Vacancy expired!
The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum is the only childrens museum in Santa Barbara County and educates visitors of all ages. Santa Maria consists of a diverse population of 137,000 and is located in Northern Santa Barbara County on Californias Central Coast, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The citys economy is based on retail, agriculture, and manufacturing.
The Museum features 13,000-square-feet of exhibits and a new 1,200-square-feet makerspace, both of which serve more than 34,000 visitors annually. The Museums exhibits and programs are specially crafted to create a please touch atmosphere to stimulate the best in learning and discovery for children and adults. These offerings generate the perfect opportunity for a creative and motivated individual to meet the current demand and future growth of the Museums program and educational development.
The Museum is looking for a Museum Education Director; the overall goal of the Museum Education Director will be to encourage learning through formal and informal education, marketing, and publicity. We are looking for a Museum Education Director who will be passionate about the museums mission to foster family- and youth-inspired learning by creating experiences to explore ourselves, our valley, our world, and beyond. If youre excited about creating and sharing imaginative educational content for kids and are sociable, easy to talk to, patient, resourceful, and devoted to learning, then this job may be for you. The Museum Education Director reports to the Executive Director.
Primary Responsibilities:
The Museum Education Director ensures that all guests, families and school groups have an outstanding educational experience. Your day-to-day responsibilities include:
Collaborating with the executive director to develop the museums educational strategy
Meeting overall educational objectives of the museum as set forth by the board of directors and executive director
Researching, designing, and implementing engaging educational programming for existing and new exhibits, including curriculum-aligned field trips for preschool through elementary school classes and museum-in-motion programs
Collaborating with experts in the appropriate academic fields on developing and implementing exhibit programming including securing volunteer program facilitators
Collaborating with executive director on budget and timelines for exhibit program development and implementation
Producing educational resources and parent/educator study packs
Training, coordinating and supervising program assistants and volunteers on implementation of exhibit educational programming and activities
Developing and hosting events related to the Museums mission or selected educational themes including school break and summer camps
Representing the Museums in media and at public events as authorized by executive director
Collaborating with marketing team to promote educational programming, exhibits and events
Attending relevant professional trainings
Remaining current on trends and ideas in child development, literacy, science, art, and education
Evaluating program effectiveness through assessment of learning outcomes, analysis of data collected during assessment efforts, and interpretation of evaluation findings
Other duties as assigned
A successful Museum Education Director will:
Have a passion for child development and education
Have a comprehensive understanding of formal and informal education and the importance of play in the development of children
Have knowledge of STEAM education and associated activities
Have the ability to write engaging, age appropriate lesson plans that align with Common Core Curriculum and National Science Standards
Have a desire to educate children in a fun and engaging way
Be friendly and accessible and willing to work with individuals of all ages
Possess superior organizational skills to oversee the creation of educational programing of ALL museum and makerspace exhibits
Ability to learn and master museum software platforms and essential computer knowledge including program budget development and monitoring
Possess outstanding written and verbal communication skills, as well as strong organizational skills and the ability to pay close attention to detail
Have knowledge and experience of successful educational grant writing
Work collaboratively with other team members and be comfortable working independently
The Museum Education Director will perform teaching duties and other outreach support activities. These duties typically include:
Ensuring a welcoming and helpful atmosphere at the entrance and exit of the museum
Providing information for guests
Organizing and conducting tours and workshops for museum visitors
Teaching on-site as well as off-site programs to school groups
Acting as a community liaison among artists, technicians, administrators, teachers and volunteers participating in museum events
Planning, leading, implementing, and following through on meetings and events
Qualifications:
Educational certification preferred. Will consider individuals that possess an Early Childhood Education certification or AA degree, individuals currently enrolled in a teachers credential program and/or individuals that possess a bachelors or masters degree with relevant experience or qualified with training and/or experience that match the position description.
Background Check Disclaimer
A background check (including criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants.
This position is an hourly, 32-hour position. The work schedule is determined by the needs, objectives and deadlines that are presented at any given time with some evenings and weekends required.
To Apply
Please submit via email resume, cover letter and 2 professional references to Nancy Gastelum, Executive Director, nancy@smvdiscoverymuseum.org
Or mail to,
Nancy Gastelum, Executive Director
705 S. McClelland Street, Santa Maria, CA 93454
