Education Director

Job Summary: 

The Education Director oversees BRN’s Education Program serving the Mexico- USA borderlands between Sonora and Arizona. Our Education Program is fundamental to fulfill our mission of connecting communities to the land through shared learning.

This position works closely with education department staff, department directors and Executive Director to create and maintain robust programming. This position will supervise the Education Program Manager as well as contractors and program interns. The ideal candidate will have an academic background in education and the environment, as well as experience developing and evaluating experiential learning for culturally diverse audiences.

BRN’s Education Department is composed of place-based educational programs built around a common curriculum that covers the restoration of watersheds, ecosystems, and communities, providing a culturally relevant context. Our current programming is divided into four ongoing initiatives: Borderlands Earth Care Youth, Water is Life, Borderlands Field Course and Borderlands Earth Care Center (BECC).

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Direct and evaluate BRN’s educational programs detailed above.
• Supervise the Education Program Manager and other staff as needed.
• Identify funding sources; write, coordinate with staff, and prepare competitive grant proposals and manage them.
• Strengthen existing collaborations among partners and develop new collaborative opportunities to design, fund and deliver educational programs.
• In collaboration with the Education Program Manager, Executive Director, and leadership staff strategize the development of the Borderlands Earth Care Center (BECC).
• Continue the development and maturing of the program’s initiatives and as appropriate, facilitate program components.
• Develop and manage program budget.

Required Education & Experience:

• A minimum of a baccalaureate degree in education or another field directly related to BRN’s mission, graduate degree preferred
• At least five years work experience designing and teaching experiential learning courses for high school students, college students, and/or adult learners in environmental education or related field
• Experience managing educational programs, budgets, and supervising staff

Desired Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Proven track record in securing funding for educational programs
• Familiarity of the ecology, cultures and landscapes of the Arizona-Sonora borderlands
• Familiarity with experiential learning pedagogy and practice designed to prepare participants for employment or higher education
• Familiarity with the principles of a restoration-based economy and sustainability education’s role in supporting it
• Bilingual in Spanish and English preferred