Description

About the Science Center- For 60 years, the West Philadelphia-based Science Center has been a leader and partner in innovation-driven regional economic development. Located at the heart of the uCity Square campus, home to over 200 businesses, the Science Center operates at the intersection of startups, healthcare, and community to drive inclusive growth across Greater Philadelphia and beyond. 

About FirstHand- The Science Center launched FirstHand in 2014 to provide equitable, high-quality STEM experiences to Philadelphia students in middle and high school. FirstHand offers a suite of free, industry-informed STEM curricula with no tests, grades, or homework through which students engage in the same hands-on tasks as professionals. Middle school students participate as a cohort and travel twice a week, during school hours, for ten weeks (20 hours) to the FirstHand lab with a school chaperone. High school students participate in 8-week(16-hour), targeted career-exposure programs called “Sprints” that are co-developed and co-delivered by STEM professionals, and students are paid achievement-based stipends. All FirstHand cohorts are 16 students or less. 

Position Overview 

This position will be responsible for organizing, facilitating, and leading 4 - 6 programs a week for middle school & high school Philadelphia youth that will run during normal business hours with occasional exceptions in the Science Center’s FirstHand Lab. The Program Facilitator will report directly to the Program Manager, FirstHand and participate in department activities as necessary.

This is a hands-on program lead position, requiring the capacities to inspire and manage youth, coordinate in-person course delivery schedules, deliver high-quality facilitation, and maintain relationships with partners. The Program Facilitator will collaborate with external partners and industry professionals to design new industry-aligned curricula and refine the existing curricula to continue to meet the needs of the 21st-century workforce. Additionally, this position works closely with the Director and Program Manager to develop and maintain partnerships that advance the Science Center’s role in youth education and programming. This position has regular contact with community members and is expected to represent the Science Center professionally. This Program Facilitator has access to sensitive UCSC information and is expected to handle such information with integrity and professionalism.

Essential Functions

STEM Program Implementation and Coordination 

• Works with the FirstHand Program Manager to plan, coordinate, and facilitate approximately 4-6 multi-week youth programs in the FirstHand Lab which includes, communicating with teachers and administration, coordinating transportation, and other related duties.
• Works closely with the Program Manager to determine specific areas of support for industry-focused high school sprints programs. This may include facilitating, co-creating curricula with mentors or supporting the student recruitment process.? 
• Serves as a support role for FirstHand classes when not leading. 
• Serves as point-of-contact for school chaperones from local youth-serving organizations, including schools and community-based organizations to ensure student participation. 
• Works with the Program Manager on recruiting and maintaining relationships with STEM mentors from the startup and entrepreneurial community in Philadelphia.
• Works with Program Manager to plan and facilitate community outreach activities and teacher professional development (PD) programming as necessary.

STEM Curriculum Design 

• Works with Program Manager and other FirstHand staff to refine and develop industry-relevant STEM curriculum, documenting internal curriculum. 
• Documents and revises curricular outlines as well as student and mentor activities for internal and external use. Adheres to internal document sharing protocols (i.e. SharePoint). 
• Engages with STEM Mentors to create dynamic activities that showcase workplace skills and career pathways for FirstHand students. This includes activity orientation, one-on-one activity planning and coaching, and planning mentor recruitment events with the Program Manager and rest of Facilitation team. 

Supporting Organizational Systems, Impact Evaluation and Dissemination 

• Attends relevant staff meetings to promote communication and execution of goals. 
• Participates in reporting and evaluation activities to include scheduled site visits with funders, maintaining student attendance and mentor volunteer records, follows program budget protocols, and ensures appropriate grant compliance. 
• Attends relevant workshops or join professional industry groups as necessary to maintain professional knowledge and licensure.?? 
• Collaborates with the Science Center development and marketing teams to promote FirstHand through developing relationships with potential youth-serving partners, community members, and Science Center campus residents, via social media and network pages, and in person by attending events, exhibitions, and other related networking opportunities. 
• Completes special projects specific to the function of the department or as needed for the department under the guidance of the managers.
• Adheres to UCSC’s security guidelines and ensures the appropriate handling of sensitive information. 
• Facilitates and attends relevant staff meetings to promote communication and execution of goals. 
• Other duties as assigned within the scope of position expectations.? 

What you’ll need to succeed 

• Confident and Passionate Educator  
• Ability to confidently manage middle and high school classrooms with agility and attention to student needs.
• Ability to?engage different types of learners in hands-on curricula. 
• In-depth knowledge and experience leading youth programs in formal or informal STEM setting. Experience with culturally relevant pedagogy and project-based learning is a plus.
• Problem solver and Lifelong learner  
• Enthusiastic about?hands-on?STEM?learning?and has a general interest in gaining more knowledge in STEM subjects and topics related to?FirstHand curricular content.? 
• A hands-on attitude towards new technology and systems, willingness to learn the technology required. 
• Ability to demonstrate self-initiative and work effectively independently. 
• Strong Communicator and Team Player 
• Demonstrated ability to work with other people through a cooperative effort.?Thrives on a small team that collaborates regularly.? 
• Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing, about arts, science and technology initiatives with the Science Center management team, SC staff, and a wide variety of external stakeholders. 
• Possesses strong interpersonal skills and exemplifies SC values of unity, open communication, integrity, equity & inclusion, impact, and innovation in action.
• Demonstrated ability to execute goals by carefully setting priorities, meeting deadlines, delegating appropriately, and scheduling time efficiently, and ability to organize multiple tasks in an efficient manner and follow-up and follow-through with strong attention to detail.?? 
• Adheres to all UCSC and departmental policies and procedures. 

Location and Work Environment 

FirstHand is a place-based program that takes place at our "learning lab,” which mirrors a professional lab and is embedded in the UCity Square innovation district. Students are immersed in and share all aspects of the space with professionals –the elevators, hallways, lab supplies, etc. The Program Facilitator should be comfortable in workshop and lab environments and with many different populations.? 

The Science Center operates on a hybrid schedule, as business needs allow. 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.? 

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.? 
• Although work is primarily indoors in an office environment, or in a remote or virtual working space, you will be required to travel outside to UCSC and community locations.? 
• Position may require occasional trips to attend conferences, seminars, and meetings.? 
• May require working non-traditional hours based on event schedules or other operational needs.???? 

Requirements

Experience, Education, and Licensure

Minimum Experience: 2-3 years of experience working in direct service/education of middle and/or high school-aged youth. Teaching experience in Informal Science and STEM education program development is preferred. Experience working in Philadelphia middle or high schools is a plus. Fluency in Spanish is also a plus.? 

Minimum Education: BA/BD/BS degree from an accredited college or university in Education or STEM field or other related field of study or equivalent.??