Director of Tours and Education

Peralta Hacienda Historical Park (peraltahacienda.org) is looking for an experienced Director of Tours and Education (DTE) to take over our award-winning, hands-on field trip program!

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director of Tours and Education (DTE) oversees both the field trip program as well as our museum and docent program. 

As the field trip lead, the DTE serves 3rd and 4th grade classes that come for hands-on, outdoor, experiential history activities at Peralta Hacienda during the school year. The program serves ~100 trips annually, with an average of four 4.5-hour visits per week. The DTE sets up trips, trains chaperones in leading the stations, introduces the program to the students, directly provides support throughout the day’s activities, and tears down afterwards. All activities are arts and culture-based and correspond to CA State curriculum social studies guidelines. An existing manual describes the activities in detail, and an experienced assistant helps the director with all school field trips. 

The Director of Tours and Education also serves as the chief docent for the Peralta House Museum by developing and conducting tours of the historic house and site. In addition, this position oversees the community docent program by recruiting, training, and supervising docents (both teens and adults). We use a visitor-centered approach where every visitor is encouraged to explore, feels unique and valued, and discovers something about themselves. A docent-training manual and other resources for docent training have been developed. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Directly educate and supervise groups of ~25-45+ students, mostly 3^rd and 4^th graders, in hands-on, engaging history activities 
• Develop and run specialized tours for older students and/or the public as needed; we are open to new and creative approaches!
• Spearhead the development of an online companion to the existing program
• Serve as the main administrative person for the field trip program, overseeing all: 
• Marketing / outreach to teachers and schools.
• Booking / registration / trip calendars 
• Invoicing 
• Inventory (field trip supplies) management 
• Data collection and collation, including grant documentation
• Liability waivers and legal compliance
• Supervise Peralta Hacienda Historical Park docents and Field Trip Assistant. 
• Consult with the Executive Director on grants 
• Consult with the Marketing Director on outreach to teachers and schools
• Gather evaluation data 
• Complete all necessary documentation and reporting 

ESSENTIAL SKILLS / QUALIFICATIONS

• Training and experience as an educator. Experience with grades 3 and 4 is a plus!
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and connect with people, especially youth, of many cultures and experiences, including neurodiverse youth and folks learning English.
• Demonstrated experience working in culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse communities.
• Demonstrated organizational ability. The DTE must manage the activity stations, supplies, and instruction on the day of trips as well as the pre-trip booking and communication with schools and teachers. A guidance manual and email templates will be provided. 
• Experience with similar programs and/or using comparable skills must be demonstrated. 
• Commitment to, and knowledge of, student-centered learning and/or visitor-centered museum experiences.
• A gift for making history real and vivid, including dramatic ability.
• Knowledge of California history, especially Mexican and Native histories. Knowledge of Ohlone stories and the stories of Peralta Hacienda are a plus!
• Training will be provided.
• Technical skills needed to develop online lesson plans. Ability to develop interactive activities (i.e Nearpod, etc.) is a plus! 

ADDITIONAL NON-REQUIRED BUT DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Museum studies training, and/or other relevant academic qualifications.
• Spanish language ability and/or fluency in any other languages relevant to Oakland such as Vietnamese, Mien, Khmer, Mam, Cantonese, or Mandarin.
• Previous experience in a supervisory role is a plus! 

LIMITATIONS

California law AB-560, effective January 1, 2022, requires fingerprint-based background checks to exclude persons with a history of child abuse from employment working with children, including at non-profits. This position is dependent on you agreeing to and passing this background check. 

Applicants should be able to lift and move items of 20 lbs. or less, including from the ground.

HOURS AND COMPENSATION

This is a full time, exempt position of 40 hours per week, broken into 34 hours per week spent on field trips and 6 hours per week spent on docent work. During the summer, when there are no field trips, the Director of Tours and Education focuses more heavily on tours development and docent training. Compensation is starting at $30/hour, depending on experience. A $250/month healthcare stipend is also available. 

HOW TO APPLY

Please send a resume, cover letter, and references to info@peraltahacienda.org. Please include available times for an initial phone interview. 

Peralta Hacienda Historical Park actively seeks diversity in its staff, and we invite applicants from a variety of backgrounds. We especially encourage candidates of color and candidates of indigenous descent to apply. Systemic inequities in hiring have often caused those in historically marginalized groups to apply to jobs only if they feel they meet 100% of the qualifications. However, no one ever meets 100% of qualifications; Peralta Hacienda invites you to apply and looks forward to your application!

WHO ARE WE?

Peralta Hacienda Historical Park is a 6-acre historic site in the Fruitvale District of Oakland. The site includes the Peralta House Museum; the Center for History and Community; the Adobe Area with adobe footprints from the Spanish and Mexican periods and outdoor walk-in exhibit Alcoves; the Native Plant Garden; the Peralta Creek Nature Area; an heirloom fruit tree orchard and more. The Park’s indoor and outdoor multi-sensory exhibits were developed under grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. 

Today, our site is distinguished by changing community exhibits about cultures living here today, as well as permanent historical exhibits about the intertwining histories of the Native Americans and the Peraltas during the Spanish, Mexican and early American eras. The surrounding Fruitvale community epitomizes our collective New America in its diversity, with African American, Latinx, Middle Easter, Native American and Asian/Pacific Islander populations constituting over 90% of the district’s residents.

Not required but desirable qualifications include Spanish language ability and/or fluency in any other languages relevant to Oakland such as Vietnamese, Mien, Cambodian, Mam, Cantonese, or Mandarin.