The University of Virginia's Blandy Experimental Farm (BEF) seeks a full-time Director of preK-12 Education. As a member of the BEF leadership team, the Director of preK-12 Education plays a significant role in supporting BEF's mission to advance understanding of the natural world through research, education and public outreach. The Director of preK-12 Education is responsible for the overall planning, development, and administration of BEF's education programs for students and their teachers. This includes promoting and enhancing existing formal science programs, identifying and developing new activities to meet the year-round needs of preK-12 students and their teachers, and leading outdoor-based preK-12 programming both on and off-site. The director of preK-12 Education supervises and provides leadership to education program staff, represents BEF within the formal and environmental education communities, and fosters partnerships with school divisions, state agencies, regional educators, UVA Department of Environmental Science research faculty, and other University departments and schools.

Blandy Experimental Farm is a 700-acre University of Virginia ecological field station located in the northern Shenandoah Valley, about 10 miles east of Winchester and 60 miles west of Washington, D.C. The State Arboretum of Virginia, situated within Blandy Experimental Farm, is a public garden showcasing more than 5,500 trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants across diverse habitats including woodlands, meadows, wetlands, and open fields. BEF’s education programs serve students from public, private, and homeschools across urban, suburban, and rural environments. Each year approximately 6000-6500 students engage in our outdoor-based programs, while 400-600 educators participate in our professional learning experiences. Visit https://blandy.virginia.edu/ to learn more about Blandy Experimental Farm.

Job Description: The Director of preK-12 Education supports the mission of Blandy Experimental Farm in the following areas:

Programs for preK-12 Students, Teachers, and Other Educators

Determines and develops long- and short-term goals, strategic planning, and program development for the preK-12 education programsDesigns lessons and curricula for outdoor-based investigations that satisfy grade-specific Virginia Standards of Learning for ScienceCultivates and maintains relationships with the professional education community including school division science education specialists, education faculty, and professional education and scientific societiesDesigns and instructs unique professional development opportunities for formal and environmental educatorsPrepares annual reports on activities for the Blandy Director, BEF Annual Report, and Foundation of the State Arboretum Board of Directors (FOSA)

Education Team Leadership

Recruits, hires, and supervises three full-time education staff: a Lead Environmental Educator and two Environmental EducatorsCoordinates activities for all environmental education staff: 3 FT and 2 seasonal (under direct supervision of the Lead Environmental Educator)Conducts education staff training and guides staff professional development to advance the mission of the education programWorks with the Lead Environmental Educator to develop the annual Education Program Catalog and periodic informational brochures to promote programs to the education community

Evaluation and Program Data Management

Creates, administrators, and analyzes evaluation tools designed to assess program impacts on educators and studentsServes as the internal evaluator for Blandy’s NSF-funded Research for Undergraduates Program: designs and administers evaluation instruments and prepares annual evaluation reports for the REU program principals

Grant-writing and Budget Management

Manages the annual BEF Education Program budget, including internal and external fundsPrepares and submits grant proposals to state and federal agencies and private foundationsWorks with the Foundation of the State Arboretum (FOSA) Director to acquire grants and donations from Foundations and private donorsAssists Department of Environmental Sciences research faculty to prepare broader impact outreach projects for their research proposals, when requested

In addition to the above job responsibilities, other duties may be assigned by the Director of Blandy Experimental Farm.

Minimum Requirements:

Education: Master's degree or a demonstrated mastery in their specialty area normally signified by significant equivalent experience

Experience: At least five years of experience

Licensure: None

Preference will be given to candidates with:

A Master’s degree in science or educationAt least 3 years of experience in a leadership positionAt least 3 years of experience teaching preK-12 students and leading professional learning for preK-12 and environmental educatorsExperience designing and writing education activities and programs that align with state and/or national standardsExperience leading professional learning experiences for formal and environmental educatorsEvidence of successful fund-raising and grant writing and project managementProficiency in evaluation practicesExperience in supervising and mentoring staffExperience building successful collaborations

Physical Demands:
Although much of the Director of preK-12 Education’s time will be spent in an office and will involve extensive use of computers, the employee in this position may also teach outdoors in all types of weather, during all seasons of the year. Must be able to stand and move for prolonged periods and walk distances of up to 3 miles/day in various types of terrain (e.g., flat, hilly, sloped, wetlands, forest, meadow). The employee in this position will be expected to travel to regional and national meetings.

More Information:

This position is at Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, VA.

The anticipated salary range is $65,000 - $74,000, commensurate with education and experience.

This is an exempt level University Staff benefited position. For information on the benefits of being a UVA employee, visit https://hr.virginia.edu/benefits

This position will remain open until filled. Review of applications will begin 7 March 2025.

This position will not sponsor applicants for work visas and is not eligible for remote work.

The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

Application Instructions:

External applicants must apply online here https://jobs.virginia.edu/us/en. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile, search Find Jobs and then R0069699. Complete an application online and include the following documents:

Letter of interestResumé or Curriculum vitaePortfolio with examples of lessons and/or programs you have created, outlines for professional workshops you have led, evaluation tools created and used, and brief description of past and current collaborations (digital or pdf format)Contact information for three professional references

Upload all materials into the resumé submission field. Multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.

For questions about this position, contact David Carr, blandy@virginia.edu

For questions about the application process, please contact Rich Haverstrom, rkh6j@virginia.edu

The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff.  We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences.  We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and family medical or genetic information.