About us

Earthwatch Institute is a leading global environmental not for profit organisation, committed to conserving the diversity and integrity of life on Earth to meet the needs of current and future generations.

Founded in 1971, and with five offices around the globe, we aim to empower people to save the natural world. We do this by engaging the community directly in environmental and sustainability experiences through Work (corporate programs), Life (student and teacher programs) and Play (public expeditions). This hands-on experience bridges the gap between science and the community, creating an informed society that can translate scientific knowledge into sustainable action.

Earthwatch Institute is the largest citizen science business in Australia. We focus our research on the most critical issues facing our planet (climate change, ocean health, restoring our iconic landscapes and protecting our unique wildlife), and have supported thousands of research expeditions across the globe.

We are a small, yet powerful organisation united in the following values:

• Responsibility: The wellbeing of our staff, researchers, volunteers and the environments in which we work is at the core of our operations
• Integrity: We act at all times in good faith and with exemplary honesty and transparency
• Professionalism: All of our actions demonstrate our commitment to the highest standards of professionalism and service
• Inspiration: We are inspired by our work and we seek to inspire others with experiences and knowledge that enable them to take action
• Inclusion: We are greater than the sum of our parts; we collaborate with others and bring together diverse backgrounds with dignity, respect and fairness

About you

You’re a people person with a passion for inclusive education and equal opportunities for young people across Australia.

A natural educator and communicator, you’re able to connect with and empower young people to pursue environmental action. For you, social and cultural barriers do not exist (or, you’re keen to break them down!). You’re confident in your ability to educate and inspire through immersive and experiential learning, and love to harness your creativity in designing engaging materials. Your enthusiastic and outgoing nature allow you to easily connect with students (F-12), young adults and teachers as well other stakeholders, such as program participants and communities.

Excited by the combination of education, environmental action and youth development? Please apply!

The Role

This role coordinates the implementation and delivery of programs within our Education portfolio. Reporting to and working closely with the Program Manager (Education) and the wider Earthwatch Team, your goal is to empower young people to pursue their passion for the environment, through on-ground citizen science and environmental action projects in their own schools and communities.

The role will see you support programming directly from our Melbourne base (or, for the right candidate, from regional Victoria, Sydney or Newcastle) working across our national educational hubs. The role requires a flexible and adaptive approach. You’ll be required to travel up to 6-10 weeks of the year, to engage with schools and communities (some of which are geographically and socio-economically marginalised), and to provide field support (team facilitation and leadership) during Earthwatch Expeditions and events. Some out of hours work (overnights, weekends) will be required.

This role requires a collaborative approach, as working with as a team you will be responsible for the recruitment, ongoing engagement of schools, youth and communities, and development of educational resources for our environmental programs across the F-12 and young adults, with a focus on experiential and immersive learning pedagogy. You will identify and liaise with local environmental partners and be able to communicate confidently on contemporary environmental issues.

We welcome applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Project Coordination

• Work with line-manager to ensure contracted milestones are delivered to a high standard, on time and within budget
• Recruit and maintain engagement of participants, organisations, schools, teachers, mentors and volunteers
• Coordinate program logistics and travel, and deliver (facilitate and/or lead) field experiences
• Develop and deliver resources for in-person and online learning experiences
• Work with Earthwatch staff, scientists and project partners in the field to ensure that field experiences are delivered seamlessly, with participant satisfaction and safety being of highest priority
• Work with line-manager to establish measurement parameters and measure outcomes, behaviour change and program impact, and collect the data required to effectively monitor and evaluate activities
• Contribute to program reporting

Stakeholder Relations  

• Assist in managing relationships with key partners, across all sectors of the program
• Build and maintain strong connections and rapport with external stakeholders, including schools, sponsors and delivery partners
• Attend and professionally represent Earthwatch at outreach and networking events

Program Marketing and Communication

• Assist with the marketing and promotion of programs 
• Ensure timely internal distribution of project information and updates for marketing, business development, public relations, awards and fundraising purposes  

Risk and Incident Duties

• Work with line-manager to draft safety and risk mitigation controls for field experiences, for review and endorsement by Earthwatch HSEC staff
• Implement safety protocols in line with best practice, during experience delivery
• Coordinate field/event incidents on projects
• Participate as part of Earthwatch Australia Incident Management team, taking responsibility for the Duty Officer role as required

Other duties

• Undertake upskilling and professional development as agreed/required to fulfil your role effectively
• Assist in the continual improvement of EW processes and procedures
• Fulfil other tasks as mutually agreed

The Essentials

Requirements:

• Be an Australian citizen or hold a valid work visa for full time work in Australia
• Hold a qualification in Education, and/or relevant experience
• Hold a valid Australian driving license
• Current Working with Children Check or willingness to obtain
• Up to date qualification/certification in First Aid or willingness to obtain

Skills and Competencies:

• Demonstrated experience in environmental education and/or group facilitation, both online and in person
• Passionate about supporting behaviour change for positive environmental outcomes
• Confident in recruitment, engagement, mentoring and retention of program participants (schools, F-12 and young adults)
• Ability to network, inspire others and engage with people from diverse backgrounds
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to build strong rapport and relations with communities and stakeholders
• Strong organisational skills, ideally with experience in project management
• Demonstrated proficiency in Office 365, including Sharepoint
• Demonstrated ability to create educational and training resources (Canva print/virtual)
• Ability to travel interstate, and to regional areas, and to work outside of normal working hours as required.

Desirable attributes:

• Experience in educational program design, experiential/immersive teaching pedagogy
• Experience in program budgets
• Familiar with Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Key selection criteria

• Strong environmental education and group facilitation skills
• An understanding of the challenges and opportunities involved in engaging (recruitment through to retention) schools, students and young adults, specifically in geographically or socio-economically marginalised areas
• Exemplary communication and organisational skills
• Experience in education and/or training resource creation
• A collaborative team member, who easily builds rapport and can contribute to a positive work culture

What we offer

• MODE OF EMPLOYMENT: Full-time, 2-year fixed term contract (with potential of permanency)
• SALARY: $70,000-$73,000 (Tier 4), plus superannuation in line with the rates set by the Australian Government Superannuation Guarantee. 20 days annual leave.
• REPORTS TO: Program Manager (Education)
• POSITION TITLES THAT REPORT TO THIS POSITION: None
• INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS: Earthwatch employees, volunteers/interns, Earthwatch international staff,
• EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS: Program partners, sponsors and stakeholders where appropriate (Trusts and Foundations, Corporates, Government, NGO Networks, Land managers etc.), Program participants, Research partners and scientists, Contractors and suppliers, Program IT providers, Community members and Educational contacts; teachers, schools, associations and students (where applicable)

STAFF BENEFITS:

• Supportive small team environment
• Green office space in Carlton, close to public transport links
• Flexible (or remote) work arrangements
• Intra and interstate travel
• Employee Assistance Program
• Salary Packaging option
• Professional Development with upskilling support

This role forms part of a small, but growing organisation, so it should be noted that this outline cannot be representative of the full tasks list to be undertaken by the successful applicant. It is recognised that the duties of all roles can be subject to change from time to time. Alterations to duties and responsibilities within the scope of the role should be expected and as the company grows, reporting lines may evolve.