Position: Experiential Learning Coordinator

Status: Full time / Exempt / Year Round

Reports to: Head of School and Associate Head of School

Mission:

GIS is a collaborative community with a student-centered learning environment that encourages growth into bilingual world citizens, who strive for academic and creative excellence, embrace healthy and responsible behavior, and value independence and lifelong learning.

Position description

The Experiential Learning Coordinator serves as a bridge between curriculum, student well-being, and the natural world—shaping not only what students learn, but how they experience learning. This role provides leadership in the design, implementation, and growth of a comprehensive PK–8 experiential learning program grounded in outdoor education, place-based learning, environmental stewardship, and social-emotional development.

The Coordinator develops and sustains meaningful opportunities for students to learn through direct experience, inquiry, challenge, reflection, and connection to the local environment. Working collaboratively with faculty, administration, and community partners, the Coordinator ensures that experiential learning is intentionally scaffolded across grade levels and aligned with the school’s mission, values, and curricular frameworks, including the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP).

The ideal candidate is an innovative educator, systems thinker, and collaborative leader with a deep understanding of child development, outdoor education, and inclusive teaching practices.

This position offers the opportunity to help shape a school culture where curiosity, stewardship, challenge, and connection to the natural world are central to students’ educational experience. The Experiential Learning Coordinator will play a vital role in helping students develop confidence, resilience, environmental awareness, and a lifelong love of learning through meaningful engagement with the world around them.

Essential Duties & ResponsibilitiesProgram Design & Vision:

• Develop and steward a coherent PK–8 experiential learning vision and scope and sequence.
• Design developmentally appropriate outdoor and experiential learning opportunities across grade levels, from early childhood nature exploration to middle school leadership, ecological studies, stewardship, and overnight experiences.
• Ensure programming reflects best practices in experiential education, environmental literacy, social-emotional learning, and inclusive pedagogy.
• Build systems for program assessment, reflection, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with school leadership on long-range planning and strategic initiatives related to experiential learning.

Curriculum Integration:

• Partner with faculty to integrate experiential and outdoor learning into classroom curriculum and interdisciplinary units.
• Support inquiry-based and place-based learning aligned with IB PYP and MYP frameworks, including:
• Who We Are
• Where We Are in Place and Time
• How We Express Ourselves
• How the World Works
• How We Organize Ourselves
• Sharing the Planet
• Model lessons, co-teach, and support teachers in designing meaningful outdoor learning experiences.
• Help students connect academic content to real-world applications, environmental systems, and community engagement.

Campus Development & Stewardship:

• Collaborate on the development of campus spaces that support daily outdoor learning and environmental engagement.
• Lead or support projects that strengthen our environmental stewardship and foster collaborative learning
• Promote sustainability initiatives and environmentally responsible campus practices.
• Coordinate with facilities and administration on long-term planning, maintenance, and budgeting for outdoor learning spaces.

Student Development & Well-Being:

• Design experiences that foster resilience, independence, collaboration, leadership, and confidence.
• Create opportunities for healthy risk-taking and challenge appropriate to developmental stages.
• Develop programming that supports a wide range of learners and learning styles, including students who thrive through movement, hands-on engagement, and purpose-driven tasks.
• Ensure experiential learning environments are inclusive, supportive, and accessible to all students.

Logistics, Operations & Safety:

• Coordinate all operational aspects of experiential learning programs, including:
• Trip planning
• Transportation
• Permissions and communication
• Equipment management
• Vendor coordination
• Scheduling
• Develop and maintain risk management systems and safety protocols aligned with industry best practices.
• Train faculty and staff in outdoor supervision, emergency procedures, and risk management practices.
• Maintain required certifications, records, and compliance documentation.

Faculty Support & Professional Development:

• Provide coaching and professional development to faculty in outdoor and experiential learning practices.
• Build teacher confidence and capacity for meaningful outdoor instruction.
• Support faculty in integrating movement, collaboration, and experiential approaches into classroom teaching.

Community Partnerships:

• Cultivate partnerships with local environmental organizations, parks, outdoor education providers, and community groups.
• Expand opportunities for student learning through collaboration with community experts and organizations.
• Represent the experiential learning program to families and the broader school community.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in education, environmental education, outdoor education, child development, or related field.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in experiential, outdoor, environmental, or place-based education.
• Experience working with elementary and/or middle school students.
• Demonstrated experience in curriculum design and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Strong understanding of child and adolescent development.
• Experience with program coordination, logistics, and risk management.
• Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder certification (or willingness to obtain).
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and student-centered learning.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and collaborative skills.
• Digital literacy and proficiency with Google Workspace and related educational technologies.
• Ability to pass required background checks and meet Oregon Central Background Registry requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in IB PYP and/or MYP programs.
• Challenge course or outdoor leadership certification.
• Experience leading overnight trips or extended outdoor experiences.
• Knowledge of environmental stewardship, sustainability education, and habitat restoration.
• Experience managing budgets, vendors, and community partnerships.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to build positive relationships with students, families, faculty, and community partners.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusive educational practices and cultural responsiveness.
• Ability to work collaboratively and flexibly within a dynamic school environment.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work outdoors in varied weather conditions.
• Ability to move throughout campus and natural environments, including uneven terrain.
• Ability to lift and carry equipment up to 25 pounds occasionally.
• Ability to supervise and participate in active outdoor experiences, including hiking and field-based activities.

To Apply

Submit a cover letter and resume to kara.tambellini@gspdx.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $70,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Paid time off
• Relocation assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person