JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
Job Title:Seasonal Lead Environmental Educator (3 positions to fill)
Department: Education
Reports to: Assistant Director of Youth Learning & Engagement
Classification: Seasonal Contract
Employment Dates: March 4, 2025- August 29, 2025
Salary range: $168-$176 (full day rate) per day based on experience. Exempt, $75 per night stipend for overnight programs
About Bird Alliance of Oregon
Bird Alliance of Oregon has been a leading voice in conservation for over a century. Through conservation advocacy, environmental education, and wildlife rehabilitation, we promote the understanding, enjoyment, and protection of native birds, other wildlife and their habitats. We are located in a 172-acre wildlife sanctuary next to Forest Park, just minutes from downtown Portland.
The goal of Bird Alliance of Oregon Education is to build inclusive flyways between joy, learning and advocacy in nature. Through school programs camps, adult classes, trips, youth leadership, free events and deep collaborations, we expand access to the outdoors; amplify connections between birds, people and place; and create opportunities for all people to love and care for the natural world in ways that are meaningful for them. In partnership, we strive to nurture just communities working together to make a difference.
Just as birds connect landscapes across an ecosystem, we understand our work in a rich context of cultural communities, neighborhoods and networks across our region. We seek to build connectivity, common purpose and collective impact through collaboration. We value the profound legacy of stewardship that people who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color have brought to this work for generations, and we see partnership and mutual aid as essential to everything we do. We’re grateful to spend our days exploring, laughing, and looking up in wonder, and we believe joy is a powerful driver of change, both personal and collective. Together, we hope to foster a lasting, resonant sense of place in the outdoors, and invite everyone to take action for conservation in their own community and throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Position Summary
Bird Alliance of Oregon ’s Lead Environmental Educators are passionate nature enthusiasts and relationship builders excited to facilitate joyful, curious and collaborative programs with children from all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. As a Lead Educator, you’ll join a diverse team to lead onsite programs at Bird Alliance of Oregon ’s forest sanctuary, off-site field trips to local natural areas and school classrooms, and Outdoor School overnights at our cabin outside of Sandy. You’ll also work together to design and teach nature, adventure and science-based summer camps for children ranging from 1st-12th grade.
You’re someone with experience in outdoor education or teaching in an informal setting (e.g. camps, parks, museums, community centers or comparable spaces), especially in socioeconomically and racially diverse environments. Knowledge of ecology or natural history is vital, and familiarity with the Pacific Northwest is ideal. You’re excited to take a lead role imbuing our curriculum with creativity, exploration, humor, and culturally-responsive teaching strategies. You’re ready to assist the Education team in orienting and mentoring our summer seasonal educators. You have a passion for working with children and for cultivating each child’s personal connection to the natural world.
All of Bird Alliance of Oregon ’s camps are sliding scale, and we’re committed to building a community across our programs and in our team that mirrors the full diversity of our city. As a Lead Educator, you’ll also mentor a team of young adults from Bird Alliance of Oregon ’s Green Leaders program, a partnership with Hacienda Community Development Corporation. It’s essential that all educators have a strong comfort working in multiracial teams, a dedication to creating an anti-racist learning environment, and a commitment to advancing equity and inclusion through their practice. Candidates with lived experience working with youth of color, immigrants, and people from working class families are highly encouraged to apply.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Facilitate 3-5 day overnight Outdoor School programs at Marmot Cabin in Sandy, Oregon
- Lead field trips, partnership programs and classroom workshops with school children from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds in grades K-12
- Develop culturally responsive curricula for week-long summer camp programs to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all children
- Be responsive to various emotional and physical needs of students and campers with age-appropriate behavior management interventions
- Support equity and inclusion goals, including highlighting the work of people of color, LGBTQIA and other historically marginalized communities in our programs
- Support Education staff in the training and mentoring of summer educators and assistants
- Collaborate with other educators to lead camps for children and youth of all ages
- Collaborate with and mentor Green Leader youth throughout the spring and summer
- Arrange for program provisions such as transportation, food, and equipment
Working Conditions
• Ability to hike 1.5 miles on uneven terrain
• Must possess a current driver’s license
• Must be able to transport Audubon teaching materials throughout the Greater Portland Area
• Ability to be certified in Basic First Aid and CPR
• Ability to follow COVID-19 safety procedures and guidelines
• Some positions, but not all, will require the ability to lift up to 40 pounds to waist level, lead programs in remote settings and/or overnight experiences
• Willingness to be trained and certified for CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) in order to drive a school bus is a plus for some but not all positions
• May require constant bending at times
Application
Bird Alliance of Oregon does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, marital status, national origin, political affiliation or mental or physical handicap. Candidates of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Bird Alliance of Oregon is committed to building a diverse and inclusive environment, reflecting the diversity of our community in its board, staff, volunteers, and members; ensuring its internal culture, business practices, and programs are welcoming and advancing its diversity goals; and empowering people to make positive changes in their community and environment. More background on our diversity efforts can be found at audubonportland.org/about.
How to Apply
ONLINE SUBMISSIONS PREFERRED
APPLY ONLINE at bit.ly/BirdAllianceOregon_Application
In addition to your application, please complete the questionnaire LINKED HERE
To submit via US Postal Service:
Please send your resume, cover letter and this application to:
Human Resources
Bird Alliance of Oregon
REF: Seasonal Lead Environmental Educator
5151 NW Cornell Road
Portland, OR 97210
Application Deadline: Monday, January 6th, 2025at midnight.
Interviews will be held Wednesday, January 15th, Thursday, January 16th and Tuesday, January 21st.
Diversity Statement:
Bird Alliance of Oregon believes that inspiring all people to love and protect nature is best achieved when we embrace diversity as a value and practice. In the same way an ecosystem needs many types of plants and wildlife, an organization thrives when it includes a diversity of people and perspectives. We recognize that inequities are widespread and create gaps between our present reality and our aspirations. Bird Alliance of Oregon is committed to:
- Reflecting the diversity of the community in our board, staff, volunteers, and members.
- Ensuring our internal culture, business practices, and programs are welcoming and advance our diversity goals.
- Empowering people to make positive changes in their community and environment.
A core priority moving forward is to infuse equity, inclusion, and diversity (EID) into all of the goals and work of the organization. This position will play an important role in achieving the organization’s EID goals through engagement with staff, board members, donors, volunteers and the public. We recognize that in order to serve diverse communities we must also have diversity represented in our staff
