Coordinator of Maritime Education (Hist./Arch./Cul. Off. 3)

Coordinator of Maritime Education (Hist./Arch./Cul. Off. 3)

Competition # : 45096

Department: Communities, Culture, Tourism & Heritage

Location: HALIFAX

Type of Employment: Temporary

Union Status: NSGEU - NSPG

Closing Date: 11-Feb-25 (Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)

About Us

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (MMA) is part of the Nova Scotia Museum, in the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. This department supports communities across the province to be welcoming, inclusive, and accessible, providing a great quality of life for Nova Scotians. We value the collective diversity of our heritage and our people and believe in the transformative nature of culture to help create healthy, active, growing communities.

The Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) consists of 28 museum sites across the province. It is responsible for the provincial collection of over one million artifacts and specimens housed at museum sites and storage facilities across the province. The NSM values equity, diversity, and inclusion and considers these drivers for necessary institutional change. The museum acknowledges that history’s exclusionary practices must be addressed, that we are part of a shared heritage, and we will continue to work with community partners to work for change to interpret a more inclusive history.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, an NSM site, engages the region’s maritime experience in all its breadth and diversity, including our enduring and complex relationships with water and the sea.

The Coordinator of Maritime Education at the MMA plays an important role in developing and facilitating core programs of the museum’s Boat School. They coordinate and lead the museum’s hands-on learning programs, especially boat building activities with youth, community groups, marginalized communities, and school groups. They also support the care and preservation of the museums working small craft collection and other boats.

The Coordinator plans and facilitates hands-on learning experiences and workshops, such as boat building, working with hand tools, small projects based out of wood, marine trades, and on-the-water experiences. They work closely with the museum’s Boat Builder and the Coordinator of Maritime Waterfront Experiences in the effective planning, development, delivery, evaluation of interpretive programs to engage, meet and exceed the diverse needs of all museum visitors and stakeholders.

The Coordinator ensures excellent communication with community stakeholders and partners, and provides safe and engaging museum experiences. They train and supervise museum volunteers and staff who participate in program delivery related to Boat School programming and maritime education.

The Coordinator facilitates on-the-water programming with youth in museum vessels, including but not limited to motor boats, small sail and larger keel sail boats, and row boats. They support storm and storm surge preparedness of the museum vessels, Boat School, and CSS planning to support the development of the Canadian Maritime Heritage District, Boat School, on-the-water experiences, programs in support of the CSS Acadia Interpretive Masterplan, and other duties as required.

This position requires a wide range of boat building and carpentry skills and knowledge, experience working with youth, small craft operator license, sailing skill and experience handling and vessels arranging up to 30-40 ft in length, competence in safe mooring procedures, and an understanding of museum program delivery. This position provides high quality visitor experiences and innovative access to the province's heritage resources.

Reports to the Museum Manager.

Primary Accountabilities

Accountabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Facilitates and leads core Boat School programming, including boat building, maritime skills, group training with hand tools and wood, and on the water skills.
• Supports festivals/event partnerships, maritime experiences, and programs in support of CSS Acadia Interpretive Master Plan and other activities.
• Works collaboratively with multidisciplinary staff teams, volunteers and assists with facilitating conversations with community groups and experts outside of the museum to incorporate multiple perspectives, and co-creation of programs.
• Support and/or give public lectures, workshops, in-service and field excursions to the public, other museums, and educational institutions.
• Ensure standards of excellence in visitor experience and museum interpretation are maintained.
• Maintains high levels of safety and workshop maintenance for staff, volunteers, and participants of Boat School.
• Ensures Nova Scotia’s heritage and culture is communicated effectively, accurately, inclusively and in an engaging manner to appeal to diverse audiences, ages, backgrounds and learning styles.
• Mentors and supports the development of youth through Boat School programming.
• Coordinates program delivery, including ordering of supplies, coordination of volunteers, stakeholder engagement.
• Trains and supervises Boat School volunteers and staff.
• Supports the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and the Nova Scotia Museum in achieving its goals and mandate as required.
• May perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience

To be successful in this role, you have a degree or certification in a related field, such as carpentry, boat building, museum studies (focus area programming and education), heritage restoration, etc., and 3 years of related experience, or an acceptable equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered. A valid Nova Scotia Driver’s Licence is required. You have a wide range of sailing and rowing experience and have a valid pleasure craft operators’ licence.

Additionally, you:

• Are a team leader and a team player with strong interpersonal skills.
• Can work independently with minimal supervision and work collaboratively with colleagues and community partners.
• Have experience supporting and developing partnerships with community groups and have a strong desire to work with public programming, particularly families, youth, and diverse communities.
• Have excellent communication skills (oral and written) and are comfortable speaking in front of groups.
• Have a human-centered approach in your work and demonstrate organizational and time management skills. You can multi-task, think creatively, and identify interpretive potential at the Museum.
• Value equity, diversity and inclusion and can demonstrate an understanding how the interpretation that a museum puts forward can make a space feel inclusive or exclusive for its visitors.
• Computer proficiency is required and with demonstrated knowledge in applicable software programs such as Microsoft Office Suite.

Specific certification in interpretation and/or museum studies are considered assets, as well as:

• Boat Building Certification
• Experience working in an interpretive, education or outreach role at a museum, or similar cultural institution.
• Experience working with diverse community groups and youth.
• Fluent in a second language such as French.
• Knowledge of and interest in Nova Scotia’s cultural, maritime, and natural history. Training or certification in museum studies, tourism, education, boat building or other related programs.

Equivalency

Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Additional Information

This is a TEMPORARY (80% full-time) employment opportunity with an anticipated end date of November 25, 2025. The appointment status (‘term’, ‘temporary’ or ‘casual’) is dependent on the start date of the successful candidate.

What We Offer

• Career development where you have access to career guidance, tools, resources, and ongoing training for every stage of your career
• Engaging workplace: our employees feel valued, respected, connected, and tuned in, we have forward-thinking policies and strategies
• Countless career paths

Pay Grade: PR 06

Salary Range: $1,924.95- $2,360.46 Bi-Weekly

Employment Equity Statement

Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. The Government of Nova Scotia has an Employment Equity Policy, and we welcome applications from Indigenous People, African Nova Scotians and Other Racially Visible Persons, Persons with Disabilities and Women in occupations or positions where they are under-represented. If you are a member of one of these equity groups, you are encouraged to self-identify on your electronic application.

This is a bargaining unit position initially restricted to current civil service employees represented by the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union (NSGEU). If applying from outside a government office, employees must apply correctly via this link:

Failure to apply correctly means that your application will not be given first consideration as a bargaining unit applicant, and will only be included if external applications are pursued.

External applicants and current casual employees will only be considered if there are no qualified civil service bargaining unit candidates. PLEASE NOTE: Candidates will not be considered for an interview if applications are incomplete or are missing information.

Offer of employment is conditional upon the completion of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials, the results of which must be satisfactory to the employer. We thank all applicants for the interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. All questions and concerns may be directed to Competitions@novascotia.ca.