OPAL National Schools Officer

IMPORTANT:  This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders.  Other applicants need not apply.

 

OPAL National Schools Officer

FSC Northern Ireland in Belfast, Titanic Quarter

OPAL is a community-focused education and research programme about the environment. The basic concept is to go out into the community to engage members of the public in environmental research and outdoor learning, and together, explore and better understand the places where people live and work. The objectives are to give people a purpose to spend more time outdoors; to educate; to inspire a new generation of environmentalists; to encourage collaboration between statutory, voluntary and community sectors; and to gain a greater understanding of the state of the environment, thus contributing to research and policy.

This role involves working with teaching staff and students from secondary schools to deliver an ambitious programme of outdoor learning in economically deprived areas of Northern Ireland, with a focus on Belfast. This includes providing engaging OPAL outdoor learning experiences for over 4500 secondary school students and training over 110 teachers over the lifetime of the project.  These activities will predominantly be delivered in Parks and open spaces in Belfast, on school premises and other urban areas. Each session with young people will include an OPAL investigation (there are already 7 packs produced to use with young people). The successful candidate will ensure these sessions are closely linked to the Revised Curriculum at KS3 and engaging and relevant to all participating learners. The post holder will also work with FSC Northern Ireland staff to develop their involvement in OPAL, and also to develop linked extension activities to be used throughout Northern Ireland and at other FSC learning locations.

The post holder will develop, plan and deliver ‘out-of-classroom learning’ activities primarily to a secondary school audience; engaging and enthusing students of science and assisting FSC to achieve their goal of ‘Inspiring Environmental Understanding through first-hand experience’. The post holder will be expected to lead groups of all abilities in the natural environment, with the ability to provide an appropriate standard of care for our learners and make a wide-ranging contribution to the work of FSC Northern Ireland.

If you feel that you meet the skills we are looking for, then we want to hear from you. 

All teaching posts in Northern Ireland are subject to detailed checks via Access NI. FSC Charity Number: 313364 / SC039870

Salary Range: £11,859 - £13,534 per annum (full time equivalent salary £23,719 - £27,069 per annum)

Hours of work are based on a notional average of 20 per week.

This is a fixed term post for 18 months.

For further details and an application form visit our website: www.field-studies-council.org/vacancies

Email: recruitment@field-studies-council.org or phone: 01743 852138.

The closing date is 12 noon on Friday 20^th February 2015

Interviews are scheduled to take place at FSC Belfast on Tuesday 3^rd March 2015 

More information about OPAL is available at www.opalexplorenature.org

OPAL is funded by the National Lottery through Big Lottery Fund.