GreenKids Virginia Educator

Job Title: GreenKids Virginia Educator
Department: Environmental Education
Supervisor: GreenKids Director
FLSA Status: Nonexempt
Standard Hours: 15 hrs per week during academic year (42 weeks/yr)
Compensation: $26 per hour
Telework: This position is fully remote, but requires weekly travel to schools
Best consideration deadline for applications: 8/20/2023 

Nature Forward (formerly the Audubon Naturalist Society) is looking for a passionate educator who is ready to deliver hands-on environmental lessons to students in northern Virginia! The educator will be responsible for leading GreenKids lessons for Loudoun County Public School (LCPS) elementary classes, as well as Head Start and STEP Pre-K programs. GreenKids delivers in-school and after-school environmental education programs across southern Maryland, DC, and northern Virginia. Lesson content ranges from teaching about watershed health and the impacts of stormwater pollution, to learning about recycling while students make their own recycled paper, to observing worms and creating a compost bin to study decomposition and soil health. Many of the lessons are conducted outside, using the schoolyard environment as the classroom. 

In addition to direct lesson instruction, the GreenKids Virginia Educator will work with the rest of the GreenKids team to develop new lessons and professional development offerings for teachers. They will serve as the primary point of contact for coordinating and scheduling lessons with LCPS schools. 

Nature Forward seeks an educator who brings experience working with a diverse range of learners and who is able to adapt their instructional style to meet the needs of all students. A large portion of the student population is Spanish-speaking, so ability to deliver lesson instruction in Spanish, as well as in English, is preferred (though not required). 

As a part-time non-exempt employee, the GreenKids Virginia Educator will be eligible for workers compensation, unemployment insurance, program discounts, and naturalist shop discounts. 

Position Summary

The GreenKids Virginia Educator is a part-time environmental education specialist who delivers various aspects of the GreenKids program to participating public elementary schools, Head Start and STEP programs in Loudoun County, VA. In addition, the GreenKids Virginia Educator supports the GreenKids Director to revise curriculum, manage program materials, deliver professional development training for educators, and coordinate with teachers and school administrators. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Schedule and teach hands-on GreenKids environmental education lessons at elementary schools in line with organizational and program values of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.
• Schedule and deliver seasonal outdoor schoolyard discovery programs with Head Start and STEP Preschool programs
• Collaborate with school system partners to enhance environmental education at schools
• Maintain and track GreenKids Virginia supplies
• Assist GreenKids Director to review and revise curriculum
• Assist GreenKids Director to design and deliver professional development for educators
• Submit monthly progress reports with documentation of all GreenKids Virginia activities 

Qualifications/Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field (or equivalent experience)
• Teaching experience (experience in environmental education preferred)
• Experience with culturally responsive, inclusive, or adaptive teaching techniques preferred
• Ability to work independently
• Excellent verbal and written (including electronic) communication skills
• Proficiency in Spanish preferred
• Curiosity about the natural world 

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift bins of lesson materials up to 40lbs.
• Ability to drive and access to a car that can transport large bins of lesson materials
• Ability to speak, hear, and use a personal computer for standard business communications 

All employment policies are outlined in our employee manual. 

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter by email to jeff.chandler@natureforward.org with the subject line “Application for GreenKids Virginia Educator”