Community Engagement Specialist I

About the California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, research center, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.

Our extensive collections span plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. We are a diverse team of leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who work collaboratively to advance knowledge and inspire action through science and storytelling.

When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. Whether you're working behind the scenes in research or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it.

About the Opportunity

The Community Engagement Lead, reporting to the Social and Environmental Justice Manager, serves as a crucial link in supporting cross-collaboration for initiatives shared between the Education and Innovation division.  In this capacity, this role is responsible for supporting community engagement activities and events, managing program delivery, and conducting evaluations that integrates guest education and innovative community engagement.

The Lead is responsible for direct community and guest engagement during peak attendance periods on the museum floor. This includes confidently interacting with guests and presenting on any topic relevant to the Academy and its mission, which will also bridge the partnership between innovation in guest experience and education. Additionally, the Lead assists with critical projects, such as designing programs and community engagement, which will also strengthen the partnership between teams, including Guest Experience, Guest Education, and Innovation.

Organizational Culture
Join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision and values! Currently, the Academy has a new strategic plan including three initiatives – Hope for Reefs, Thriving California, and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at https://www.calacademy.org/about-us/major-initiatives.

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position.

This position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below. This position is part of a bargaining unit represented by Cal Academy Workers United, and will be subject to the terms and conditions of that contract.

Key Responsibilities

• Under direction of the Social and Environmental Justice Manager, support the design and delivery of direct outreach and engagement activities (community convenings) with community members. Most engagements will occur at California Academy of Sciences with occasional off-site activities.  
• Assist with community engagement program and content development, including material preparation and maintenance, administrative tasks, and special projects as assigned.
• Support design and implementation of listening sessions and other engagement strategies to understand community needs and challenges.
• Support with coordinating experiences and activations with the Innovation team.
• Collaborate with the SEJ manager in the analysis of data and guest input collected during community listening sessions and community convenings.
• Assist with the implementation of community engagement program evaluations and visitor assessments, and special programs/events 
• Produce written reports and provide presentations on community convenings and listening sessions to relevant staff and teams from across Divisions that interact with guests through public engagement.
• Support the Guest Education team during peak seasons of public programming for holiday weekends, winter, spring breaks, and June to mid August, in the capacity of a Presenter 1-3 days per week for requested floor engagements; approximately 50% of the year, and subject to change depending on the needs of the program.
• Assist the Guest Education team during peak seasons of public programming with operational duties that might arise
• Provide excellent customer service to guests and staff
• Maintain knowledge of Academy programming spaces including equipment storage, AV systems, and appropriate usage May represent the Education Division in assigned interdepartmental committees and offsite events
• Help to maintain a positive work environment and to work cooperatively within and across teams.
• Follow all Academy safety regulations and complete all HR-assigned training.
• Support the Academy’s mission, vision and division-wide initiatives
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned

Qualifications: A successful candidate will have the following:

Education and/or Experience:

• 2 years of work experience in Community Engagement and Project Management.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

• Strong leadership skills 
• Excellent public speaking skills 
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Adapt and maintain flexibility in changing and fast-paced environments
• Can follow tasks through to completion with little supervision 
• Strong communication skills and a deep understanding of communication strategies, with a passion for building trust and effectively engaging a broad range of stakeholders—from community leaders to diverse community members and groups
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to track and report on performance metrics and use data to inform decisions.
• Comfortable with public speaking and event participation.
• Work well independently as well as in teams
• Fluency in a second language preferred
• Excellent knowledge of science, natural history, and/or conservation topics preferred

Physical Environment:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. 

• Ability to lift and transport 25-50 lbs across concrete and uneven floors. 
• Ability to perform repetitive motions 25-50% of the time. 
• Ability to work safely in both outdoor and indoor environments that may include stairs, uneven paths, bark, and secure access areas. 
• The position requires frequent visits to the museum public floor
• Walking on concrete floors, 
• Extensive time standing, intervals of time outdoors in varying environmental condition
• Tolerance of high levels of noise, and extensive public speaking, sometimes in noisy, crowded environments. 
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, sit, use a computer, and communicate on the phone, in person, and online meetings/calls.

Compensation and Benefits:
The salary range for this position is $25.43- $26.46. Actual compensation will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualifications and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications and aligned with the internal peer group. We believe in fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to providing competitive salaries within the industry and market standards. The Academy offers a total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits based on the hours per week worked. Further details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process.

Schedule: Full-time (40 hours per week), fully onsite, Tuesday–Saturday.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should submit a resume and application through our Careers Page portal.

The California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).