Director of Education

The mission of the Children’s Museum of Idaho (CMI) is to bring children, families, and the community together to engage in learning through creative experiences. The museum’s vision is to engage and inspire children between the ages of 2 and 10, and nurture future explorers, innovators, and critical thinkers through play-based, hands‑on, interactive learning. The museum is a non‑profit 501(c)3 that opened in 2018, serves more than 100,000 visitors annually, and contains forty major exhibits plus on‑site and mobile planetariums.

CMI seeks a Director of Education to oversee educational content for the museum’s exhibits, programs, and outreach. The Director will create public and school program offerings, develop program schedules, set standards for program delivery, and train and supervise program staff.

This highly collaborative position requires effective leadership and inter‑departmental communication and cooperation within the museum and external community partners. Successful candidates will be organized project managers, dynamic team leaders, creative thinkers, and problem solvers with strong verbal and written communication skills. Candidates must share CMI’s commitment to creating a respectful, collaborative, purpose‑driven, and joyful work culture. This new position will currently supervise four (4) program staff and (1) outreach coordinator.

• Establish annual goals, objectives, and priorities for the Program Department, Exhibits, and learning based programs, both on‑site and through outreach.
• Innovate programs for toddlers, pre‑school, and elementary‑age audiences.
• Collaborate with Program Manager, Program Lead, and Outreach Coordinator to develop new or improve existing programs and camps.
• Develop and facilitate programs for “Out of School” students, whether home‑schooled or during school breaks.
• Identify, develop, and facilitate programs and activities for the planetarium that increase visitor participation and revenue.
• Supervise, mentor, evaluate, and provide direction for program staff.
• Oversee the hiring and training of the museum’s program staff and interns/externs.
• Create tools and strategies to evaluate learning‑based programs and gather feedback.
• Develop and deepen partnerships with schools in the Treasure Valley with the goal of increasing school visitations to the museum and expanding the outreach program.
• Manage department budget, oversee revenue, and expense goals.
• Grow capacity to expand offerings, including identifying strategic revenue opportunities.
• Develop strategies with program and leadership teams for education‑related program publicity and marketing.
• Collaborate with the Executive Director on meeting the financial goals for school, camp, and on‑site programs, outreach, and professional development programs.
• Collaborate with Exhibit Coordinator on the development of new exhibits and upgrading existing exhibits, to increase the educational component.
• Collaborate with the Development Director on education‑related grants and funding opportunities.
• Participate in professional activities to represent the Museum, share exhibit innovations, maintain and deepen professional expertise and knowledge.

• B.A. or B.S. degree in education, early childhood education, or related field.
• Five (5) or more years of education experience, with at least three (3) years in a leadership role.
• Experience in object/inquiry‑based learning as well as in delivering hands‑on programs.
• Experience developing and delivering written curriculum for early childhood‑age children and their caregivers in formal or informal learning‑based settings.
• Demonstrated management and team leadership capabilities, with excellent communication, writing, and organizational skills.
• Ability and desire to work collaboratively as part of a team and be open to constructive feedback and exchange.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and facilitating professional training workshops for staff.
• Experience with schools and educational programs within Treasure Valley.
• Proficient with Macs, PCs, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, and Canva.

The Director of Education works 5 days a week on‑site at the museum, Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. This position requires occasional flexibility for evening or weekend hours based on programmatic needs, special events, and community partnerships.

The annual salary for this role is $70,000 with a review after six (6) months. Full‑time staff receive health benefits of $200 per month and three (3) hours of PTO per bi‑weekly pay period after 60 days vesting.

• Please send a cover letter and resume as pdf to jan with your last name and Director of Education in the subject line.