Education and Outreach Officer

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Job Summary

Reporting to the Associate Director of External Relations, the Education and Outreach Officer will coordinate and lead education and outreach activities of the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute (MI) and the community that MI represents. This includes working in partnership with Queen’s University and other partner institutions to promote McDonald Institute activities, scientific results and opportunities. The Education and Outreach Officer will work collaboratively with the External Relations team to design and deliver astroparticle physics themed workshops and education events, create and deliver educational and promotional materials for dissemination to diverse audiences, coordinate activities with outreach partners including relevant offices at Queen’s, the Perimeter Institute, SNOLAB, TRIUMF, and other partner institutions; and produce and maintain education & outreach content for the MI website and social media channels. The incumbent will support the scientific outreach program by coordinating arrangements for seminar programs, visiting scientists, public talk series and managing the McDonald Institute’s Visitor Centre at Queen’s.

The deliverables for this position require the incumbent to occasionally work non-traditional hours including some evenings and weekends, and irregular hours during peak periods. The deliverables of this position require frequent in-person working hours at the Visitor Centre and at the sites of outreach events and activities. Occasional travel within Canada is required, and travel abroad may also be required.

Science Education and Promotion

• Collaborates with the Communication Officer on scientific education and promotion projects to ensure adequate engagement with target audiences.
• Establishes workflow, goals and priorities with regards to education and outreach, and ensures the standard and quality of work is met by team members.
• In collaboration with MI External Relations, following the Queen’s Social Media Guidelines, recommend, develop, and support the posting of education and outreach content, and responses to questions.
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with faculty, staff, key stakeholders and partner institutions; maintain effective relationships with all involved individuals.
• Maintain media and stakeholder mailing lists as well as all records of outreach activities to report to funding agencies and key stakeholders.
• In collaboration with External Relations and Senior Communications Officer, direct inquiries from the media and organizations, respond to education and outreach queries, stay up to date on relevant topics in astroparticle physics, and formulate recommendations for education and outreach opportunities. May be required to speak directly to the media on topics related to areas of responsibility.
• Working with the Communications Officer, support the development of the MI’s YouTube or similar channels for education and outreach purposes, including creating videos and advertisements for events and other opportunities sponsored by the Institute.
• Ensure the information released to the media and the public is of the highest standard and meets relevant business, legal and government protocols.

Education & Outreach

• Coordinate recruitment and implement community scientific outreach activities to attract students to the MI and Astroparticle Physics community.
• Provide support for Institute’s public talks and its university seminar and colloquium programs by engaging with speakers, preparing advertisements for the event, promoting the event through appropriate media channels, and working with the Administrative Coordinator to provide logistics support by booking travel and accommodations. Coordinate interactions between speakers and the MI community.
• Support interactions with external media groups.
• Develop and maintain outreach partnerships with SNOLAB, Perimeter Institute, CIFAR, CITA, TRIUMF and other outreach offices of Institute partners in Canada and abroad.
• Develop and maintain the Visitor Centre at Queen’s and work with astroparticle physics researchers and educators to develop outreach exhibits and promotions in collaboration with outreach partners.
• Participate in preparing educational material that ties into the relevant sections of the high school curriculum in consultation with academic faculty. Deliver presentations to students to promote Canadian astroparticle physics and the work of the Institute.
• Develop and coordinate MI educational programs by assisting with the organization of workshops, summer schools, and special graduate and undergraduate workshops.
• Work with research institutes, and international partners to promote astroparticle physics graduate student courses and exchanges and co-manage the logistics of such programs, when required.
• Organize, manage and promote the MI undergraduate summer school program.
• Assist subject-matter experts with the logistics of creating online and in-class astroparticle physics courses, including organizing and promoting workshops/schools.
• Working with the Manager for EDII Capacity Development, champion accessibility, equity, inclusion and safety in all public outreach and education events and programming.
• Undertake other duties as assigned in support of the Institute.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• University degree in Physics or a related degree in Science or Engineering.
• Postgraduate degree in Physics or Engineering would be considered an asset.
• Experience or training in Scientific Outreach, Public Relations, Pedagogy, digital and visual learning strategies.
• Several years (5+) experience working in a related environment, including working in an outreach or education role.
• Knowledge of university structure, academic regulations, policies, procedures and computing/financial/administrative systems.
• Prior experience discussing science with the public is an asset.
• Ability to travel outside of Canada.
• French language skills would be considered an asset.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.

SPECIAL SKILLS

• High-level understanding and interest in key topics in astroparticle physics research, and methods for engaging key MI audiences.
• Exceptional communication skills. Ability to work with researchers to translate complex topics in science using concise, accurate, and accessible English-language materials. Demonstrated excellence in writing, editing, presentation, public speaking, and conversational skills. Ability to communicate effectively, creatively and with sensitivity to diverse audience contexts. Demonstrated visualization skills considered an asset.
• Well-versed in educational and outreach best practices.
• Analytical skills to assess effectiveness of education and outreach work and identify opportunities for improvement or expansion of MI’s engagement of key audiences.
• Strong leadership ability and specific experience in coordinating the work of teams in the delivery of events.
• Excellent teamwork and collaboration building skills, sharing information, contributing ideas, seeking input, and ensuring end-product accuracy and precision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to work respectfully with all partners and clients; work with integrity and take the utmost care in maintaining confidentiality where required.
• Exceptional organization skills to manage and prioritize projects, meet deadlines and organize workflow.
• Highly proficient in the use of Microsoft Office suite. Experience using web-editing software. Ability to learn operation and basic maintenance of a broad range of devices and software tools relevant to the role.

DECISION MAKING

• Determine own work priorities to meet deadlines and assess workload to discuss any necessary support from senior staff.
• Determine work priorities for team members such as students, interns and volunteers. Ability to monitor completion and quality of others’ work.
• Make daily operational decisions and independent resolutions of problems within established responsibilities. Answer queries, produce and distribute information material. Refer more complex problems to more senior staff.
• Determine the sensitivity of a request/inquiry, deciding when to refer matters to senior staff.
• Determine the most appropriate information to be included in draft promotional and educational materials.
• Decide how to implement new outreach programs in combination with existing programs at Queen’s in order to offer an exceptional program experience.
• Determine which stories may generate targeted stakeholder interest and result in favourable engagement and profile.
• Handle and/or refer incoming communications to the appropriate individual for follow-up, particularly those which are time or content sensitive.
• Identify when tasks require support from other MI colleagues.
• Post education and outreach specific materials on MI channels and recommend other timely messaging to the Senior Communications Officer and External Relations team.

Employment Equity and Accessibility Statement

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Queen’s is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, visible minorities, Aboriginal Peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The University provides support in its recruitment processes to all applicants who require accommodation due to a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, including those with disabilities. Candidates requiring accommodation during the recruitment process are asked to contact Human Resources at [email protected].