Professional Development Educator

Our Mission: Since the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, our organization has aimed to connect people to the natural environment and human history.

Join our team and enjoy a benefits package that truly supports your well-being and lifestyle:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Including medical, dental, vision plans, and even pet insurance.
• Financial Security: Life and disability benefits plus a 403(b) savings plan to help you plan for the future.
• Work-Life Balance: Generous paid time off, paid sick leave, and paid holidays to ensure you have time to recharge and spend with loved ones.
• Exclusive Perks: Enjoy great employee discounts and complimentary general admission to participating cultural institutions.

We're dedicated to enhancing your life both at work and beyond!

Position Overview:

The School Programs team provides opportunities to explore the world’s natural and cultural diversity through meaningful learning experiences for Pre-K-12th grade students, educators, and community organizations. The School Programs team prepares students and educators to learn through authentic investigations with museum collections through the development of learning resources, workshops in classrooms and in communities, professional development for teachers, and field trips to the Museum.

As a member of the Learning Resources and Teacher Professional Development team, the Professional Development Educator’s primary role is to develop and implement professional development for Pre-K-12th grade educators to learn through authentic investigations with museum collections and oversee the suite of teacher professional development opportunities offered by the Field, including but not limited to educator in-services, the Field Ambassador's educator community, virtual programs, and pre-service teacher preparation. These program components take place onsite at the Field Museum, in person at schools throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, and in virtual spaces.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Oversee, from ideation to evaluation, the suite of virtual, in-person, and off-site professional development offerings from the Field Museum. This includes but is not limited to drop-in opportunities and sustained Professional Learning Communities such as:

• Field Ambassadors
• School Partnerships
• Educator In-services
• Pre-service teacher education
• Adult learning
• Other PD programs throughout the department

2. Build and maintain relationships with teachers, school leaders, and partner organizations:

• Build new relationships with target school communities and partner organizations.
• Serve as liaison to schools, partner organizations, and universities.
• Cultivate strong relationships with and maintain regular correspondence with teachers, schools, and district administrators.

3. Support evaluation plan and maintain program records:

• Record and keep track of participation data and professional learning documentation for the Illinois State Board of Education.
• Develop meaningful and actionable program evaluations.
• Support evaluation plan implementation through administering and assessing participant feedback, data analysis, and ongoing program refinement.

4. Develop and curate Pre-K-12th grade educational resources to support teachers:

• Develop educational resources for educator to use in support of professional development.
• Develop and edit curriculum for Harris Learning Collection materials including Harris toolkits, experience boxes, and exhibit cases.
• Develop educational resources for learning resources.
• Contribute to program reporting efforts including grant reports and proposals as needed.

5. Market professional development opportunities at the Museum through engagement with local education communities:

• Help write and curate information for the monthly educator newsletter.
• Add to and edit the email marketing list using mailchimp.
• Market field trip opportunities and other Field Museum programs for educators at professional development.
• Promote professional development opportunities through networking and tabling at local teacher conferences, science nights, partner school programs, and other Education and Public Programs events.

6. Foster ongoing internal collaborations across departments and external collaborations with schools and community partners in support of professional development:

• Participate in internal committee meetings geared towards strengthening strategic plans, creating, editing, and supporting learning frameworks.
• Develop and maintain relationships and collaborate with scientists and collections staff to support professional development.
• Programming connected to anthropology exhibitions and collections also requires building and maintaining relationships with people and organizations outside of the museum connected to that work.

7. School Partnerships:

• Aide with the implementation of Pre-K-12th grade student learning experiences within the context of school partnerships, including tailored field trips to the museum and engagement with museum collections and research within the classroom as needed.

8. Virtual Programming and adult learning:

• Develop and implement virtual programming such as professional development, learning resources, and digital curricula.
• Support existing virtual programs such as AANHPI and Field Museum, virtual professional development, Virtual Sue, Dino, DiNOT, and other virtual programs as assigned.
• Maintain virtual sites such as Google Classroom for educators.

9. Support adult learning opportunities:

• Develop and implement adult learning opportunities for parents, pre-service teachers, and other professionals.
• Maintain relationships with local university partners including the CITE program at Loyola University Chicago.

10. Contribute to Field Museum and Learning Center’s broader understanding of Pre-K-12th grade education trends and audience needs:

• Engage in professional learning to stay abreast of current research and the ever-changing education landscape.
• Participate in professional learning communities.

11. Availability to work weekends and evenings:

• Most professional development programs will be scheduled in the evenings and/or weekends to accommodate teacher’s schedules.
• This position requires working 1-2 evening days a month as well as 1-2 weekend days a month.

12. Assist with general Education and Public Programs needs as recognized and assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant fields of education, science, social science, or other related fields.
• 3-5 years successfully teaching and developing curriculum for Pre-K-12th grade preferred.
• 1-3 years of successfully developing and implementing adult learning experiences is preferred.
• Knowledge of formal and informal learning theory and best practices in student and adult learning required
• Knowledge and demonstrated ability of learning standards (NGSS, C3 Framework, Common Core, Social Justice Frameworks) required.
• Experience developing and implementing successful adult professional learning experiences both in-person and remotely.
• Enjoys working on a team to collaboratively develop program ideas both remotely and in person.
• Proficiency in Spanish preferred.
• Must be available to work in person on evenings and weekends (approximately 2 evenings and 2 weekend days a month)
• Must have access to a car and be willing to travel to schools across Chicago.
• Strong commitment to Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion as well as Social Justice standards and principles.
• Well-organized, detail-oriented, independently motivated, and able to work in a fast-paced environment.

Pay Range:$61,000- $64,000

PLEASE READ: *When you apply for multiple positions, please make sure to delete your previous resume and cover letter and upload the latest version of your resume and cover letter that is relevant to the job you are applying for, every time you apply. This will help our hiring managers access the correct documents. Please note that removing the resume and cover letter will not delete any previously submitted resumes and cover letters.

The Field Museum is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination, embracing diversity, and fostering mutual respect. We value the unique perspectives each team member brings, which empowers our ability to innovate and overcome challenges.

At the Field Museum, we are dedicated to making our career website and recruitment process accessible to everyone. If you encounter any difficulty when using or accessing our online application, or if you need a reasonable accommodation for completing your application, participating in interviews, or any other part of the selection process, please reach out to us at recruitment@fieldmuseum.org.