STEM Communicator – Living Exhibits, Invertebrates & Plants

STEM Communicator – Living Exhibits, Invertebrates & Plants

Friday, March 14, 2025

STEM Communicator – Living Exhibits, Invertebrates & Plants

$34,580 to $40,000 per year, full-time permanent, generous benefits package

Are you passionate about the care of living things? Do you love insects, spiders, and snails? Are you a passionate caretaker of gardens and plants? If so, we would like to hear from you! Science North is currently recruiting a STEM Communicator as part of the Living Exhibits team for Science North, where we deliver high quality animal and plant care to a wide variety of species.

The STEM Communicator will work with the Senior Manager of Exhibits and the STEM Specialist of Living Exhibits to deliver high quality animal care focusing on invertebrates, which include insects, spiders, scorpions, snails, and millipedes. The candidate will also care for Science North’s plant exhibits including the F. Jean McLeod Butterfly Gallery, outdoor exhibits, animal food garden, and indoor plant collection. The ideal candidate will have a strong passion for science, a meticulous nature in care and record keeping, excellent verbal communication and presentation skills, and a commitment to continuous learning.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide daily care for invertebrate species including feeding, habitat maintenance, and enrichment
• Create and maintain handling schedules for invertebrates to ensure wellbeing of each individual animal
• Receive butterfly pupae shipments, organize according to species, maintain receiving record, maintain records of emergence
• Create plant care schedules for outdoor exhibits, gardens, butterfly gallery, and indoor plants according to needs of each space and species
• Provide daily plant care for outdoor exhibits, gardens, butterfly gallery, and indoor plants, including watering, pruning, planting, soil testing, soil remediation, pest control, and plant health
• Maintain all records of care for internal and certification requirements
• Task and deploy science demonstrators and volunteer teams
• Maintain inventories and maintenance of equipment, materials & supplies
• Enforce safety protocols and report any issues to supervisors
• Work as a backup for animal care of vertebrate species including fish, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals

What you bring:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English (Fluency in French will be considered an asset)
• Experience working with plants in a greenhouse, garden, outdoor, or exhibit environment
• Knowledge of plant growth parameters, including soil, water, sunlight, disease, and pest controls
• Knowledge of appropriate remediation for pests and disease for plants in both outdoor and indoor environments
• Knowledge of tropical and native species of plants
• Ability to acquire certification in working at heights and willingness to learn to operate working at heights equipment such as a scissor lift
• Proven ability to maintain records and follow pre-determined daily schedules
• A positive and fun attitude with demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a team
• Demonstrated leadership ability
• Proven ability to embrace teamwork yet be self-motivated
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills
• A passion for learning and enthusiasm to take on challenges
• Willingness to work some evenings, weekends and public holidays

Compensation Highlights:

• Competitive salary starting at $34,580 to $40,000 per year
• Annual performance and merit increase consideration
• Participation in the Science North Employee Incentive Plan
• Comprehensive group benefit package including medical, dental, vision, paramedical, life/travel insurance, short and long-term disability coverage, 24/7 telemedicine access, wellness spending account/ onsite physio/chiro services
• Pension plan following one year (or continued participation in TPP)
• Science North annual family membership
• Onsite gym
• Free or discounted admission to other attractions outside Sudbury, Science North facilities and program discounts, fitness membership contribution, free on-site parking
• Minimum 3 weeks vacation with incremental entitlements of one week after 5 and 10 yrs of service

This role is based at Science North, 100 Ramsey Lake Road Sudbury ON. This opportunity is not suitable for remote or hybrid work.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Science North we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Apply online at https://www.sciencenorth.ca/careers. An early application represents your best opportunity for consideration. Science North is committed to an inclusive workplace and invites applications from all qualified individuals to join our diverse team. Accommodations are available upon request in all aspects of Science North’s selection process. We thank all interested candidates; only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

Science North is grateful to work with First Nations across Northern Ontario and we give thanks to the Indigenous Peoples who have cared for this land since time immemorial. We pay respect to their traditions, ways of knowing, and acknowledge their many contributions to innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, past and present. We also recognize the Métis Nation of Ontario for their historic and ongoing contributions. Science North commits to deepening engagement, relationships and partnerships in order to advance truth and reconciliation, honour and reflect Indigenous ways of knowing, grow economic opportunities, and collaborate with Indigenous peoples as partners in order to inspire all people to be engaged with science in the world around them.

Science North is a registered charity.

Science North is an agency of the Government of Ontario.