Science Moab is hiring!

Frequently Asked Questions!

What is the School to Science program?

School to Science is an innovative program that provides local high school students with hands-on, experiential science learning and exposure to science and STEM careers by offering students job shadows and internships in the field, the lab, and museums with local and visiting scientists and science communication professionals. The program works to increase students’ science literacy, college and career readiness, and—ultimately—economic mobility.

In order to reduce barriers to access for students, the program is entirely free to students and families. Science Moab covers the cost and logistics of providing students transportation to and from their placements, a healthy meal(s) day-of their placement, provides proper outdoor gear for safe and effective fieldwork in the desert, and invites students with disabilities to request accommodations.

Short-term program goals include:

• Creating hands-on science mentorship and career exploration opportunities for local high school students (with an emphasis on program accessibility for underserved students) outside of the classroom.
• Promoting positive short-term student outcomes including increased scientific literacy, increased college and career readiness, and increased interest in science careers.
• Engaging scientists working in the region with an opportunity to develop their mentorship skills and interact with and inspire students curious about science and STEM.

Long-term program goals include: 

• Driving economic development outcomes, including increasing  graduation rates and median incomes for participating students, and lowering rates of intergenerational poverty in Grand County (and surrounding counties).
• Strengthening the local science economy by collaborating with mentors to strengthen their research grant proposals through broader impact partnerships, provide opportunities for mentors to enhance their CVs for tenure and other professional advancement opportunities, and by directly supporting local and regional workforce development in science/STEM.

Check out sciencemoab.org/schooltoscience for more!

What does the person in this role actually do?
The Program Director is the hub in the center of a wheel, keeping that wheel (the School to Science program!) spinning smoothly and making sure all the moving parts (local students, scientist mentors, school staff, partners, donors & sponsors, other team members, and yourself) are happy, supported, and moving in harmony. You are also thinking about the bigger picture: collecting and analyzing short-term and long-term metrics, adapting and optimizing the program to better meet community needs and our mission, and collaborating with Science Moab’s Executive Director and Board to envision the future of the program. Your responsibilities are varied and multifaceted, and include:

1. Program Management & Leadership
Oversee the coordination of all School to Science program logistics, including:

• Student and Mentor Recruitment: Lead efforts to promote School to Science program offerings and recruit student and mentor participants.
• Scheduling & Logistics: Serve as the coordinator and liaison for all scheduling and communication with all participating students, scientists, schools.
• Student Prep & Transport: Hold advance meetings with students to set expectations, understand needs, and shepherd paperwork. Provide students with healthy lunch/snacks, adequate gear, and transportation to and from mentorship opportunities.
• Assessment: Assess and quantify the program’s short-term and long-term  outcomes, impact, and effectiveness, and use data and feedback to adjust aspects of the program as needed to most effectively reach our goals.
• Reporting: Prepare regular reports for program funders; attend and prepare program reports for Board meetings.
• Web & Social: Keep the School to Science webpage up to date and create and publish regular posts and newsletter content for Science Moab.
• Admin: Follow protocols for managing program expenses, program evaluation data, program calendar, Google Drive files,

Work with the Executive Director to:

• Develop a cost-effective annual School to Science program budget to be approved by the Board & ensure efficient and accurate allocation of resources and adherence to budget and budgetary changes as recommended or required by the Executive Director or Board.
• Manage program grants, ensure compliance with reporting requirements for funders and regulatory bodies, attend donor meetings, and keep an eye to the ground for potential funding opportunities.
• Implement, and refine the following in alignment with organizational mission and vision:
  1. Strategies for maximizing program sustainability (fiscal and capacity)
  2. Strategies for maximizing program impact (community-scale and beyond)
  3. Strategies for sustainable program growth, as appropriate

2. Collaboration, Partnerships, and Community Engagement:

• Identify, cultivate, and maintain healthy partnerships with local schools and school districts, mentor organizations (i.e. public lands agencies, colleges and universities, museums), nonprofits, community groups, and other relevant partners.
• Collaborate with partners to create joint initiatives and maximize impact.
• Earn and maintain the trust of Indigenous scientists and knowledge-holders, and Native-led organizations to develop meaningful partnerships and initiatives (ensuring that any collaboration always confers greater or equal benefit to our Native partners).
• Represent the organization at community events, meetings, and forums.
• Understand the needs of local students, school staff, and mentors, and routinely communicate with and outreach to various members of the community to ensure the program is serving those needs as possible.
  

3. Continuing Education

• Seek out and participate in relevant professional development opportunities, including leadership development, best practices in science communication,  informal science and STEM education for teens, and equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
• Attend and sometimes lead Science Moab’s ongoing DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice) meetings.
• Apply information and practices from the two bullets above into existing School to Science Program offerings, budget, metrics and strategic visioning.

I’m not so sure about working with teenagers… is that going to be a problem?
Yes. You are the students’ point of contact for the program, and so are frequently coordinating and engaging directly with teens. Adaptability, creative problem-solving, compassion, and a sense of humor will all serve you well, as will an openness to listening to and learning from students! 

In addition to recruiting and welcoming students to the program, transporting students, making sure they have the information and the materials they need, and collecting survey information from them, you also serve as a bit of an informal mentor yourself, especially for students who frequent the program. Other Program Directors have provided employment references for students, received updates from participants as they begin college, received invites to graduation parties…the role you play is a big deal for the students you’re serving. Relationship building, patience, and flexibility with students is a major part of that role. Bottom line: if you aren’t stoked working with high school students, you aren’t going to be happy in this position!

I sort of despise working at a screen… is that going to be a problem?
Probably yes. In addition to the amazing days out in the field with students, visits to the schools, and recruiting new mentors, you’ll also be managing assessment data, writing reports to donors, helping with grant administration, managing student paperwork, tracking program expenses, updating the website, crafting social posts, doing looooots of email coordination, and more! You are probably going to be doing stuff on the computer more often than stuff in the outside world. It’s all essential to keeping the program running at a high-quality, but if computer tasks sound unappealing, you probably won’t end up enjoying this job very much!

What do you mean by ‘flexible schedule’?
We are all humans first, and a flexible schedule is one of the ways we try to support that value. You will be responsible for setting your own schedule (taking into account the needs of participants and partners, along with greater team needs). You can decide if your schedule and hours look the same or change from week to week. Our hope is that this allows you greater ability to do the life stuff you need and want to do, whether that’s sleep in, work your other job, rest and heal, go splash in the creek, go float the river, actually make it to your impossible-to-land dentist appointment, take PTO for your dream trip, or whatever! We make this work through strong communication & shared calendars among the team, and ensuring clear understanding of and respect for everyone’s needs.

Can this position be made full-time and/or compensation increased?
It’s tough to make it work in Moab. We totally understand—we’re all part-time at Science Moab, and every staff member has had at least one other job at the same time as working this one. We hope to change this one day! We are working to make all Science Moab staff positions full-time and benefitted by 2030—maybe we get there sooner, and maybe it takes a little longer. Unfortunately, we don’t have the ability to increase hours or compensation immediately, and we completely understand if that’s a deal breaker. 

In the meantime, we do our best to support our team financially with the limited resources at our disposal by offering PTO, an annual COLA increase in wages, support for professional development, and flexible schedule and location to help you balance other commitments. We also keep pay scales fairly flat across the org—i.e. the Executive Director’s hourly wage is typically $2/hr higher than Program Directors’ hourly wages. You are also welcome to team up with the Executive Director to take on some program fundraising to work toward expediting an increase, hours, wages, and/or benefits.