Ocean Interpretation Facilitator   

Job title: Ocean Interpretation Facilitator

Reports to: Coordinator of Maritime Experiences, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic – Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage

Job location: 1675 Lower Water Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Wage: $17.50 / hour

Hours: 35 hours per week (15-week internship) 

Start Date: Expected May 12, 2025 

Number of Positions: 1

Equity Hiring  

Clean is committed to Employment Equity and our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative at all job levels. The Clean Leadership Program welcomes applications from qualified self-identifying First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, Visible Minority Groups, Persons with Disabilities, Newcomers, and 2SLGBTQIA+ applicants. If you are a member of one of the equity groups, you are encouraged to self-identify on our registration form. 

About the Clean Leadership Summer Internship Program 

The Clean Leadership Summer Internship program helps grow the clean economy by matching interns (age 15-30) with employers for 9- and 15-week summer work placements. Participating interns will receive paid hands-on experience, mentorship opportunities, take part in a professional development conference and training, while supporting local environmental projects.  

Program Requirements 

• Must be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, person who has been granted refugee status in Canada or legally entitled to work in Canada;  

• Must be between the ages of 15 and 30 years old (inclusive) at the start of internship; 

• From and/or will be residing in Nova Scotia for the duration of the internship; 

• Must not be an immediate family member of host employer; 

About the host employer 

The Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage (CCTH) supports communities across the province to be welcoming, inclusive and accessible, providing a great quality of life for Nova Scotians and a memorable experience for visitors. We value the collective diversity of our heritage and our people and believe in the transformative nature of culture to help create healthy, active, growing communities. 

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a part of the Nova Scotia Museum with the Department of CCTH. The museum collects and interprets the tangible and intangible marine history and experience of Mi’kma’ki/Acadia/Nova Scotia and of the region’s global connections. Rooted in an appreciation of this place as an ancient and enduring indigenous maritime landscape, the museum seeks to understand and represent our long-established coastal communities and their connections to the broader maritime world. Key themes include Nova Scotia’s boat-and shipbuilding heritage, its connections to the navy and to international conflict, and its position as a vital node in networks of communication across and around the Atlantic Basin. Actively engaging the region’s maritime experience in its breadth and diversity, the museum seeks to embody Nova Scotia’s enduring relationship with the sea, and to interpret its many meanings for citizens and visitors alike.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic values equity, diversity, and inclusion.  We see these as drivers for necessary institutional change.  We acknowledge that we must address our history of exclusionary practices; we are part of a shared heritage and must be part of the shared work for change.

We aim to contribute to the creation of more welcoming and inclusive communities by engaging the region’s maritime experience in all its breadth and diversity, including our enduring and complex relationships with water and the sea.

Summary of position 

The host employer for this Summer Internship position through the Clean Leadership program will be the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, a part of the Nova Scotia Museum – within the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. In this position, you will be mainly responsible for researching key ocean/environmental topics for the purpose of creating engaging public programs, education materials, exhibitions and to help the museum develop beneficial relationships with partners in the ocean sector, locally and internationally.  Research and programming topics may include marine litter, marine environmental innovations, ocean conservation, oceans, and climate change, and developing a sustainable ocean sector.   

You will support the coordination of the museum’s signature Oceans Day event in June and other public programs and events as required.  You will promote your research process and progress through the museum’s social media outreach.  You will generate an annotated resource inventory for future projects.  You will assist the curatorial team in the development of short-term interpretive projects related to key ocean topics (this may take the form of small exhibitions available at the Maritime Museum, online and/or at other museum sites).  

A typical day may include meetings with your supervisor and/or other museum staff on the OIF project.  You may be required to arrange offsite meetings with potential partners, such as groups/individuals at Dalhousie Ocean School, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Centre for Ocean Venture, and Entrepreneurship (COVE), Dalhousie Ocean Frontier Institute, and others.  Use of technology, such as a smart phone and laptop will be required daily for research, communications and for the development of social media content.  There will be daily interactions with the museum public, especially public engaging in ocean programming and events.  You may assist with hands on programming, including Oceans Day activities, Two-Eyed Seeing Mi’kmaq Youth programs, ocean science programming, youth boat building programs, etc. You will have opportunities to engage with Nova Scotia Museum staff at other marine-focused sites, such as the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic and the Museum of Natural History. 

The candidate should demonstrate how they can solve problems creatively, work independently, apply research techniques, use work time effectively, and take initiative on special projects. Work or volunteer experience in developing social media campaigns (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) and producing digital material using video, photography and graphic design are beneficial. 

Duties and Responsibilities  

• Ocean conservation and sustainability research to help create museum public programming.

• Program delivery and public engagement.

• Support the coordination and facilitation of museum programming and events related to climate change, the marine sector, ocean conservation, etc.

• Support the museum’s online outreach through social media related to the OIR project goals and progress

• Support the development of existing and new partnerships with relevant stakeholders

• Support the development of interpretation related to the OIR project

• Participate in museum team meetings and training

• Develop an inventory of resources for future interpretation planning and exhibition development

• Help create and facilitate ocean science related programs on the wharves, on the water and on McNabs Island.

Requirements/Qualifications 

• Have an aptitude for safe work practices and the ability to multi-task in a busy work environment; 

• Be able to work productively as part of a team while responding to feedback; 

• Demonstrated interest in future employment in the environmental or clean sector is considered an asset; 

• Has taken a leadership role 

• Have at least two years of post-secondary study;  

• Strong communication and organization skills are required; 

• Must be self-motivated, creative and have excellent interpersonal skills;   

• Computer/technology proficiency with common software, web search and social media is required; 

• The successful candidate must pass appropriate background checks (criminal record and child abuse registry). 

Working Conditions
This job requires working in a museum and out in the community.  There will be some work on the museum wharves, in the museum boat shops and aboard the museum ship CSS Acadia (floating, moored exhibition).  The position will interact with the museum public and with waterfront visitors.  There may be some public speaking required during program delivery.  There will be meetings outside the museum with external stakeholders.  Some evening and weekend work may be required.

Physical Requirements
Physical demands may include working outdoors, carrying small boats and Stand up Paddleboards to the water, use of small hand tools, step ladder use, event set-up (tables/chairs/podium/speakers), walking on gangways (to board ship).  It can be stressful working in the museum, especially on busy days with high numbers of cruise ship passengers and museum visitors.