Education Specialist

About the role

The Adler Planetarium is seeking a Part-Time Education Specialist to join its dynamic team on Chicago's Museum Campus. This position works as part of a team of museum educators, delivering engaging, informal learning experiences to museum visitors of all ages daily.

Responsibilities

• Facilitating onsite activities for adults, families, and students
• Providing positive guest-facing interactions
• Collecting participation data, logging successes and challenges, and providing input regarding visitor feedback and experiences to the wider department
• Preparing for educational programs and maintaining organized learning spaces
• Ongoing participation in training and knowledge development
• Taking an active role in team discussions and participating in training sessions to build and maintain facilitation skills and expand content knowledge
• Participating in ongoing professional learning and training on existing and new Adler activities and engagement strategies
• Participating in activity testing, visitor testing/observations, and supporting iterative program development

Qualifications

• Ace of Associate's Degree or 3+ years professional work experience
• Two or more years of experience working in informal or formal learning environments, or experience facilitating, supporting, or teaching science-rich activities to the public
• A confident public speaker with storytelling skills
• Demonstrates professional maturity and high levels of emotional intelligence and cultural competency
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to provide service to, and work with, a diverse array of people
• Excellent communicator with an enthusiasm for sharing knowledge, connecting with others, and supporting learners at various levels
• Ability to adapt to meet the needs of different audiences
• Self-directed learner with the ability to master content and concepts quickly
• High degree of adaptability
• A creative, proactive problem-solver

Preferred qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or 5+ years of professional work experience
• Specializations: STEM, education, museums
• Previous public-facing experience at a cultural institution such as a planetarium, museum, science center, zoo, or theater
• Two or more years as a museum educator or interpreter
• Interest in or experience with astronomy
• Prior knowledge or willingness to learn basic astronomy and space science concepts
• Fluency in two or more languages common to the Chicagoland area is a plus

Application requirements

• A resume that highlights your work experience and how it relates to the required qualifications listed above
• A cover letter that includes answers to the following questions:
1. Are you available to consistently work the entire schedule listed in this job ad: Sundays and Mondays (10:00 am - 4:00 pm) and the 4th Wednesday of each month (1:00 pm - 5:00 pm)?
2. This position involves spending most of the workday standing, moving throughout museum galleries, and engaging with visitors in a busy, often crowded, environment. Are you comfortable working in this type of setting?
3. Describe your previous experience working directly with the public in educational and/or museum settings and how it relates to this role. Include details about the audiences you have worked with and examples of the types of activities, events, and experiences you have facilitated. Be sure to describe your role.
4. After reading the job ad, which responsibility are you most excited about and which do you think will be the most challenging? Why?
5. Describe a time you learned new information or a new skill and then used it to support, teach, or engage others.