Project Officer – STEM at Sea

ASVA: Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 5,000 - 6,000; Part time

Job summary

The Tall Ship Glenlee Trust is seeking a Project Officer to drive the Sail the Future – STEM at Sea programme aboard The Tall Ship Glenlee in Glasgow and to coordinate outreach to local schools. You will work with engineers and museum staff to design and test STEM workshops, ensuring they align with Curriculum for Excellence and ship heritage goals.

With strong experience in educational or heritage engagement, you will manage timelines, deliver training, and report on project outcomes, while

Qualifications

• Experience delivering educational, heritage, museum or STEM engagement projects.
• Experience working with schools and young people.
• Strong organisational and project management skills.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Ability to build positive relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Experience collecting and reporting project data.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Plan and deliver STEM-focused workshops and outreach sessions.
• Lead co-development sessions with schools and engineers.
• Coordinate with engineers, schools and museum staff to shape workshop content.
• Develop and pilot four fully resourced workshops with clear learning outcomes.
• Capture feedback and adapt delivery for quality and impact.

Skills

STEM engagement

Education projects

School outreach

Project coordination

Communication skills

Job description

Location: The Tall Ship Glenlee, Glasgow

Job Title: Project Officer
Responsible to: Learning and Museum Manager
Location: The Tall Ship Glenlee, Glasgow, with outreach delivery in local schools. Some development work may be undertaken on a hybrid basis.
Project Title: Sail the Future – STEM at Sea onboard The Tall Ship Glenlee

About the Tall Ship Glenlee:

The Tall Ship Glenlee Trust is a registered Scottish charity dedicated to preserving, maintaining and interpreting the last remaining Clydebuilt sailing ship of its kind still afloat in the UK. The Tall Ship is one of the city’s busiest, most vibrant visitor attractions, located in the heart of Glasgow at the Riverside Museum and River Clyde. Of the many hundreds of ships built in Glasgow’s shipyards, Glenlee is one of only four Clyde-built tall ships still afloat in the world today. We are an independent museum and venue committed to the preservation and interpretation of Glenlee and increasing awareness of Glasgow’s maritime history for the benefit of local people and visitors to Glasgow.

Sail the Future: STEM at Sea will be a dynamic learning and engagement programme centred on the historic Tall Ship Glenlee in Glasgow. We will use the ship’s heritage as a springboard to inspire young people with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills, while connecting these to the modern maritime sector’s transition to renewable energy. The programme will empower students from local schools in Govan and Partick to co-design and test new STEM workshops, ensuring that young people themselves help shape how engineering is represented and taught onboard. These workshops will then become a lasting resource for other schools and visiting groups to enjoy, enriching the ship as a cultural and educational attraction.
With funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Ingenious Fund, students from four local primary schools will co-produce a series of STEM workshops with professional engineers.

Key goals of the project are to:

• Inspire interest in STEM among young people, particularly those underrepresented in engineering pathways.
• Foster intergenerational learning by bringing school students together with maritime engineers and museum professionals.
• Create hands‑on workshops aligned with the curriculum, using Glenlee’s history to explore STEM concepts in a real‑world context.
• Promote environmental awareness and climate literacy by linking traditional sailing technologies to modern renewable energy solutions for shipping.

The expected impact of Sail the Future: STEM at Sea is to inspire the next generation of problem‑solvers, build pride in Glasgow’s maritime heritage, and create a programme of high‑quality curriculum‑aligned workshops that will benefit schools across the city for years to come.

Outputs

Development

• Plan and develop a half‑day training session for the engineers involved in the project. Training will cover the history of Glenlee, safeguarding expectations, inclusive communication techniques and active learning strategies.
• Develop three 60‑minute co‑development sessions for each participating school, incorporating the expertise and input of the engineers.
• Develop four fully resourced workshops, including all required equipment, workshop outlines and Curriculum for Excellence learning outcomes, ready to be promoted and delivered as part of the Learning Programme from August 2027.

Delivery

• Deliver a half‑day training session for the engineers involved in the project.
• Lead three 60‑minute co‑development sessions with each of the four participating schools. Sessions will involve testing ideas, exploring and shaping themes, and prototyping activities. Students will actively influence the content and format of the workshops, working alongside engineers to ensure technical accuracy and authenticity.
• Lead and/or observe the four pilot workshops, gathering feedback and making any necessary adjustments to the content, activities and delivery approach.

Timeline and Budget:

Project Duration: September 2026 – June 2027
Proposed Timeline: Equivalent of one day a week over twenty weeks
Budget: 20 days at £250 per day

Person Specification

The Project Officer will have a strong background in science communication and engagement with both adults and young people.

Essential

• Experience delivering educational, heritage, museum or STEM engagement projects.
• Experience working with schools and young people.
• Strong organisational and project management skills.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Ability to build positive relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Experience collecting and reporting project data.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Desirable

• Experience within museums, heritage or informal learning environments.
• Knowledge of STEM education and engineering engagement.
• Experience developing educational resources.
• Understanding of safeguarding requirements.
• Knowledge of maritime heritage or environmental sustainability themes.