmental education, and people-to-people interactions at the Academy.


• Creatively expand the Academy’s public program offerings by providing project and staff management, along with resources, structures, and expert guidance to teams as they innovate new impactful ways to interpret the Academy’s mission, exhibits, initiatives, and work of Academy researchers.


• Partner effectively with the Academy’s Institute for Biodiversity Science & Sustainability (IBSS), other Education departments, Exhibits, Communications and other internal stakeholders to set and consistently meet guest experience goals and support daily attendance projections.


• Work to increase the profile and impact of the Academy in the region and beyond as an innovative educational leader through external, strategic program partnerships.


• Increase the amount and quality of authentic science learning experiences in which Academy guests can participate – before, during and post visit, with an emphasis on creating an experience that inspires individuals of all ages and backgrounds to take action towards regeneration of the natural world and of the human-nature connection.


• Direct a team of 20-25 public programs staff and provide oversight and direction for a large scale volunteer program with the intent of fulfilling our mission to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.


• Allocate and manage expenses and revenue for the department.


• Collaborate with Membership and Communications to effectively develop and market in- person program offerings.


• Develop and maintain external partnerships with other organizations and donors that will support the public engagement strategy of the Academy and our attendance and utilization goals.


• Develop success metrics and evaluation tools to assess programmatic offerings and utilization.


• Elevate volunteer programming at the Academy through the creation and implementation of a mission aligned strategic plan with a focus on equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility; and increase institutional buy-in.


• Build volunteer program capacity throughout the organization through increased internal  collaboration and advocacy across Divisions.


• Provide management to ensure operationalization of outstanding volunteer programs that support the Academy’s mission; and direct the evolution of existing volunteer programming.


• Oversee youth internships, including the Academy's flagship STEM education and workforce development program, Careers in Science (CiS).


• Work closely with the Manager of Youth Engagement, Youth Programs' staff, and the City of San Francisco's Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF) in all matters related to youth internship programs.


• Direct Guest Education and Academy Volunteer staff and program alignment with the overall Academy DEIA strategy and anti-racism work.


• Follow all Academy safety regulations and complete all People and Culture (PACT) assigned trainings


• Support the Academy’s mission, vision and Academy-wide initiatives


• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience:

The ideal candidate will possess a combination of the following education and/or equivalent experience

• Bachelor’s degree; preferably in science or science and/or environmental education, or equivalent experience.


• Masters in science, science communication, informal education, museum education.


• Minimum of 7-10 years experience in designing and delivering informal science and action-focused education.


• Minimum 2 years working experience in programs that deliver  informal science education with transformative education.


• Combined minimum of 7-10 years supervisory director level managerial experience of teams of informal educators and public-facing staff and volunteers at a zoo or aquarium (such as an AZA accredited institution) and at a science center or museum.


•  Minimum of 5 years managing volunteers and/or volunteer programming.


• 1-2 years of special event and/or festival programming experience desired.


• 3-5 years experience in securing funding for public programming through grant writing and/or donor solicitations.


• 3-5 years experience in developing and cultivating multi-organizational partnerships focused on family or general public science or environmental learning.

Skills & Abilities:

• Expert in developing science content and solutionary-based learning experiences for all ages for use by museums, aquariums, zoos, planetariums and/or other informal science learning organizations.


• Demonstrated experience in developing, implementing, and evaluating in-person programs that merge informal science with action-oriented information, targeted for all ages and types of audiences.


• Demonstrated expertise in volunteer management best practices, including understanding of the legal and logistic constraints of volunteer specific programming.


• Ability to  review content for all public, volunteer, and intern programming through a scientific lens to confirm accuracy and rigor and provide feedback on structure and content when needed. 


• Outstanding budget management skills individual teams and department level operations, including creating financial projections for proposed projects and programs.


• Ample knowledge of and demonstrated implementation of progressive science interpretation, science communication, and solutionary-design approaches for public, volunteer, and internship programs.


• Passionate and skillful in conception and design of programs that integrate complex science translated into accessible content within experiences and interactions that strengthen the human-nature connection.


• Excellent leadership skills and commitment to positive team dynamics including developing leadership and growth opportunities within teams.


• Excellent communication skills (employs tact and diplomacy to communicate complex issues to highly diverse audiences).


• Demonstrated commitment to safety, specifically in regards to working with youth and volunteers.


• Ability to develop, operationalize, and implement program strategy.


• Nimble problem solving skills that combine a strong understanding of what motivates volunteers and staff, and the ability to address  staff performance issues in a proactive, supportive, kind, and discreet manner.


• Excellent organizational, detail and time management skills, including demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and on deadline, with the ability to coach other staff members from any level in this area.


• Impeccable writing skills and significant experience with grant writing and donor report writing.


• Computer proficiency in Google Suite, MS Office, Adobe Acrobat.


• Familiarity with HR practices and regulations as they relate to volunteers, staff, youth volunteers and paid youth staff.

Desired/Preferred:

• Bilingual (spoken and/or written) in Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, or other non-English language preferred.

Work Environment:

The physical expectations described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of the position of this job. Ability to safely work in both outdoor and indoor environments that may include stairs, uneven paths, ladders or lifts, and secure access areas. This position requires extensive time on the museum public floor which includes: frequent travel across concrete floors and bark while transporting materials, intervals of time outdoors in varying environmental conditions, extensive public speaking often in noisy environments, and exposure to high levels of noise. Employee must be able to lift, carry and pull up to 30 pounds with or without assistance. Must be able to perform repetitive motions 50% of the time.