Dynamic Earth is a national educational charity with a mission of empowering everyone with understanding and empathy for the Earth. We deliver this mission through our exhibition, planetarium and through our learning and engagement programmes in Edinburgh and nationally across Scotland. We have recently published a new 10-year strategic plan – From Beginning to Mend - with a series of strategic priorities including delivering outstanding science engagement and reaching more people in more ways.

Role Purpose:

To manage Dynamic Earth’s community learning and engagement programme in support of our strategic priorities, charitable mission and purpose.

Role Description:

Role Summary - Working closely with the Head of Learning and Engagement, you will play an active and hands-on role in managing and delivering our community learning and engagement programmes and partnerships, which ensure Dynamic Earth provides high-quality and in-depth repeat engagement opportunities for a wide range of underserved and underrepresented audiences.

Key Results Areas:

1. Strategy and Culture: You will champion a culture of excellence in science engagement and play a key role in delivering our programming and organisational strategies. You will act as a science communication mentor and champion, leading through example in delivery with community audiences and colleagues.
2. Community Events and Experiences: You will lead on the management of our programmes with underserved and underrepresented community audiences; placing evolved co-creation and values driven practice at the heart of our programmes with a focus on repeat engagement models in an in-reach and outreach capacity. You will play and active, regular and hands-on role in delivering our community events and experiences with colleagues and audiences.
3. Project Management: You will lead on the planning and execution of a number of funded community initiatives in partnership with colleagues from Fundraising.
4. Partnerships: You will play a key role in managing a range of partnerships, including initiation, development and stewardship
5. Management: You will line manage colleague(s) responsible for community programming
6. Budget and Finances: You will manage budgets for community programming with the Head of Learning and Engagement
7. Health and Safety: You will take an active role in health and safety processes and procedure for the activity areas you are responsible for, such as SOPs and Risk Assessments.
8. Evaluation and Impact: You will play an active role in sharing the work of the charity across a range of channels for a broad range of stakeholders in partnership with colleagues from Marketing and Communications.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:

- Educated to degree level in a STEM subject area or related discipline, or alternatively lived experience as an alternative to a formal qualification

- Excellent oral and written communication skills

- Excellent planning and organisational skills

- Excellent interpersonal skills

- Excellent time management skills, including the ability to effectively re(prioritize) a varied workload of multiple concurrent programme areas and projects

- Line management experience including recruitment, training and development

- Experience of creating and delivering high-quality learning and engagement experiences from inception to point of delivery

- Experience of creating, maintaining, evolving and stewarding partnerships

- Experience of working with a broad range of audiences who are underserved and underrepresented in informal science learning

- Awareness and experience of implementing sector-wide community best practice

- Awareness and experience of developing evaluation methodologies

QUALITIES AND ATTRIBUTES:

- A pro-active, warm, enthusiastic and friendly disposition with the ability to build rapport with people quickly

- An enabling and pro-active attitude and commitment to a culture of continuous improvement

- A flexible approach which helps deliver results

- A pro-active and enabling approach to problem solving

- A reflective practitioner with the ability to reflect both on self and situation

Dynamic Earth is Edinburgh’s science centre and the only centre of its kind in the UK dedicated to Earth and environmental sciences. We’re an educational charity, on a mission to empower people with understanding and empathy for the Earth; because we believe together we will be the generation that creates a positive future for us and our planet.

Our Learning and Engagement team are at the heart of delivering our charitable mission and deliver a packed programme of events and experiences with a broad spectrum of audiences each year. Our new ten-year organisational strategy places engaging with wide and diverse audiences and delivering outstanding quality science engagement at the very forefront of our department plan.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our team in the position of Learning and Engagement Officer. In this role, you will work alongside colleagues in the wider Learning and Engagement team to co-ordinate, develop and deliver a range of different learning experiences – including but not limited to indoor and outdoor workshops, drop-in activities and online experiences – for a range of audiences including school pupils, teachers, children and young people and families. This is a science communication role with a key focus on delivering a range of experiences with audiences, particularly with school pupils. We are particularly keen to hear from you if you have knowledge, skills and experience in the delivery of outdoor and or digital learning and engagement experiences.

To find out more about the work of Dynamic Earth and the Learning and Engagement team, please click here.

Dynamic Earth is Edinburgh’s science centre and the only centre of its kind in the UK dedicated to Earth and Environmental Sciences. Our mission is to empower people with understanding and empathy for the Earth; to be the generation that creates a positive future for us and our planet.

Our learning and engagement team are at the heart of delivering our charitable mission and deliver a packed programme of events and experiences with a broad spectrum of audiences each year. Our new ten-year organisational strategy places engaging with wide and diverse audiences and delivering outstanding quality science engagement at the very forefront of our department plan.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our team in the position of Learning and Engagement Officer, with particular responsibilities for widening access and community participation. In this role, you will work closely with our Senior Community Learning & Engagement Officer and colleagues across the team to develop, deliver and expand the reach and impacts of our programmes for underrepresented audiences both at Dynamic Earth and through local and national outreach initiatives.

Our Community Learning and Engagement Programme reaches >2,500 people each year through a variety of programmes, projects and initiatives which are delivered through a range of funding streams. Our programmes reach diverse audiences and are designed to build science capital with audiences which face a range of different barriers to participating in Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) experiences, and are co-created and needs led.

This is a science communication role where in the main you will deliver impactful learning and engagement experiences both at Dynamic Earth and through local and national outreach initiatives to underrepresented audiences in STEM engagement. You will also contribute to the development and procurement of Earth and Environmental Science resources for use in a variety of settings on a range of focus areas and themes, whilst contributing to evaluation approaches to evidence the outcomes and impacts of our programmes.

This role will play a crucial part in evolving our community programming, strengthening relationships with partner organisations and building capacity to expand the geographical reach of our work. You will be part of a committed and passionate team of science communication professionals, and will have the opportunity to support a variety of other focus areas – including our family and outdoor programmes - to develop your skills and experiences of working with different audiences and programme strands.

You will be an integral member of a dynamic team where you will work in part, to a determined schedule and in part on projects where self-management is required.

Dynamic Earth is a unique not-for profit science centre featuring an immersive and interactive exhibition, a 6K digital planetarium, a dedicated Learning Service and Corporate Events venues. Visitors to the exhibition experience the evolution of planet Earth, from the big bang through to the present day. Dynamic Earth is a registered charity under Scottish law and is owned by The Dynamic Earth Charitable Trust. Dynamic Earth brings to Edinburgh the opportunity for guests to time travel, journey through the universe and view the Earth from space, experience extreme environments and touch a real iceberg for yourself!

Dynamic Earth seek to appoint new Trustees to help them achieve their goal of making their unique educational experience accessible to all! Trustees help to set the strategic direction, and review and monitor Dynamic Earth’s work and activities, both financial and operational, supporting and challenging the Management Team in meeting the organisation’s mission and vision.

Trustees play a key role by bringing their own experience to inform strategy and to act as ambassadors and facilitators for the organisation. Dynamic Earth are seeking applications from strategic individuals, who are committed to making science fun and accessible and helping to enhance all areas of operation within the organisation. Trustees should be capable of working with a wide range of stakeholders, be effective communicators and strong have interpersonal skills.

The Chair of the Board may delegate certain tasks to individuals or groups of Trustees. Trustees should be able and willing to contribute to a wide range of activities to bring the vision of Dynamic Earth to life. These include tasks related to networking and fundraising.

Dynamic Earth welcome applications from a wide range of sectors and are keen to hear from those who are passionate about science and widening participation. They are committed to making the experience accessible and inclusive and this vision should be closely mirrored in their newly appointed trustees.