Educator, Elementary School

Job Details

Job Title:

Educator
Department:
Conservation, Education and Science

Reports To:

Associate Director for Education
FLSA Status:
Non-exempt;
Full-time

Job Location:

Tucson, AZ 85743
Starting Salary: $16.49 per hour (initial step) plus a comprehensive benefit package, which includes medical, dental, vision, life and LTD insurance, FSA, HRA, 403(b) retirement plan, paid holidays, personal business days, sick leave, and vacation. Position is covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Educator role at the Desert Museum assists with educational and conservation experiences for school groups, families, children, camps, and the general public for people of all ages. Programs are a mix of in‑person (indoors & outdoors), overnights, virtual, and hybrid.

• The primary responsibility of this position is to support a variety of programming (classes, family groups, festivals, field trips, informal activities, overnight camping trips, special events, etc.)
• Assist with programs and orientations for school groups, teen programs, community groups, and camps.
• Engage and educate guests through exhibit or nature exploration in addition to onsite, offsite, virtual, and tabling events.
• Follow correct procedures for handling, transporting, and teaching with live animals (arthropods and reptiles) and maintain internal animal handling certifications.
• Compiles Museum artifacts, materials, and other educational tools for educational programs.
• Develops educational materials for programs such as slide decks, manipulatives, worksheets, booklets, and other hands‑on teaching tools.
• Assists with program logistics by communicating with teachers, group leads, and staff.
• Knowledge of and comfort with communicating science topics including the natural history of Sonoran Desert species, climate change, invasive species, the age of the Earth, and dinosaurs, among other topics.
• Maintain records of attendance, training goals, and animal handling.

This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

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, skills, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Associate’s degree in science, education or closely related field. One year of experience in early childhood or elementary education, formal or informal, paid or volunteer.

Bachelor’s degree in science, education or a closely related field. Two+ years working with children in formal groups (classrooms, clubs, teams etc.). Experience working with animals. Experience working outdoors in a variety of weather. Experience hiking and camping, especially with youth. Theater/presentation experience. Experience creating educational resources such as slides, handouts, or activities.

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of Virtual Programming, Google or PPT slide creation, spreadsheet, and word processing software.

• Must be familiar with Zoom, Teams, Google, and Microsoft Office suite, and able to learn new technology quickly.
• Able to work most Saturdays, special events, and half of the Saturday nights in the…