Marine Educator
South Seaport Museum
Organization Description:
South Street Seaport Museum seeks experienced, enthusiastic educators, preferably with waterfront or
sailing experience to teach programs on board our historic schooner Pioneer.
South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City,
preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum
houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition
galleries, and education spaces, working 19th-century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels
that all work to tell the story of “Where New York Begins.” seaportmuseum.org
Position Description:
As a South Street Seaport Museum Marine Educator, you will co-lead experiential programs onboard the
schooner Pioneer. You’ll bring a sense of the Seaport’s history and New York Harbor’s continued
importance as an ecosystem and as an economic waterway to grades 3-12 and college students,
teachers, and educators, as well as public and family groups from around the city and around the world.
You will engage with all kinds of learners of all backgrounds, through inquiry-based, student-centered
instruction, seeking to explore context and create connection in every way. You will communicate with
visiting teachers and chaperones, your teammates, and other departments in a way that makes complex
logistics look effortless and enhances the experience for all.
The schooner Pioneer sails with school groups, primarily for 2-hour sails, from May through October.
Students on board engage in a variety of activities, from active sail-raising to ecology studies to learning
basic navigation, as well as investigating science and history content. Most of our programs are
interdisciplinary in scope, with as much attention paid to how students are learning as to what they are
learning. See our website seaportmuseum.org/group-programs-on-the-water for more information.
Reports to:
Education and Visitor Experience Manager
Job Requirements & Responsibilities:
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
– Teaching programs on board a sailing vessel underway to visiting school and camp groups as
scheduled, and occasionally leading staff development and public family sails,
– Conducting programs in a safe, engaging and informative manner, with a focus on the learner,
and attention to pedagogy, social and emotional learning, and logistics as well as to content.
– Meeting the needs of diverse learners, including different age groups, amounts of background
knowledge and experience, ethnicities and cultures, learning styles, and educational and
physical requirements.
– Managing time, space, and logistics, smoothly moving groups of students and adults through
activities.
– Working collaboratively and communicating effectively with fellow educators, ship’s crew, and
other departments to plan and conduct activities.
– Communicating effectively with teachers regarding their class, content, and students.
– Setting up before and cleaning up after programs.
– Assisting with maintenance of science equipment and a fish tank of small local mari
organisms.
– Assisting with vessel operations as needed, including line handling and at times assisting with
docking.
– Participating as a member of a professional learning community in ongoing group and individual
professional development, including regular co-observations and debrief sessions, to increase
your content knowledge and skill, as well as engaging in self-study to enrich background
knowledge in content areas and pedagogy.
Additional Responsibilities
– Participate in safety drills aboard Pioneer and be prepared to assist crew with emergency
procedures as needed.
– Pioneer occasionally does education sails up the Hudson River or in other locations that offer the
opportunity for an overnight trip or multiple days commuting out of the city. Marine educators
may be asked to join these trips to offer education programs to groups in other locales.
Candidate Qualifications:
Professional Qualifications
– Experience teaching to school-age children, preferably in a shipboard, museum, classroom, or
outdoor setting or similar experience, preferably with grades 3-8.
– Experience with sailing or shipboard work; tall ship or schooner experience preferred.
– Bachelor’s Degree in a field related to education, maritime studies, history, or science, OR
Bachelor’s Degree in an unrelated field with extensive experience in a related field OR equiva
relevant experience.
– Demonstrated interest in our particular content areas.
Desirable but not required:
– Second language proficiency
– Experience with Access/Disability/Special Needs audiences
– Teacher certificate
– Experience teaching science and math
○ Theatrical experience
Personal Qualifications
– The ability to communicate well and capture listener attention in outdoor public settings.
– Eagerness to learn new content and pedagogy.
– Understanding of and awareness of students and their learning.
– Professional and personable demeanor.
– Flexibility, positive outlook, and team focus.
– Reliability and excellent team communication skills.
– Ability to look at your work critically and reflectively, a desire to continually improve practice a
skills, and to thoughtfully and kindly observe the work of others.
NOTE: At times museum Marine Educators may play safety sensitive roles aboard our vessels.
Federal regulations require any staff member working onboard in a safety-sensitive role to be
enrolled in a random drug testing program. To comply with federal regulations, all Marine
Educators are required to pass a pre-employment drug screening before being hired and will be
enrolled in a random drug testing program as prescribed by the United States Coast Guard.
Marine Educators may be selected at random for screening for drugs (including marijuana) for
the duration of the sailing season (April – October).
Required Availability
– Applicants MUST be available Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9am to 5pm, May 1st
through June 23rd.
– Mandatory training sessions will take place beginning April 9th. Applicants must be able to
attend trainings every Thursday (April 10, 17, and 24), as well as a few April training dates on
Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Position Type:
Temporary, Part-Time
Union Status:
Non-Union
FLSA Status:
Non-Exempt
Salary or Compensation:
$22/hr
Organization or Project Website:
https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/
Application Info:
Seasonal position, April – October. Part-time/hourly positions, no full-time positions available. This is a non-exempt position. Salary: $22/hour Note: Marine Educators are also encouraged to become Visitor Experience and Engagement Associates, sharing the museum’s galleries, ships, and exhibitions with the visiting public, as well as Museum Educators, leading programs on our docked vessels, in our galleries, and on walking tours through Lower Manhattan.
How to Apply
Email your resume and cover letter with “MARINE EDUCATOR” in the subject line to:
educationjobs@seany.org. Applications without an attached cover letter will not be considered. No phone
calls, please.
South Street Seaport Museum is an equal-opportunity employer. Non-traditional applicants and/or those
with suitable alternatives to the above criteria are encouraged to apply. The Seaport Museum strongly
encourages applications from members of groups underrepresented in careers related to museums; we
seek to foster a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as New York City
and our audience.