Gardening Specialist

About the role

The Activity Specialist will bring a passion for the mission of Harlem Children's Zone: break the cycle of intergenerational poverty with comprehensive, on-the-ground programming that builds up opportunities for children and families to thrive in school, work, and life. We are looking for enthusiastic part-time Activity Specialists across various disciplines to guide our students in after-school activities.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate weekly lesson plans, activities, and creative projects related to your specialty.
• Teach, facilitate, and promote lifetime decision-making, identifying values, communication, critical thinking, etc.
• Prepare and develop age, and skill-appropriate curriculum, lesson plans, activities, and special projects that fuse the arts and academic competencies to be reviewed by supervisors before being taught.
• Plan and facilitate a project-based unit, and attend weekly meetings.
• Work with program participants to develop their artistic, educational, and leadership potential.
• Engage youth in the following areas through the arts: critical thinking; evaluation; risk-taking; rehearsals; hands-on project-based learning; documentation of work; community-building, and activism.
• Coordinate subject-related trips, guest speakers, special events, student exhibitions, and college trips.
• Share knowledge of the history and current state of African, African-American, and Latino issues and be able to interpret that into diverse learning opportunities.
• Able to communicate the progress of students and share insights discovered with team members on a regular basis.
• Act as a role model for all students.
• Perform other duties as assigned by management.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED (degree preferred)
• 1+ years of teaching experience
• Specialty in Gardening Areas of Specialization: Vegetable Gardening, Flower & Pollinator Gardens, Urban or Container Gardening, Composting & Sustainability, Soil Health & Plant Care, Native Plant Gardening, School or Community Gardens

Who You Are

• A commitment to Youth Development and the mission and programs of HCZ
• The ability to create lesson plans related to the class subject matter and implement project based learning in the curriculum
• Conservatory training and/or university-level education and practical experience in the content area is preferred (college students currently pursuing degree-level work are also encouraged to apply)
• Must have at least one year of teaching experience
• Passion and experience with arts education involving youth
• Flexibility, creativity, and enthusiasm for young people
• Excellent planning, organization, communication, and time management skills
• Ability to provide consistent and positive instruction as well as receive constructive criticism
• Experience working in youth development and teaching well-developed enrichment courses, social consciousness, self-identity, and efficacy
• Energetic, motivated self-starter and a team player
• Must be able to work independently as well as collaboratively on projects with staff and students and full curriculum

Schedule

• Promise Academy After School: On Site, Monday-Friday any time from 2 pm-7:30 pm.
• Peacemaker Program: On-Site: Monday-Friday 2 PM-6 PMA
• Cut Above: Monday-Thursday, 3 pm- 7 pm & Friday's 12 pm-6 pm
• ACE, ETC, CCCC (Zone High School, After school): Monday-Thursday 3 pm-8 pm & Friday's 2 pm-6 pm
• Summer Hours: Monday-Friday, on-site five days a week (40 hours total). Work hours may fall anywhere between 7:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., depending on the site you're hired with

Benefits

• Career advancement
• Paid sick leave
• Employee referral bonus
• Physical wellness discounts
• Commuter benefits
• Additional Benefits (Discounts on flights, hotels, theme parks, concert tickets, and more.)

Pay

The salary range for this position is $25-$30 per hour.