Education and Volunteer Specialist - Outreach and Events Job at Manatee County G

Education and Volunteer Specialist - Outreach and Events

Overview

Designs, implements, and facilitates education, service learning, and learning-based recreation programming for a range of age levels within Manatee County's conservation properties. Assists with volunteer recruitment and training. Represents the County during outreach events such as festivals, outreach lecture opportunities, school science fairs, and other special events.

Location and Schedule

Work Location: 840 99th Street Northwest, Bradenton, Florida 34209

Work Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, weekends and evenings as needed

Starting Hourly Range: $23.67 - $29.59

Working Conditions: Indoor/Outdoor environment; high noise environment while performing certain responsibilities. Lifting up to 25 lbs. required. Flexible schedule including weekends, nights, and early/late hours. Regularly drives County vehicles, including trucks, ORV/ATVs, and boats. Outdoor work in varied weather and high-stress environments.

Essential Functions

• Coordinate outreach programs, field trips to conservation properties, and presentations to schools, homeschool groups, HOAs, and library programs.
• Serve as the main point of contact for special events within the County’s conservation properties; manage rental and reservation software.
• Manage Department's educational classrooms, nature centers, and visitor centers.
• Develop and present age-appropriate lesson plans to interpret Manatee County's natural and cultural resources; use tools such as GPS, nets, data collection tools, pH meters, refractometers, live animals, and technology; integrate new educational initiatives with technology.
• Assist with animal husbandry, care and cleaning of enclosures, feeding of live educational animals, and maintenance of the biofact collection.
• Facilitate regular educational and passive recreational programming for various ages; ensure safety and inclusive, engaging delivery.
• Lead educational programs including public classes, private groups, professional development trainings, offsite outreach workshops, and school field trips.
• Develop curricula, lesson plans, and project plans for events, programs, field trips, camps, and outreach; create interpretive materials and educational resources.
• Support management of educational resources and scheduling/registration for programs; respond to emails/phone inquiries.
• Establish volunteer program initiatives; recruit, retain, and direct volunteers; coordinate large-scale recruitment projects and volunteer opportunities; coordinate volunteer appreciation; train and supervise interns.
• Assist with program evaluation and customer feedback; input survey data and assist with special surveys and data collection (visitor surveys).
• Collaborate on scheduling, site setup/cleanup, and materials preparation; assist with outreach booth operations at events.
• Mentor and occasionally supervise Division Student Interns; assist in intern training and supervision during volunteer workdays and programming.
• Prepare interpretive materials for signage, brochures, education technology, and partner materials.
• Performs other related work, including weather or emergency duties, as required.

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications: Valid driver’s license with Florida driver’s license within 30 days of hire. Regular and reliable attendance including occasional weekends and evenings. Bachelor’s degree in education, natural/environmental sciences, recreation, biology, or related field. Three or more years’ experience in an educational setting (informal or formal), including volunteer experience. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered. Certifications such as Certified Interpretive Guide, Project WILD, FMSEA Aquatic Collector’s Permit, and Florida Master Naturalist certifications required or must be obtained within 3 years of hire.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: First Aid/CPR (desired). Strong ability to coach and teach across age ranges; curriculum development and hands-on activity design; experience creating digital education content; public speaking and effective communication; computer literacy (Windows, basic math, filing); ability to manage multiple projects, prioritize, and meet deadlines; regulatory compliance knowledge; familiarity with local ecosystems and informal learning techniques; familiarity with GPS and other scientific tools and live animals for programming.
• Veterans Preference: See Florida statute; priority consideration for eligible veterans and spouses of disabled veterans; documentation required.
• EEO/ADA Statement: Manatee County Government is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations. For accommodations in recruitment, contact Human Resources.
• Other: Emergency response/recovery duties may be required; Full-time and Part-time benefits vary by status (see official policy).

Notes

References to unrelated job postings and extraneous site content were removed to focus on the responsibilities and qualifications for the Education and Volunteer Specialist role.