Watershed Educator
Watershed Educator
The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) was founded in 1972. Our vision is a vibrant, healthy and resilient Mystic River Watershed for the benefit of all our community members. To achieve this, MyRWA is protecting water quality, restoring important habitats, building climate resilience, transforming parks and paths, and inspiring youth and community members.
We use science, advocacy, collaboration and education to ensure a vibrant, healthy and resilient environment for the people and natural communities that call the watershed home. Thousands of volunteers help us monitor environmental health and make on-the-ground improvements; our education programs help students and families learn about nearby natural communities.
Today, MyRWA has a staff of twelve highly collaborative team members, a dedicated Board of Directors, and an annual budget of more than $3 million. As an organization committed to incorporating racial equity and justice throughout our programs and operations, we have embarked on a year-long training and strategic plan update to ensure that we are fully living into these values.
As the Educator, you will lead MyRWA’s school and youth-based education programing throughout the watershed, maintain existing school relationships and create new school and youth-group partnerships. Education content is linked to our current projects and is designed to connect to STEM topics students are already studying in schools and during out-of-school time. You will develop curriculum and teach interactive content in the classroom, schoolyard, local greenspace, or virtually. Like all our staff, you will collaborate with colleagues and provide hands-on support and weave in education within our community-based programs.
The Watershed Educator reports to MyRWA’s Deputy Director of External Affairs and works closely with other team members and external partners. We seek motivated candidates who have knowledge of how schools function, value collaboration within our organization and with educational partners, can devise creative and interactive ways to make our work come alive to youth and engage them in stewardship.
WHAT YOU’LL GET TO DO
Manage all aspects of MyRWA school and youth education programs. Key responsibilities include:
Run the formal educational programs within watershed schools (70%):
- Maintain current contacts and expand school and community connections
- Schedule and organize all school program resources and logistics
- Create curriculum that meets the needs of science curriculum coordinators/teachers, links to watershed issues and how human health and the environment interact, and includes an action project for students
- Deliver programming & complete evaluations
- Maintain records of programs and results
Engage in wider-watershed community events (20%)
- Recruit and train community educators/volunteers to support MyRWA’s education agenda
- Collaborate with additional youth program partners to find additional opportunities to create youth leaders
- Participate in community events to highlight the watershed—such as the Cambridge Science Festival, annual meeting, some tabling etc.
Vision the educational programming (10%)
- Educate yourself on MyRWA projects and initiatives
- Participate in funding proposal development and reporting on existing grants
- Serve as the thought-leader on place-based education at MyRWA
- Elevate youth voices within MyRWA communications
WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR
There are innumerable ways to learn, grow and excel professionally. We know people gain skills through a variety of professional, personal, educational, and volunteer experiences. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. This said, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below.
● A track record working with schools, including collaboration with teachers and science staff.
● Expertise in delivering education-based content and developing active and engaging curriculum both in-person and virtually.
● Demonstrated understanding of education, STEM, ecological issues, human impact on natural systems
● Ability to travel to program locations throughout our watershed (Arlington, Belmont, Burlington, Cambridge, Charlestown, Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, Lexington, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Revere, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, Watertown, Wilmington, Winchester Winthrop, Woburn)
● Demonstrated and lived commitment to fostering a culture of equity and justice within a workplace and school
● Effective interpersonal and creative problem-solving skills; successful outcomes in working well across teams
● Impeccable ethics and judgment in maintaining highly sensitive and confidential information.
● Proficiency with relevant office software systems such as Microsoft Office and virtual platforms.
WHAT WE OFFER
This is a full-time position with the Mystic River Watershed Association with a salary range of $50,000 to $58,000 dependent on experience and skills. Our paid time off policy includes 15 days paid vacation in your first year of employment and rises to 20 days in your second year of employment. We offer 12 paid holidays, and 6 sick paid days per year. MyRWA benefits include health insurance (MyRWA covers up to 80% of employee premiums), immediate eligibility for participation in a 401k retirement plan with a 4% employer match and paid parental leave.
WORK EXPECTATIONS AT MyRWA
We are a hands-on team and seek employees who are passionate about our work and service to our community. MyRWA has been fully remote throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently aiming to work onsite a minimum of three days/week as of this fall.
We continue to adapt to safety protocols related to COVID-19 as we understand them. For the safety of the community, all MyRWA employees are required to be vaccinated. The Watershed Educator will honor protocols and requirements set up by our school and community partners.
Our office is located in the town center of Arlington, Massachusetts. Free street parking is available next to our office, which is a 1 minute walk from the 77 and 79 bus lines on Massachusetts Avenue. Local travel within the watershed area is anticipated, including opportunities to work at external events. Typical hours are 9 am to 5 pm with limited night and weekend events. This role may involve minor physical activity.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested candidates are encouraged to promptly submit their application to jobopportunity@mysticriver.org. All applicants will receive a response to their application within two weeks of submission. Our application process includes an initial phone screen, an interview with the supervisor Michelle Liebetreu, and for finalists, an interview day with members of MyRWA team.
MyRWA’s goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative at all job levels of the people we serve. We are an equal opportunity employer and we encourage applications from people of color, LGBTQIA people, people living with disabilities, military veterans and other under-represented populations.