Position Title: Education Assistant
Position Location: Hamilton County Conservation District, 1325 E Kemper Road, Suite 115, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246
Reports To: HCCD Education & ORBCorps Program Manager
Position Duration: Begins November 6, 2023, and ends October 2, 2024. Requires a minimum of 1,700 hours of service over the service period.
Benefits:
The member will receive a stipend of up to $20,400, and the stipend will be paid biweekly. If the term of service is completed successfully, the member may be eligible for a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $6,895. Full-time members have access to healthcare and childcare. The member will not be an employee of Hamilton County Conservation District (HCCD) and is not entitled to any of the benefits or compensation Hamilton County Conservation District provides to its employees. Housing is not available.
About ORBCorps:
The Ohio River Basin AmeriCorps (ORBCorps) program has been formed to address the issue of poor water quality in Southwest Ohio. Residents are often unaware of our poor water quality and once informed are not really sure how they themselves can have any effect on the problem and the potential solutions. Introducing AmeriCorps members to this area will help expand the education, outreach and data collection efforts to continue to push for cleaner water and better educated residents. At the same time, it will help AmeriCorps members develop skills that will prepare them for employment as a natural resource or water quality professional.
Overview:
The Hamilton County Conservation District is a political subdivision of the State of Ohio, established in 1945 to work with landowners to help address soil and water conservation issues. The District’s purpose is to improve and sustain soil and water quality in Hamilton County, and our mission is to provide resources to meet the conservation needs of Hamilton County land users. Hamilton County Conservation District provides technical assistance, educational programming and other resources to landowners to help them address a diverse range of local conservation issues.
AmeriCorps, a federal agency, brings people together to tackle the country's most pressing challenges, through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.
Position Description:
The Education Assistant AmeriCorps Member be responsible for developing and presenting natural resource-based education programs to school students, library audiences, the general public and summer/environmental camp participants. The member will be responsible for presenting programs and recruiting schools for the Caring For Our Watersheds contest throughout Ohio. The Education Assistant member will also help to coordinate student implementation projects and the final competition for the Caring For Our Watersheds program. The selected candidate will focus on a variety of school-based natural resource programming. They must be competent and capable of speaking in front of groups of people including school aged and community groups.
Essential Position Responsibilities:
- Promote the understanding of soil & water issues through school, library and camp programs.
- Actively seek opportunities to present information and conservation programs to new groups.
- Coordinate schools in Hamilton County and throughout Ohio to participate in contests and events (inc poster/essay contests, Envirothon and Caring For Our Watersheds).
- Coordinate the ‘Education’ and some aspects of the ‘Outreach’ components of the NPDES Phase II Storm Water Program.
- Assist in leading booths at public events.
- Work with HCCD staff to coordinate other non-education events.
- Maintain records of activities and school contacts. Develop reports for Board of Supervisors (monthly and additional as needed), SW District (as needed, at least yearly) and Caring For Our Watersheds (monthly).
- Assist in scheduling and leading workshops to train teachers in conservation techniques.
- Assist in developing social media posts, blog posts, website updates and newsletter articles.
- Additional activities that fall within the goals of the program may be assigned with approval of the member, site supervisor and ORBCorps staff.
AmeriCorps Responsibilities:
- Mid-term and final performance evaluations conducted by supervisor
- Weekly timesheets
- Member Service Plan for tracking achieved goals
- Member surveys and exit survey.
Training: Hamilton County Conservation District will provide the necessary training and oversight to allow the AmeriCorps member to successfully perform all aspects of this position. Additionally, the AmeriCorps member will receive monthly programmatic training on a variety of conservation topics. Training content may include, but is not limited to first aid, CPR, volunteer engagement, native species planting techniques, facilitating public involvement, environmental education, minimum control measures and land management.
Qualifying Skills and Abilities:
- Must possess a high school diploma or GED
- A direct working knowledge of conservation issues as they apply to soil and water.
- A direct working knowledge of watersheds and how humans can impact them.
- Ability to communicate in a professional, accurate and energetic manner to a variety of audiences.
- Experience and comfort speaking in front of a groups.
- Work well within a team: respect and support initiatives of others; communicate in a timely and candid manner with team members and supervisors.
- Knowledgeable of social media platforms and ability to make posts.
- Be available on some weekends and evenings.
- Highly organized and detail oriented.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office products.
- Must successfully pass a comprehensive background and criminal investigation check.
- A valid driver’s license, insurance and a good driving record is required.
- Ability to lift at least 25 pounds.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in education, or other related environmental field(s)-with at least 2 years’ experience in teaching and/or curriculum development.
- Knowledge of the USEPA-NPDES Phase II Storm Water Regulations
Service Schedule:
Daily hours for the Education Assistant AmeriCorps member will be 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon and 12:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for a total of 40 hours a week. Some weeknight and weekend hours may be required.
To Apply: go to http://www.hcswcd.org/orbcorps-info.html. There you can upload a cover letter, resume/CV and 3 references.
The Hamilton County Conservation District is an equal opportunity employer.
