Job Application - Northwest Maritime

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Maritime Outdoor Educator - Spring & Summer (SEASONAL)

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This seasonal position (mid-April-August) is made for you if you love working with students exploring the ways of the sea through activities like tying knots, gleefully belting out (kid-appropriate) sea shanties, and finding that elusive coordinated rowing stroke. As the Maritime Outdoor Educator, you’ll work with preschool through middle school students. In the Spring season, you will provide leadership and instruction for on-water and on-land programs, covering maritime skills training and team-building opportunities. Then you’ll spend your summer months as the Messing About in Boats Camp Co-Instructor, literally messing about in boats with young kids sparking wonder and curiosity!

 

We love working with team members who:

  • have a proactive work ethic– willing to jump in and help in any aspect of programming when necessary.
  • love to create a fun, inclusive and safe atmosphere for learning.
  • work well both individually and as a team member, as well as independently with small groups of students.
  • communicate clearly, work collaboratively, and are flexible in dynamic situations.

 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Teach maritime skills on water and on land in a hands-on and engaging way to pre-school, primary, elementary, and middle school students. This may include facilitating shoreside programming in inclement weather
  • Ensure that all boats and safety equipment are prepared for each day of programming, in cooperation with the Waterfront Programs Manager and the Education Program Co-Managers or Summer Program Coordinator (depending on season)
  • Accountable for inventory and proper usage of all NWMC gear
  • Work with the Programs Operations Coordinator and Waterfront Programs Manager to support logistics and maintenance needs of the program gear and boats as needed
  • Complete and follow all required and necessary daily paperwork and related guidelines, i.e., lesson plans, incident reports (as needed), class actuals, maintenance/equipment log
  • Daily check-in with other staff and Education Manager or Summer Program Coordinator (depending on the season) at the beginning and end of each day
  • Participating in pre-season training, orientations, and program setup and post-season clean-up, debrief, and documentation
  • Follow all Safety and Risk Management Protocols
  • Other duties as assigned

 

SPRING SEASON as LONGBOAT MATE/INSTRUCTOR:

School Programs Mate/Instructors (Mates) are role models for program participants and seasonal staff and are expected through clear communication and leadership to foster safety, teamwork, inclusion, and superior experiential learning opportunities. This role will provide maritime skills training, team building opportunities, and both on-land and on-water instruction. Programs take place aboard 26-foot historic longboats, and other small boats as well as at the NWMC facility. We strive to meet the needs of and serve all learners including youth-at-risk, special needs learners, and other underserved populations.

 

SUMMER SEASON as MESSING ABOUT IN BOATS CO-INSTRUCTOR:

The co-instructors work collaboratively to teach and manage the program under the guidance of the Summer Program Coordinator. You will lead 5- to 10-year-old students in experiences to have fun and increase comfort on the water, in the spirit of adventure and discovery. You are also responsible for communicating with parents, creating curriculum, and managing teaching assistants– all while upholding all NWMC safety policies and procedures. Co-instructors are expected to be strong leaders and outstanding role models for both the assistant instructors and the participants.

 

GENERAL OPERATIONS

While this position’s primary responsibility is in facilitating learning experiences, the Maritime Outdoor Educator will work as part of the NWMC team to ensure smooth operations for the organization as a whole. This could include providing information to visitors to the Maritime Center and helping out in projects and events that require all-hands-on-deck, to helping tie up a vessel coming into our dock because you happen to be standing there. We all pitch in for the heavy lifting now and then—sometimes this is metaphoric; occasionally we all have to actually help lift something heavy.

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • Maritime education experience on both the water and land, especially working with youth of many ages in experiential, camp based and alternative learning environments
  • Knowledge of basic boat operation (including rowing, standard knots, basic navigation, weather, and tides and currents)
  • Competence and experience in student management for preschool to middle school aged students
  • Current first aid/CPR certification
  • Valid driver’s license
  • CDC “Heads Up” online concussion training or training plan
  • Washington State Boaters Card with knowledge of safe boating practices or training plan
  • Work offers are contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check and drug test. The NWMC boat-based programs are drug, alcohol, and tobacco-free. Throughout employment with the Northwest Maritime Center, certain boat-based program employees will be enrolled in a random drug testing program administered by the Maritime Consortium, in compliance with the Coast Guard mandatory drug testing regulation, as contained in 46 CFR part 16.

 

HELPFUL QUALIFICATIONS

  • Experience in marine science education
  • Summer camp leadership experience
  • Sailing experience

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

  • Submit resume with online application
  • Deadline for applications: Open until filled, application review begins January 23, 2023
  • One application submission could be used for multiple positions, if interested in additional positions please note that during the application process

 

WORK LOCATION & SCHEDULE

  • Position is seasonal, dates & locations:
    • Spring, based on the Port Townsend Campus: Early April to June 16, 2023 – schedule varies based on needs of the program, averaging 50 to 100 hours per month
    • Summer, based on the Port Townsend Campus: June 21- August 31, 2023 – schedule is typically 35 to 40 hours per week.
  • Main NWMC Campus is located at 431 Water St., Port Townsend, WA 98368
  • Reports to: Education Program Co-Managers (Spring), Waterfront Programs Manager (Summer)

 

WAGE RANGE & BENEFITS

  • $20-22 per hour, paid semi-monthly
  • Sick time accrued at a rate of 1 hour for every 25 hours worked
  • Employee discounts on classes and in NWMC-run retail stores
  • Subsidized housing (you pay $250/month in rent) and partial board included. Housing option includes a bed in a shared room in the crew house in Port Townsend. There is a shared kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and laundry facilities.
  • Season completion bonus: $500 payable to employees that successfully finish the Spring and Summer seasons

 

COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS

  • Following all local, state, and federal guidelines to keep everyone safe
  • All education staff are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 including booster or have a medical exemption, verification is required

 

WHY YOU WANT TO WORK HERE

There are rare moments when organizations have the combination of a talented and motivated staff, an engaged board, a healthy and productive work culture, are executing well on existing programs but still innovating and looking for the next step—we’re in that moment, and it’s exciting.

 

The NWMC is dynamic, making a difference in our community, and taking an increasing role in the region. We serve individual students and program participants, but we also work to help solve community problems like systemic improvements in our public schools, economic development, job training, and working regionally to pair the opportunities in the maritime industry with the need to address systemic oppression in communities of color. Plus, all of the fun stuff like kids’ programs, festivals, and adventure races. Our waterfront campus is vibrant with a multitude of compelling activities, and all of them done to meet or advance industry best practices. In the words of a board member: “We don’t do B work.”

 

On top of it all, you’d get to work on the water in Port Townsend: natural beauty, heritage buildings, arts community, wooden boats, zero traffic jams. The Northwest Maritime Center’s relative scale to our small town means that the effects of our success can be observed in the success of our community. You’ll be doing meaningful work for the place you live and your efforts will make a tangible difference.

 

Right team, right moment, the right momentum, and the chance to move the needle for the prosperity of an entire community: That’s why we get excited to come to work in the morning, and that’s why we think you should want to be here too.

 

The Northwest Maritime Center is an equal-opportunity employer that welcomes and encourages individuals of all cultures and communities to apply. Read our Anti-Racism & Inclusion statement here.