The National Schools’ Observatory (NSO) and Liverpool John Moores Uni have a very unusual 0.2FTE post for a couple of years for a Science Communicator to help bring astronomy to some remote communities around the UK:
They are looking to recruit an enthusiastic science communicator to join their STFC-funded Astronomy for Remote and Island Schools (AfRIS) project, which begins on the 1st September 2017. The part-time role will act as the second member of a small, mobile science-outreach team, which will create, organise and deliver astronomy-related workshops & activities to schools and communities in some of the UK’s more remote and island locations. During the 30-month lifetime of the project, the AfRIS team will undertake around 40 visits, and will engage with at least 80 schools, 4000 students and 1000 members of the remote communities that we visit. It’s anticipated that the outreach team will conduct 2-3 day visits every fortnight during term-time, and will travel to, and stay, in many remote locations across the length and breadth of the British Isles, from the Channel Islands right up to the Shetlands.
Applicants must have a science-related background, be friendly, enthusiastic and adaptable, and be able to enthuse school children about physics, astronomy and STEM subjects in general. The science communicator role will involve the creation and management of workshop content, the transportation and maintenance of demonstration equipment, assisting with the promotion, evaluation and dissemination of project activities, and of course, delivering engaging astronomy-related workshops and activities within remote/island schools and communities. As a core member of the AfRIS team, the opportunity to travel and explore the UK will be enormous, and as such, those interested in the science communicator role would have to possess a personable and flexible outlook, and be comfortable with travelling by car, ferry, plane, train, tractor or even by foot if needs be. Whilst the role sets out at 0.2 FTE, if they can prove the value of the AfRIS project to the communities we visit, then there could be many opportunities for increasing the scope of the work we do and/or extending our activities beyond the STFC-funded lifetime of the project.
More details here or contact Dr. Christopher Leigh (c.leigh@ljmu.ac.uk)
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