Palomar Observatory Outreach and Event Coordinator

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Job Summary

Palomar Observatory (http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/), an operating arm of Caltech Optical Observatories (COO; http://coo.astro.caltech.edu/ ) at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech; http://www.caltech.edu ) has an immediate opening for a Public Event Coordinator. The successful applicant will oversee the on-site support and coordination for public, educational, and media-related events and communications at/from Palomar Observatory. This position will primarily work on-site at Palomar Observatory, but the selected applicant will report directly to and coordinate extensively with the COO Director's Office at the Caltech campus in Pasadena, as well as coordinate with the Palomar Observatory site management.

This is a full-time, benefit-based position working a standard 40 hours per week.

Essential Job Duties

The successful applicant will:

• Administer the scheduling and implement support for public events, including public tours, educational events, and media projects hosted at Palomar Observatory in coordination with Observatory site management and the Director's Office.
• Direct the recruitment, training, and activities for the Palomar Observatory volunteer docent program in support of these public events.
• Administer COO & Palomar Observatory Education and Public Outreach (EPO) and development initiatives, public events, and private initiatives as appropriate.
• Team with the COO Director's Office in educational and/or outreach strategic planning and scheduling for public programs and initiatives.
• Lead the development and implementation of social media communication strategies on behalf of the observatory, in particular looking to expand our audience to young adults.
• Other EPO and development-related activities as assigned by and/or negotiated with the COO Director's Office.
• Other duties as assigned, including working holidays, evenings, and weekends as needed.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience, plus three years of experience in education, public engagement, or development activities.
• Familiarity with astronomy, physics, astronomical imaging, or closely related disciplines.
• Solid command of basic office computer skills including productivity applications (e.g., Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud) and different social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X/Twitter).
• Must be able to work at altitude of 5600 feet (Palomar Mountain).
• Must work holidays and weekends as assigned.
• Must work evenings as assigned.
• Must pass pre-employment physical and be able to lift up to 30 pounds.
• Pass a pre-employment background check.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in astronomy/astrophysics, education, humanities, communication, liberal arts and sciences, or closely related discipline.
• Four (4) or more years of experience in education, public engagement, or development (fundraising) activities.
• Effective communication and presentation skills, including a demonstrated portfolio of institutional social media communications.
• Experience developing and curating public content in a school, museum, or related educational context.
• Experience and facility with textual, graphical, image, and video content in printed, display, and web-based contexts.
• Additionally, a working knowledge of Spanish, and demonstrated experience interacting with the Spanish-speaking public would be an asset in this position.

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter