Education and Events Coordinator

Education and Events Coordinator

Location: Riverbend Environmental Education Center, Gladwyne, PA

Position Type: Part-time 

Reports to: Education Director

Riverbend Environmental Education Center connects people to nature. Our Nature Camps are core to Riverbend’s identity as a caring team of environmental educators – empowering children and adults to take action to conserve Earth's resources. When children spend time in nature, they think more creatively and critically; feel less stressed, allowing their emotional development to flourish; and increase their physical health.

Riverbend’s nature preserve is situated on 30 acres in Gladwyne, PA, and is home to walking trails, ponds, woodlands, an aquaponics greenhouse, a meadow habitat and a stream. During the school year, students from across the region visit on field trips, and we travel to bring schools Riverbend’s award-winning education programs. Last year, 50% of our programs were delivered for free to children in low-income schools.

Job Summary:

This part-time position oversees the Riverbend on the Road (ROR) program, the Caregiver & Me program, and Education Events at Riverbend.  In addition to providing administrative leadership to these program areas, the Education and Events Coordinator works as an Environmental Educator leading various education programs as needed. The Education and Events Coordinator is a member of Riverbend’s education team. This role reports to the Education Director.

Who You Are

You are a people person with prior experience teaching children in a classroom or an environmental education setting. You have experience writing lesson plans and are familiar with inquiry-based learning. You are highly organized and have demonstrated administrative experience. Your ideal job balances teaching time with administrative time. You thrive in a collaborative work environment. You are committed to Riverbend’s mission to connect children to nature. The ideal candidate will have at least three years of experience in education and/or administrative work. 

 

Primary Responsibilities

As the Education Coordinator, you will:

• Develop, implement and evaluate curriculum for Riverbend on the Road (ROR) programs in alignment with State curriculum standards, client needs and Riverbend’s mission

• Maintain schedules for ROR series programs including dates, curriculum, material needs, and educator leads

• Train part-time educators as needed to lead ROR programs and provide appropriate coaching and feedback

• Create program topics, lesson plans, schedules, and registration listings for Caregiver & Me (Budding Naturalists) sessions

• Teach in education programs as needed including on-site Riverbend field trips, RORs, Community of Practice (CoP) school visits, and trainings for part-time educators

• Maintain productive working relationships and channels of communication with school partners as needed

• Assist with marketing ROR and Caregiver & Me programs

• Work collaboratively on a four member education team to brainstorm, design and troubleshoot all education programming and activities 

As the Education Events Coordinator,

• Plan and implement up to eight education events per year on the preserve that further Riverbend’s mission to connect people, families, and children to nature

• Coordinate with vendors for education events as needed

• Create event listings on ticketing platform (currently Eventbrite) and work with Education Director and Marketing Manager to be sure the events are listed on the website

• Support events marketing as needed including writing event descriptions, online listings, flyer distribution, etc.

 

Required Experience:

• Experience teaching children in a classroom or an environmental education setting

• Strong demonstrated organizational and administrative skills 

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and demonstrate flexibility

• Experience working with people from different age groups, backgrounds, and cultures

• Event planning experience is a plus

• Experience working in early childhood education is a plus

• Creative thinker able to design lesson plans and envision engaging event ideas

• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills

• Strong customer service focus

• Commitment to environmental education and sustainability

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Environmental Studies, Biology, or other related field. Relevant experience may be substituted for education. 

• Driver’s Licence and willingness to travel to offsite locations required

 

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary of $24 per hour

• 20-25 hours per week

• 10 paid holidays and 8 PTO days

 

Why you should work for us

• We hold our meetings outdoors in spring, summer, and fall.

• We are clear-eyed about the challenges facing the environment, but the work we do improves childrens’ lives and gives us hope for the future.

• We believe work-life balance is important and we respect each employee’s unique needs. 

• We are a collaborative team and we celebrate each other’s successes and support each other’s work. 

• Our Board and Staff are fiercely committed to equity and to achieving our DEI Plan goals

• Link to Riverbend’s DEI Plan

• On your work breaks, enjoy a hike through the woods!

Working conditions

• Work will be split between our office, offsite classrooms, offsite field trip locations, and outdoors.

• Able to remain on feet for long periods of time, in all weather conditions. 

• Will regularly need to walk trails with lots of hills and uneven ground. 

• Will regularly work with live animals including insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and fish.

• Ability to safely lift and carry 40 lbs for a distance of 25 ft.

• Successful completion of a post-offer background check, including criminal and driving records, and ability to obtain PA Child Abuse History Clearance and FBI Fingerprinting. 

• Must be available to work occasional weekends and holidays as needed for programming.

• Must have own vehicle. Mileage will be reimbursed.

 

To Apply:

Please submit a cover letter, resume and two professional references to Suzanne Safran, Education Director, at ssafran@riverbendeec.org. 

 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage candidates to apply early as the position will close once we have a robust applicant pool or a candidate has been selected. 

Equal Opportunity Employment:

Riverbend is committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Riverbend is an equal opportunity employer and educational institution and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices.

Thank you for your time!