Position Summary
The Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida is seeking a creative, outgoing, and community-minded Education Coordinator to lead and grow our education program. This position combines environmental education, program development, community engagement, and program management, with significant opportunity to shape the future of education at the Sanctuary. The Education Coordinator will oversee educational programming from development through delivery, while building the partnerships, volunteer support, and earned revenue needed to create a thriving and sustainable program.

Key Responsibilities

• Refine existing education programs and develop new, engaging programming focused on native wildlife, conservation, and coexistence.
• Represent the Sanctuary as a welcoming and inclusive community resource, ensuring people of all backgrounds are met with kindness, respect, and a sense of belonging.
• Organize and lead Sanctuary tours, field trips, classes, presentations, and other educational experiences for a variety of ages and audiences.
• Develop and manage the Sanctuary’s new summer camp program.
• Recruit, train, and lead education volunteers, including developing training materials that prepare volunteers to independently lead tours and programs.
• Supervise Education Interns and provide structured opportunities for them to contribute to program development and delivery.
• Build and maintain partnerships with schools, libraries, nonprofits, businesses, environmental organizations, and other community groups.
• Represent the Sanctuary through community events, outreach booths, presentations, career days, and other off-site opportunities.
• Coordinate opportunities for community partners and subject-matter experts to offer classes, workshops, and collaborative programming at the Sanctuary.
• Identify and pursue education-related grants and sponsorship opportunities, with support from the Development Coordinator.
• Track participation, revenue, expenses, and program outcomes to evaluate impact and guide future growth.
• Assist the Development Coordinator with educational programming and volunteer coordination for major Sanctuary events.
• Provide monthly reports to the Development Coordinator.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in education, environmental science, biology, or a related field or relevant 5+ years experience in outdoor education, environmental education, wildlife conservation, interpretation, or community programming.
• Must have a valid drivers license, reliable transportation, and a clean driving record.
• Must be able to pass a background check..
• Strong public speaking, teaching, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to engage audiences of different ages and backgrounds
• Experience developing or facilitating hands-on environmental education programs for children and adults of all abilities.
• Experience training and supervising others to teach hands-on programs for all audiences.
• Strong organization, time management, and project-management skills.
• Ability to independently develop ideas and carry projects from concept through implementation.
• Strong written communication skills; grant-writing experience is helpful but not required.
• Enthusiasm for native wildlife, conservation, and community education.
• Ability to work collaboratively and adapt within a small nonprofit environment.

What Success Looks Like
Success in this position means building an education program that is hands-on, engaging, accessible, financially sustainable, and increasingly connected to the community. Once the Education Coordinator has developed an understanding of the sanctuary’s messaging, brand, and future goals, they will have significant ownership over the program’s growth, with opportunities for increased compensation as education programming and revenue expand. Our goal is not simply to teach people about wildlife, but to give our community the knowledge and tools to better coexist with the animals that share our home. We want to use our program to make our Northwest Florida community better Wild Neighbors.

Education Coordinator