Interpretation and Education Specialist

Interpretation and Education Specialist

Job Summary

Interpretation and Education Specialists at the Taft-Nicholson Center are supervised by educational and administrative staff, and are responsible for facilitating learning experiences for a variety of college and continuing education courses. Candidates should be prepared to immerse into the local flora and fauna, guide a range of educational experiences, including hikes, birdwatching tours, wildflower walks, canoe trips, field-based service projects, and driving tours, as well as on-campus events such as guided star-gazing and interpretive talks.

Health and safety are paramount at the Center, particularly because of its long distance from hospitals, its high elevation, and a local population of grizzly bears. Education staff are expected to get certified in Wilderness First Aid and attend bear safety training (trainings provided for employees).

Program Overview
As an official extension of the University of Utah campus, the Taft-Nicholson Center in Centennial Valley, Montana, works to bridge the arts and humanities with the sciences by increasing environmental literacy, facilitating environmental awareness, and inspiring personal connection to nature and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Students, teachers, artists, scientists, and community members participate in the Center's diverse educational programming—sharing their perspectives on the natural world and preparing themselves to create change in positive and meaningful ways.

The Center hosts college classes at the undergraduate and graduate level, research fellowships, academic retreats, and symposia. The Center has a thriving artist in residence program, weekly community-based colloquia, and hosts non-profit meetings and community events.

The Center serves to examine and explore the environment from a variety of perspectives, learning about a sense of place, of more fully inhabiting a specific place by knowing its ecology, its human and nonhuman histories, its cultural traditions, and its environmental challenges. Programming is designed to provide students and participants with a broad-based understanding of social, scientific, cultural, ethical, historical, communication, and literary perspectives with a focus on how these perspectives intersect with and influence each other and ultimately environmental and public policy, and integrating legal, industrial, and corporate concerns. For more information on the Center, please see: https://taft-nicholson.utah.edu/

Living and Community
The campus is run by a small group of staff members who live on-site during the season. Rustic housing with private bedrooms and shared kitchen is provided. Meals are also provided in our dining hall when learners are on campus. Note that there is no mobile phone service, but high-speed fiber internet is provided.

The Centennial Valley has a small community of local residents, including cattle ranchers and those who work at the Red Rocks Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (located next door to the Taft-Nicholson Center), the Nature Conservancy, and the local nonprofit Centennial Valley Association. Community-building is an important component of our work at the Taft-Nicholson Center, so all staff are expected to take part in various community events.



Responsibilities
Beyond field-based interpretation and educational facilitation and safety tasks, duties include:

• Facilitating orientations for visiting groups (presenting natural and cultural histories and safety trainings)
• Engagement with local community events
• Assuring the health and safety of learners in the field
• Development of interpretive and educational materials (guides, lectures, etc.)
• Event and facilities management duties as needed (hosting community lectures and other events, helping with dormitory turnover between groups, etc.)
• Optional involvement in noxious weed control and other facilities and campus management

Minimum Qualifications

• Commitment from June 1-September 31 for a minimum of 2 months.
• Ability to reside in a rural setting with a small community of people (private bedroom and meals when groups are in session are provided)
• Wilderness First Aid Certification (or willingness to be certified; class provided on-site)
• Driver’s license (will be required to take University of Utah safe driver training)
• Ability to travel under own power (frequent traversing of 3+ miles on uneven terrain and up/down hills)
• Ability to tolerate high-altitude living (~7000 miles above sea level), extreme temperatures, and encounters with wildlife.

Preferred qualifications:

• B.A. or B.S. degree in applicable subject
• Experience in environmental education, interpretation, and/or naturalist work
• Cooperative and collaborative team player
• Community-oriented
• Interest in and ability to learn and teach about local flora and fauna in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Preferences


Special Instructions
Please respond to the short-answer essay questions provided below and include your answers in the application. You may save this under the “Applicant Document - Other” option on the “Documents Needed to Apply” section of your application

• What is your interest in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem?
• What experience and/or interest do you have working in rural or field-based environments?
• What experience and/or interest do you have working on collaborative teams?

Requisition Number: PRN14654N
Full Time or Part Time? Part Time
Work Schedule Summary:
Department: 01733 - TAFT-NICHOLSON CENTER
Location: Other
Pay Rate Range: $20/hour
Close Date:
Open Until Filled:

To apply, visit https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/162413


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