Educator

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum•Tucson, AZ

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the Adventure at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum! Join our creative and dynamic education team as a full-time Educator and inspire the next generation of desert stewards. In this role, you'll lead engaging conservation programs that ignite curiosity and foster a lifelong passion for wildlife, habitat preservation, and the natural world. Through hands-on, interdisciplinary learning that connects ecology, mathematics, art, and more, you'll help students discover the wonders of the Sonoran Desert while making a lasting impact on their understanding of conservation. This position will most likely begin in late Fall 2026, with interviews in late September to early October. Application review will begin in September. Please understand that if offered a position, you will be required to successfully complete a criminal background check, a pre-employment drug screen, and provide a current satisfactory 39-month driver's history report as a final condition of employment.

Requirements

Associate’s degree in science, education or closely related field.
One year of experience in early childhood or elementary education, formal or informal, paid or volunteer.
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
Knowledge of Virtual Programming, Google or PPT slide creation, spreadsheet, and word processing software.
Must be familiar with Zoom, Teams, Google, and Microsoft Office suite, and able to learn new technology quickly.
Must have, or be able to obtain, an Arizona Driver's License with 6 years’ driving experience and a clean driving record.
Fingerprint Clearance Card (or ability to obtain).
First Aid and CPR (or willing to obtain).
The employee is regularly required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear.
The employee is frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel.
The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
Specific vision abilities required by the job include distance vision and peripheral vision.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in science, education or a closely related field.
Two+ years working with children in formal groups (classrooms, clubs, teams etc.).
Experience working with animals.
Experience working outdoors in a variety of weather.
Experience hiking and camping, especially with youth.
Theater/presentation experience.
Experience creating educational resources such as slides, handouts, or activities.
Able to work most Saturdays, special events, and half of the Saturday nights in the summer.
Must be able to occasionally work long shifts (>10 hours).
Must be able to work overnight camping events (one to two nights in a row). Camping takes place in a variety of habitats (indoors, or outdoors in the low desert or Sky Islands).
Must be able to routinely drive at night and in low-light situations.
Able to teach in Spanish and English, preferred

Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of this position is to support a variety of programming (classes, family groups, festivals, field trips, informal activities, overnight camping trips, special events, etc.)
Assist with programs and orientations for school groups, teen programs, community groups, and camps.
Engage and educate guests through exhibit or nature exploration in addition to onsite, offsite, virtual, and tabling events.
Follow correct procedures for handling, transporting, and teaching with live animals (arthropods and reptiles) and maintain internal animal handling certifications.
Compiles Museum artifacts, materials, and other educational tools for educational programs.
Develops educational materials for programs such as slide decks, manipulatives, worksheets, booklets, and other hands-on teaching tools.
Assists with program logistics by communicating with teachers, group leads, and staff.
Knowledge of and comfort with communicating science topics including the natural history of Sonoran Desert species, climate change, invasive species, the age of the Earth, and dinosaurs, among other topics.
Maintain records of attendance, training goals, and animal handling.