Science Programs Lead – Community & Family Events

Chabot Space & Science Center; Oakland, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 54,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Paid time off

Vision insurance

Job summary

Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland seeks a Public Programs Coordinator to lead and deliver engaging science programs for diverse audiences, from families to adults. You will design, plan, and execute festivals, star parties, performances, and community programs with education partners and across departments.

This role requires coordinating timelines, budgets, safety, accessibility, and partner relations, ensuring a welcoming, accurate, and engaging visitor experience across programs.

Qualifications

• Degree in a science field or equivalent experience translating science for the public.
• At least two years developing or coordinating public programs, educational experiences, community events, or audience-engagement initiatives in a museum, science center, cultural institution, nonprofit, or similar setting.
• Strong event, project, timeline, and budget-management skills, with real attention to detail.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, facilitation, and public-speaking skills.
• Sound judgment and composure under pressure, including the ability to prioritize, make day-of decisions, and communicate clearly when things change fast.
• A real commitment to accessibility and inclusion: you think about who might be left out before someone has to point it out to you.
• Ability to work well across departments and with people from a wide range of backgrounds, identities, and roles.
• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and holidays when programs call for it.
• Comfort with common office, calendar, presentation, spreadsheet, survey, and project-management tools.

Responsibilities

• Plan and lead public programs and events, family programs, adult programs, performances, festivals, celestial events, cultural programs, presentations, exhibit-related experiences, evening programs, and community or off-site programs.
• Take each program from concept through planning, delivery, evaluation, and follow-up, keeping timelines, budgets, and deliverables on track.
• Work with the Director of Museum Programs to shape the annual program calendar with mission-aligned experiences that are fun, welcoming, accessible, and relevant across ages.
• Develop hands-on activities, demonstrations, and other informal learning experiences alongside Education staff, scientists, artists, performers, and community partners, making sure every program is scientifically accurate, age-appropriate, and genuinely accessible.
• Research, cultivate, and maintain relationships with program partners and presenters, coordinating schedules, contracts, invoices, and everything else a good partnership needs, so Chabot’s programs reflect and welcome the East Bay we serve.
• Maintain clear project plans, timelines, and shared documents so everyone involved knows what’s next and who owns it.
• Oversee public programs and events from setup through breakdown, making sure the visitor experience is coordinated, safe, accessible, and fun.
• Serve as the staff lead and safety point person during programs: directing event flow, making calls in real time, troubleshooting, and keeping everyone on the same page.
• Build run-of-show documents, floor plans, staffing plans, and clear staff and volunteer assignments so nothing gets left to chance.
• Lead pre-event coordination meetings and day-of briefings so staff, volunteers, partners, and presenters know their roles, their handoffs, and what to do if something goes sideways.
• Coordinate spaces, room setups, signage, supplies, audiovisual needs, accessibility, crowd flow, permits, and everything else a program needs to run well.
• Welcome audiences, introduce presenters, support activities, and step into delivery yourself when a program needs it.

Skills

Event management

Project management

Budget management

Public speaking

Communication

Accessibility & inclusion

Cross-department collaboration

Flexible scheduling

Education

Science degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Office tools

Calendar tools

Presentation software

Spreadsheets

Survey tools

Project management tools

Job description

Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland seeks a Public Programs Coordinator to lead and deliver engaging science programs for diverse audiences, from families to adults. You will design, plan, and execute festivals, star parties, performances, and community programs with education partners and across departments.

This role requires coordinating timelines, budgets, safety, accessibility, and partner relations, ensuring a welcoming, accurate, and engaging visitor experience across programs.