Public Engagement Specialist

TITLE: Public Engagement Specialist
DEPARTMENT: Learning & Community: Public Engagement
REPORTS TO: Program Manager Public Engagement
STATUS: Full-Time 2-Year Term
SALARY:$50000 annually
LOCATION: Hybrid

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Public Engagement Team is responsible for developing and delivering participatory audience-driven experiences to guests to achieve Shedds mission of sparking compassion curiosity and conservation for the aquatic animal world. The team is also responsible for developing and facilitating in collaboration with partner departments and vendors engagement trainings that build the skillsets of their staff members and volunteers so we can create a seamless joyful and engaging Shedd experience no matter the staff member guests encounter. These trainings are a part of a workforce development strategy to help develop team members across Shedd to advance into engagement or learning centered roles.

The Public Engagement Specialist uses creativity instructional best-practices and evaluation data to design implement and evaluate programs and trainings to align to the institutional strategic objectives and the mission framework. This position will design programs and trainings as part of a portfolio to enhance learning and engagement opportunities for school groups families and general guests. Programs encompass a variety of types of experiences ranging from small-scale unscripted conversations to small-group animal engagements to large-scale presentations. The Public Engagement Specialist has experience in interpretation engagement strategies program development and training. This position collaborates with other departmental and organizational team members to implement Shedd-wide programs projects and experiences. Additionally the Public Engagement Specialist regularly delivers established and new programs. The position requires a strong ability to learn multiple program outlines and apply improvisational techniques to dynamically engage audiences. Tailoring content to various audiences and rapidly adapting and evolving to guest and aquarium needs are important skills as is the ability to connect with diverse audiences with cultural competency. Qualified individuals will have experience in improv theatre and/or informal education settings as well as demonstrated program development experience.

This is a full time two-year term position.

Time Commitment:

• Approximately 40 hours per week.
• The schedule for this position will be Sunday-Thursday or Tuesday-Saturday.
• This position may require work on evenings weekends overnight hours and holidays.
• This position must be able to work at Shedd Aquarium and in offsite locations.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned. To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Other duties may be assigned.

• Demonstrate commitment to Shedds vision mission and values
• Develop and implement programs and trainings by utilizing evaluation results science standards and current educational trends and research
• Work closely with Public Engagement Program Manager to develop overarching program suite and strategy
• Work closely with Public Engagement Training and Development Manager to develop and facilitate trainings
• Stay current on relevant best practices (instructional strategies content areas etc.)
• Utilize resources such as live animals technology and other tools
• Lead program and training development phases to ensure goals and objectives are being met and communicate status of projects effectively
• Collaborate with community partners and Shedd audiences on program prototyping and piloting ensuring that diverse audience voices are part of the program development process
• Use diverse equitable accessible inclusive (DEAI) practices in program design
• Work closely with the Research and Evaluation department on evaluation plans in alignment with strategies for reaching program and learner goals
• Continually incorporate assessment data in program planning and facilitation
• Collaborate with aquarium-wide teams to execute programs projects and events
• Help lead program training and certification process for team members
• Keep scripts outlines and other program documents up to date to reflect interpretation best practices blocking adjustments and content updates
• Maintain program resources materials and spaces
• Learn and facilitate multiple scripts and outlines featuring a variety of Shedds 32000 animals tailoring content to a variety of audiences
• Proactively interact with guests animal care team members donors etc.
• Dynamically engage guests about the aquatic world throughout aquarium
• Work near animals adhering to established protocols
• Serve as a leader to other staff and volunteers for guest interaction and knowledge
• Attend training workshops as scheduled lead training elements and workshops as needed
• Assist with and lead onboarding and training with new team members
• Collaborate closely with leaders to set goals develop skills and receive and integrate feedback for professional growth
• Serve on interdepartmental teams
• Other duties as needed or assigned

QUALIFICATIONS: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge skill and/or ability required.

Education & Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of experience teaching preferably in an informal setting
• Experience delivering programs to a variety of audiences in a museum zoo or aquarium setting preferred
• Minimum 1 year of experience designing learning experiences and trainings
• Experience with culturally relevant science education practices and instructional strategies preferred
• Experience working in team-based environments
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) preferred
• Bachelors degree in science/environmental studies education museum studies or a related field or equivalent experience preferred

LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

• Ability to maintain good vocal control with the ability to speak publicly for many hours each day without loss of voice.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

• Ability to understand basic mathematical relationships and formulas.

REASONING SKILLS

• Ability to work with little or no supervision.
• Ability to use common sense techniques in solving problems.
• Ability to use diplomacy and tact when dealing with problems.
• Ability to identify problems and determine the best course of action for their resolution.
• Ability to improvise due to variable animal activities and guest needs.

COMPUTER SKILLS

• Proficient with Microsoft Office suite especially Outlook Excel and Word.
• Ability to learn new technology and computer applications.

PHYSICAL SKILLS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Lift up to 30 pounds
• Sit
• Stand
• Stoop
• Walk
• Climb stairs
• Spend the majority of the day on ones feet

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This person may be exposed to:

• Water
• Heat
• Cold
• Air particles (or potential allergens)
• Low noise
• Moderate Noise
• Loud Noise

BENEFITS WORKING AT SHEDD:We offer competitive compensation packages and opportunities for professional growth within our organization.

• Medical Insurance including FSA and HSA plan options
• Vision and Dental Insurance
• Accrued Paid Time Off
• Up to 12 Paid Holidays
• Life Insurance
• Parental Leaveand Adoption Assistance
• 401(k)
• Discounted Parking and Public Transit Subsidies
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee Wellness program including Preventive Care Incentive
• Employee Discounts
• Employee Tickets

Reasonable Accommodations:
Shedd Aquarium is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodations for any part of the employment process please email us at
We strongly encourage people of color LGBTQ community veterans and active duty military parents individuals with disabilities and individuals from all cultural backgrounds to apply. Shedd Aquarium is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team.