Associate Program Manager for Research and En

Socket.dev; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC seeks an Associate Program Manager for Research and Engagement to lead research-informed programs with researchers, students, partners, and community members. You’ll develop and implement services and offerings that translate complex environmental topics into accessible, engaging experiences for diverse audiences.

The role emphasizes collaboration, grant-funded work, pedagogy, and community-driven inquiry in a museum setting.

Qualifications

• Passion for informal education, STEM, computational or design thinking.
• Ability to develop a research-informed workplan for a program of work.
• Engage with children and adults in a friendly, professional manner.
• Ability to work independently and within a team.
• Ability to make decisions and delegate in a fast-paced environment.
• Prioritize and orchestrate a portfolio of sub-projects to multiple audiences.
• Strong organizational and administrative skills.
• Experience with grant-funded programs (federal, state, private).
• Knowledge of environmental justice issues.
• Creativity, dependability, flexibility and enthusiasm.
• Driver's license and ability to travel up to 1 mile on varied terrain.

Responsibilities

• Conception, development, prototyping, and delivery of experiences and programs for visitors.
• Work within a budget for grant-funded programs.
• Support social science research projects, including interviews and focus groups.
• Develop short and long-term goals for the department with the E&E team.
• Collaborate on cross-departmental teams and community programming.
• Plan events for adults, children, families, or other audiences.
• Research best practices, pedagogy, and current topics in the scope of work.
• Lead community engagement processes to support climate research activities.
• Conceptualize, develop, write, and review curriculum for climate-related education.
• Supervise facilitators and volunteers as needed.

Skills

Informal STEM education

Workplan development

Engage with visitors

Independent and teamwork

Decision making

Portfolio management

Organizational skills

Grant management

Environmental justice

Creativity

Driver's license

Job description

Help connect science to the communities it serves! As Associate Program Manager for Research and Engagement, at the Museum of Life and Science, you’ll collaborate with researchers, students, partners, and community members to develop research-informed programs and participatory projects that make complex environmental issues relevant, accessible, and actionable.

Job Title: Associate Program Manager for Research and Engagement

Job Classification: Regular, Full-time (FT), Non-exempt- 1 year with the potential for renewal in future years

Department:Education & Engagement

Reports to: Program Manager for Research and Engagement

Schedule:Sunday - Thursday

Qualifications

Required:

• Passion for informal education, particularly related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), computational thinking, and/or design thinking
• Ability to develop a research-informed workplan for a program of work, including the design and execution of a set of services/offerings
• Ability to engage with children and adults in a friendly, professional manner
• Ability to work independently and within a team
• Ability to make decisions and delegate responsibilities in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to prioritize and orchestrate a portfolio of sub-projects to multiple audiences, deadlines, and objectives
• Strong organizational and administrative skills
• Experience in working on and/or managing grant-funded programs, including federal, state, and privately funded grants
• Experience with and knowledge of environmental justice issues
• Creativity, dependability, flexibility and enthusiasm
• Must be able to travel distances of up to one mile over varying terrains and lift up to 25lbs
• Valid driver’s license

Desired:

• Experience developing and implementing inquiry-based, materials-rich curriculum for children, families and/or adults
• Experience working in a museum or other informal educational setting
• Experience working with children or adults with different abilities
• Experience working with rural communities and/or Indigenous communities
• Experience working with science professionals, researchers, or academics
• Experience developing proposals for grants
• Knowledge or experience with best practices in science communication
• Public speaking and seminar experience
• Experience working with graduate and/or undergraduate students on community-engaged scholarship
• Experience in science writing, technical writing, and proposal editing
• College degree in a related subject
• Fluency in language other than English (with particular interest in Spanish)

General E&E Responsibilities

• Conception, development, prototyping, and delivery of experiences and programs for visitors, including informal, on-the-floor programs for visitors, off-site programs, and special programs as they arise
• Work within a budget for grant-funded programs
• Support inductive and deductive social science research projects, which could include interviewing, facilitating focus groups, and engaging in community-driven inquiry processes
• Work with the E&E team to develop short and long-term goals for the department
• Work on cross-departmental teams as needed
• Support general Museum activities
• Weekend and some evening work required
• Other job-related duties as needed

Associate Program Manager Responsibilities

• Develop the plan for a program of work, including:
  • Research of learning context and rationale
  • Research of target audiences and needs
  • Management of a budget for the program of work
  • Manage short- and long-term project timelines
• Communicate with external partners to deliver programs within scope of work
• Support social science research projects conducted by the Research & Engagement team
• Organize and facilitate meetings, gatherings, interviews, and participatory research
• Engage with prospective partners across public, private, and civil sectors
• Actively engage and communicate with other departments with regards to the program of work and E&E objectives
• Work in a team to plan and carry out events for adults, children, families, or other audiences as needed
• Research of best practices, pedagogy, and current topics within a scope of work
• Support Facilitator(s) who provide Education and Engagement programs focused on translating research collaborations to education programs for the general public, including topics such as climate science, extreme weather, natural hazards, ecosystems, and earth science in facilitated spaces (i.e. exhibit spaces) and offsite programs (i.e. community events).
• Conceptualize, develop, write, and review new curriculum to support facilitation of climate-related educational programming.
• Lead community engagement processes to support climate research activities, which could include interviewing, facilitation of events or focus groups, and other forms of co-created, participatory and community-driven inquiry processes.

Sub-Roles and Specific Areas of Focus

Conduct interdisciplinary community-engaged research

• Conduct interdisciplinary and applied social science research such as qualitative analysis on public literacy, awareness, attitudes, and priorities on topics such as extreme weather, community-based disaster resilience, and environmental science
• Design participatory and community-based science programs on environmental justice issues such as heat, flooding, and air quality
• Organize and collaborate with cross-institutional teams of students and researchers on funded grant projects

Develop community-oriented programming related to grant-funded work

• Collaborate on grant proposals and funded projects to develop partnerships, forums, and programming related to the work of the Research and Engagement team
• Sustain partnerships with other organizations or channels to develop experiences and programs to broaden access to Museum educational practices for all North Carolinians.
• Facilitate the scheduling and other administrative tasks for community programing
• Supervise facilitators and volunteers in community programs as needed
• Facilitate informal programs for children, teens, and adults

Staff Oversight

• Some Associate Program Managers may supervise staff and volunteers including Program Facilitators, Interns, Fellows, volunteer facilitators (Catalysts) and others as needed for program prototyping and agile delivery of experiences.