Environmental Education Program Manager

Job Title: Education Program Manager

Type: Full-time

Start: February 2025

About Solar One

Solar One is a 501c(3) organization that empowers communities in the New York City metro area to thrive in the face of the challenges brought on by climate change and embrace a world that is low carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive.

Initially founded in 2004 to manage Stuyvesant Cove Park, a two-acre native plant park and a small environmental education center, Solar One has grown into an award-winning organization with a thriving array of programs. Solar One's mission is to design and deliver innovative education, training, and technical assistance that fosters sustainability and resiliency in diverse urban environments. We empower learning that changes how people think about energy, sustainability, and resilience by engaging and educating diverse stakeholders and beneficiaries.

Job Summary

The Green Design Lab (GDL) is the educational department of Solar One. The GDL Education Manager role will be a vital member of our teaching staff immediately and become a critical member of operations and programming at our new Solar One Environmental Education Center (S1EEC) opening summer 2025. S1EEC will feature field trips focused on climate change, resiliency, native plant ecology, water quality and more. This role will oversee educational programming at the new Environmental Education Center (S1EEC) and will be the liaison between education staff, operations, events, and the park team. There will be teaching and administrative components to the role, with priorities dictated by programming calendar. The goal is to have a team member that learns and delivers our programs, gaining the familiarity needed to be a strong manager of various programs and calendars. The position will require regular interaction with school-aged students, library groups, and the general public. During Spring 2025, the Manager will teach off-site at locations such as public libraries and schools. Starting in June 2025, the Manager will report to work Monday-Friday at our new Environmental Education Center at Stuyvesant Cove Park in Manhattan. There may be occasional Saturday programming.

Job Responsibilities

Teaching

• Teach Solar One’s curriculum focused on climate action through energy, materials, water, and food for grades 2-12. The programs occur in schools, afterschool programs, public libraries, and eventually at S1EEC. The ability to travel around NYC is essential.
• Act as on-site liaison between students, teachers, the public, and Solar One staff to successfully deliver field trips and programming.
• Oversee curriculum design in collaboration with the education team and/or external partners.

Management

• Oversee programming on-site at the new education center. Ensures programming is high quality and runs smoothly.
• Greet schools and ensuring students safely enter and exit the building. Enforces safety protocols.
• Manage program expansion, including designing new field trip offerings, building out offerings for the general public and families.
• Market and conduct outreach around the new center to families and schools to boost awareness of S1EEC.
• Coordinate programming with schools and other community partners by registering, scheduling, and coordinating school field trips to S1EEC utilizing the Explorable Places platform.
• Design and distribute program evaluation instruments such as post-program surveys, utilizing feedback from the public, students, teachers, and school administrators to measure program impact and feedback.
• Develop curriculum and new program offerings.
• Collaborate with Solar One’s fiscal department to invoice clients and track payments.
• Manage inventory and purchase program supplies.
• Assist the Director of STEM Education with reporting and tracking participant data and tracking delivered programming to schools and teachers.

Park & Events Programs

• Coordinate the scheduling of public programs with our Stuy Cove Park staff and Director of Events.
• Attend public programming events on an as-needed basis. Occasional Saturdays.

Qualifications and Skills

Successful candidates for this role should be able to demonstrate the following:

• Bachelor’s degree required, Masters preferred (Strong preference in STEM or high interest in climate, environment, and renewable energy)
• 3-5 years of program management experience i.e., administrative capacity, with concrete examples of handling scheduling across multiple calendars
• Demonstrated success in communicating with partner organizations and individuals to build and maintain strong partnerships.
• 3-5 years of experience teaching K-12 students content with strong preference aligned with STEM, climate action, and/or environmental sustainability. Classroom experience is strongly preferred.
• Interest and passion in teaching climate, renewable energy, ecology, or environmental education within underserved communities, with a focus and commitment to environmental justice, climate justice, and all intersections.Aptitude with Google Suite
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office
• Strong verbal communication
• Tact and responsiveness with young learners
• Strong Writing Skills
• Project management
• Time management
• Attention to detail
• High level of organization
• Outreach and Adaptability
• Basic graphic design, such as Canva, is a plus

Pay and Benefits

Pay starting at $69,000 - $78,000 per year.

We offer a variety of benefits depending on the position type. Our full-time benefits include:

• This position is Full Time / Exempt
• Health care and well-being programs, including medical, dental, vision, EAP
• 4 weeks of paid time off that increases with tenure
• Life and disability insurance
• Paid Holidays
• 401(k) retirement savings

Solar One is an equal opportunity employer. Solar One strives to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in all elements of our work and with our partners to support the interdependent needs of renewable energy and resilience and people in a rapidly changing world. Solar One recruits and employs through a lens of equity and encourages people of all races, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law to apply.