OPAL National Schools Officer

OPAL National Schools Officer

Northern Ireland 

FSC is an educational charity that delivers its mission of ‘Bringing Environmental Understanding to All’ via its network of Field Centres throughout the United Kingdom.  We currently have an exciting new position of the part-time OPAL NATIONAL SCHOOLS OFFICER (Northern Ireland) with the Field Studies Council (FSC). 

OPAL is a community-focused education and research programme about the environment. The basic concept is to go out into the community to engage members of the public in environmental research and outdoor learning, and together, explore and better understand the places where people live and work. The objectives are to give people a purpose to spend more time outdoors; to educate; to inspire a new generation of environmentalists; to encourage collaboration between statutory, voluntary and community sectors; and to gain a greater understanding of the state of the environment, thus contributing to research and policy.

This role involves working with teaching staff and students from secondary schools to deliver an ambitious programme of outdoor learning in economically deprived areas of Northern Ireland, with a focus on Belfast. This includes providing engaging OPAL outdoor learning experiences for over 4500 secondary school students and training over 110 teachers over the lifetime of the project.  These activities will predominantly be delivered in Parks and open spaces in Belfast, on school premises and other urban areas. Each session with young people will include an OPAL investigation (there are already 7 packs produced to use with young people). The successful candidate will ensure these sessions are closely linked to the Revised Curriculum at KS3 and engaging and relevant to all participating learners. The post holder will also work with FSC Northern Ireland staff to develop their involvement in OPAL, and also to develop linked extension activities to be used throughout Northern Ireland and at other FSC learning locations. 

The post holder will develop, plan and deliver ‘out-of-classroom learning’ activities primarily to a secondary school audience; engaging and enthusing students of science and assisting FSC to achieve their goal of ‘Inspiring Environmental Understanding through first-hand experience’. The post holder will be expected to lead groups of all abilities in the natural environment, with the ability to provide an appropriate standard of care for our learners and make a wide-ranging contribution to the work of FSC Northern Ireland. 

FSC Salary Grade:  scale points 16 - 19, currently £11,445 - £13,073 p.a.

Hours of work are based on a notional average of 20 per week. 

This is a fixed term post for 2 years and 6 months in the first instance. 

For further details and an application form:

visit our website:  www.field-studies-council.org/vacancies

e-mail:  hr@field-studies-council.org

or phone 01743 852119. 

Closing date is:  12 noon on Tuesday 14^th January 2014.  

Interviews will be held on Thursday 23^rd January 2014 in Belfast. 

All teaching posts in Northern Ireland are subject to detailed checks via Access NI

FSC Charity Number: 313364 / SC039870