Science Education Outreach Part-time at EPA

Organization
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Reference Code
EPA-SSP-0023-1R-9-10-18
How to Apply
  • Submit application and supporting documents by clicking on Apply Now button.
  • For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.
Description

The EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program has an immediate opening for a part-time (20 hours per week) Science Education Outreach position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA Research Triangle Park facility in Raleigh Durham, NC.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country.

The National Risk Management Research Laboratory is leading new research to develop portable air quality instruments that are easy to operate and use in the field, as well as installing compact air monitoring stations in community environments.  The research team is seeking an individual, at least 18 years of age and who has completed a Bachelor’s degree in education, science education, or a scientific or engineering field, with direct teaching experience, to assist with developing materials supporting students, teachers, and citizen scientists to use portable air quality instrumentation, air quality data available on websites (e.g., airnow.gov/ villagegreen), data visualization tools (e.g., epa.gov/retigo) and other environmental research activities. This effort is expected to begin approximately October 2018.

The selected candidate shall assist the NRMRL Principal Investigator to test the portable air quality instruments and plug-and-play data visualization tools to ensure they are easy to use for a variety of age groups.  In addition, he/she shall develop teaching activities using publically available air quality data, including the Village Green Project (airnow.gov/villagegreen).  The selected candidate will also be involved in developing other citizen science materials and hands-on activities supporting the EPA-RTP outreach program.  He/she will be part of research and citizen science teams, and will have frequent interaction with the Principal Investigator as well as other researchers at EPA-RTP.

Laboratory and field research responsibilities will include:

  • Testing the ease-of-use of the instrumentation and documenting observations,
  • Testing the ability of the instrumentation to acquire data on position and air quality, and
  • Testing the ability of the data output to easily load and display in a freely available web tool (epa.gov/retigo).

Science education-related responsibilities will include:

  • Developing teacher curriculum materials incorporating the Village Green Project data (airnow.gov/villagegreen; epa.gov/villagegreen),
  • Developing easy-to-understand technical guidance to operate the portable air monitoring instrument and data visualization through RETIGO (epa.gov/retigo),
  • Developing and demonstrating other citizen science outreach activities, related to environmental monitoring, and
  • Communicating new citizen science research activities through presentations and blog articles.

Location: This job will be located at EPA’s Research Triangle facility in Raleigh-Durham, NC.

Salary: Selected applicants will become temporary employees of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $21.27 for hours worked.

Hours: Part-time, up to 20 hours per week.

Working Conditions: The selected candidate shall be supervised by a mentor who will provide day-to-day direction, as well as coach, advise and counsel the candidate, and review his/her work.  The mentor for this position will be a federal EPA employee. 

Travel: Occasional overnight travel may be required.

Expected Start Date: The position is part-time up to 20 hours per week and expected to begin October 2018. The selected applicant will be a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA. The initial contract period is through May 14, 2019. EPA may elect to renew the contract for an additional one (1)12-month optional period.

For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

Qualifications

Eligible applicants must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age and
  • Have earned at least a Bachelor’s degree in education, science education, science, engineering, or other closely related field from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months and
  • Be a citizen of the United States of America or a Legal Permanent Resident.

EPA ORD employees, their spouses, and children are not eligible to participate in this program.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

The applicant shall:

  • Demonstrate direct experience in K-12 education, including curriculum development and current national science education standards,
  • Demonstrate leadership skills and have experience working in teams, and
  • Possess strong written, oral and electronic communication skills.

Desired Expertise, Skills, Education, and/or Experience

It is desirable for the applicant to have:

  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (i.e., Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook),
  • Strong communication skills (i.e., written, oral, telephone etiquette, presentation abilities), including effective multi-media technical communications, and
  • Excellent proofreading and editing skills.
Eligibility Requirements
  • Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, or Doctoral Degree received within the last 24 month(s).
  • Discipline(s):
    • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
    • Communications and Graphics Design (1 )
    • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (16 )
    • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
    • Engineering (27 )
    • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
    • Life Health and Medical Sciences (45 )
    • Mathematics and Statistics (10 )
    • Other Non-Science & Engineering (13 )
    • Physics (16 )
    • Science & Engineering-related (1 )
    • Social and Behavioral Sciences (27 )
Affirmation

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; a recent graduate with at least a Bachelor’s degree in education, science education, science, engineering, or other closely related field from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months; a citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States of America; and not a current employee of EPA ORD or the spouse or child of an EPA ORD employee.

ORAU is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability); visit the ORAU website for required employment notices.


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