EPA K-12 Environmental and STEM Outreach Coordinator

The EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program has an immediate opening for a K-12 Environmental and STEM Outreach Coordinator with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports 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.

EPA’s National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL), Office of Research and Development (ORD), located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is a scientific organization responsible for carrying out EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment by developing and applying innovations in exposure science. NERL provides scientific leadership, understanding, and tools necessary to quantify exposure for humans and ecosystems. This involves describing the characteristics of the environment, the movement of stressors and human/ecological receptors in the environment, and the exposure that results from contact between stressors and human/ecological receptors. NERL scientists inform sustainable solutions to complex environmental problems by producing exposure methods, models, and data used by the Agency for problem formulation and scoping, to analyze risks and potential solutions, and to evaluate progress toward intended outcomes. NERL has six research divisions; two are located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; two in Cincinnati, Ohio, and one each in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Athens, Georgia.

The candidate will primarily support the Director of EPA-RTP’s K-12 Environmental and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Outreach Program, which is part of the NERL Communications Team. The Director will provide assignments, guidance, and mentoring for the candidate.  The majority of the assignments shall include assisting in the recruitment, coordination, and training of 220+ employees annually who serve as guest speakers, demonstrate hands-on science, and represent EPA at local schools, career fairs, science fairs, and other community events.  The candidate shall also participate in environmental and STEM outreach at local K-12 schools and community events and support the EPA-RTP Speakers Bureau, www.epa.gov/rtpspeakers/.

Responsibilities will include:

The candidate may be expected to participate in conferences and seminars in support of the project. Based on assignments received, the candidate will: 

• Assist in the recruitment, coordination, and training of ~220+ employees annually who serve as guest speakers, demonstrate hands-on science, and represent EPA at local schools, career fairs, science fairs, and other community events.
• Present environmental science topics at local K-12 schools and community events using hands-on activities. Occasionally, evening and weekend hours are required. 
• Plan and coordinate school-wide EPA Science Days, where EPA employees teach environmental science topics to all students in several area schools.
• Facilitate visits to EPA-RTP campus by school and community groups.  Plan tours, educational science activities, and meetings with EPA scientists to showcase careers at EPA.
• Maintain records of all EPA-RTP employee outreach in schools and the community using Excel and keep our outreach calendar up-to-date with events and requests. 
• Track requests received from the EPA-RTP Speakers Bureau as well as maintain and update the Speaker Bureau.
• Assist in the planning and implementation of an annual week-long workshop on Climate Change for 25 high school students to educate students about EPA research on climate change.
• Maintain EPA’s STEM Outreach Resource Center which houses materials for EPA volunteers to take to career fairs, science days, or other community outreach events.  This includes hands-on activities and handouts.
• Act as a point of contact for schools and community members to request EPA volunteers for their classes and/or events. 
• On occasion, interact with community groups and organizations involved in STEM and environmental outreach.
• Create new outreach lessons/activities or improve existing ones as needed.
• Write occasional communication pieces for the Program such as blogs and fact sheets.
• Maintain careful and accurate records in designated laboratory notebooks, where applicable.

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

Salary: The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $27.31 for hours worked.

Travel: Travel within approximately 50 miles of EPA-RTP will be required. Use of government vehicles by the candidate is authorized if needed for work related travel or events. If a government vehicle is not available, use of personal vehicle will be reimbursed for mileage at the current GSA rate.

Working Conditions: This position will primarily involve work in an administrative setting as well as at schools and in the community and is not expected to involve exposure to hazardous elements.

Most work will be performed in an office setting.  However, approximately 25% of the work will involve preparing and giving presentations to schools and community groups both on and off-site.  Many of these presentations will include hands-on activities that will need to be transported to the site.  Occasionally, evening and weekend hours are required. 

Expected Start Date: The position start date is June 2016 through May 14, 2017, plus three (3) additional 12 month option periods.

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

Eligible applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years of age and
• Have recently earned within the last 24 months a Master’s Degree, in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field, including but not limited to environmental science, environmental health, air/water quality, or science communication from an  accredited university or college, 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

Successful candidates will have:

• Demonstrated previous work and/or volunteer experience in community and educational outreach, including teaching through the use of hands-on activities,
• Familiarity with spreadsheets and databases,
• Experience with oral and written presentations, and
• Strong communication skills in the English language both verbally and in writing.  

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.

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 24 month(s).
• Overall GPA: 2.00
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (16 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
  • Engineering (27 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (3 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (45 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (10 )
  • Other Non-Science & Engineering (1 )
  • Physics (16 )
  • Science & Engineering-related (1 )

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; a recent graduate with a Master’s Degree, in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field, including but not limited to environmental science, environmental health, air/water quality, or science communication from an accredited university or college; 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.