Innovation Specialist, EduLab (Education)

How You’ll Contribute

The National Geographic Society (NGS) is an impact-driven global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, exploration, education, and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonders of our world.

The Education department serves this mission by amplifying and extending the work of NGS explorers into classrooms and communities, helping educators and young people develop an explorer mindset and inspiring them to learn about, care for, and protect our world.

The department seeks to help the world understand the importance of geography - seeing the connections, interdependencies, and patterns that shape human and natural systems on our planet.

• To accomplish its goals and to extend reach and impact, the Education Department (EDU) cultivates strategic partnerships;
• manages education-focused endowments, fellowships and grants; creates and disseminates education content and programs for Explorers and a K-16 audience domestically and internationally;

connects Explorers to classrooms and communities; and engages youth in the mission by building Explorer-focused innovative, co-curricular opportunities.

Building upon the Society’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion these educational resources and experiences elevate missing voices, bring a multiplicity of perspectives, and are accessible on a continuum of no-low-high tech capacities at scale across the globe.

The EduLab is a team within the Education Department focused on infusing the attitudes, skills, and knowledge of diverse NGS Explorers and their work into innovative learning solutions that inspire educators and young people to care about and protect the wonder of our world.

EduLab is seeking an Innovation Specialist to join our ambitious team. Reporting to the Vice President of EduLab, this role will provide operational and research support to EduLab’s portfolio of innovation activity.

This role will play a crucial role in helping the team and those with whom we work conceive, develop, and test innovative learning solutions.

This individual will help research industry trends, evaluate emerging learning technologies and approaches, and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

They will also provide support in the design, development, and management of our innovation infrastructure, including maintaining documentation of our methodology and tools, coordinating interviews, focus groups, and workshops, supporting contracting and vendor management, capturing minutes or summaries of our Office Hours and other key meetings / events, and other responsibilities which may emerge.

Your Impact

Responsibilities Include :

Under supervision and with the guidance of EduLab, Education, and NGS team members, the role is expected to include the following activities :

Program Strategy and Development : (15%)

Gains a comprehensive understanding of the goals of the organization, overarching NGS strategy, underlying Education strategy, and matrices within the organization.

Executes tactical components of the EduLab strategy, particularly as they relate to innovation management, needs assessments, gap analyses, continuous learning, and evaluation.

Liaises with internal program teams and external stakeholders to gather and share needs, refine processes, and engage in a feedback loop.

Operational and Research Support : (60%)

Provides specialized expertise and support across the EduLab portfolio, under the direction of program leadership.

Conducts secondary research on industry trends, emerging technologies, and ecosystems to support innovation activity.

Supports development and execution of primary research, including focus groups, workshops, interviews, etc.

Analyzes research and synthesizes trends from different internal sources to identify and highlight data driven opportunities for innovation.

Collaborates with internal teams to generate and refine innovative ideas that align with goals and objectives.

Supports the design of brainstorming sessions and workshops to encourage a culture of creativity and idea generation.

Supports evaluation of the feasibility and viability of proposed innovations, considering technical, financial, and operational factors.

Works closely with stakeholders to document requirements and constraints for successful implementation

Supports the execution tactical components of the strategy under direction of program leadership.

Assists in the coordination of meetings, workshops, and innovation events.

Prepares and distributes documents, reports, and presentations as needed.

Supports management of external consultants and collaborators, including contract creation and management.

Supports project management and reporting, including workplan and task management tools ( Wrike).

Team, Divisional and Organizational Collaboration : (25%)

Contributes to multiple initiatives across the Education team; serves on internal cross-platform workgroups to maximize strategy results and scale.

Develops and maintains strong positive and empathetic working relationships with other NGS divisions and external teams.

Monitors and reports on the progress of innovation initiatives, addressing any issues that may arise during the process.

Assists in drafting internal communications and announcements related to innovation initiatives; prepare detailed and presentations to communicate findings and recommendations to stakeholders.

Maintains accurate records of project activities, milestones, and relevant communications.

Ensures that innovation methodology, tools, and project documentation is organized and easily accessible for team members.

What You’ll Bring

Educational Background

A bachelor's degree preferred in Business, Engineering, Technology, Education, Geography, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.

Minimum Years and Type of Experience

3+ years of related experience

Necessary Knowledge and Skills

Experience with project management and analysis with a high attention to detail.

Highly developed oral and written communication skills and ability to work with individuals and groups at all levels.

Ability to work on multiple projects, under deadlines, with changing priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Prioritize and manage tasks and responsibilities that span multiple teams.

Coordinating and managing appointments, meetings, and multiple schedules.

Desired Knowledge and Skills

Experience using human-centered design and / or agile practices and methodology

Knowledge of the education sector and promising trends and opportunities to extend our reach and impact.

Coordinating and managing logistics for large meetings and events with internal and external stakeholders.

Technical proficiency with Google Workspace suite of tools, and other productivity tools (AirTable or other databases, Wrike or other project management, Miro or other design tools, etc.)

Supervision

No direct reports

Salary Information

National Geographic Society offers a competitive and holistic total rewards package. Our compensation structure and transparent pay philosophy are based on industry-specific market data for similar sized nonprofit organizations.

The salary range for this position is$58,000 - $69,000.

Pay offered to candidates will be based on several factors including but not limited to industry-based or other relevant work experience, education, skills, certifications, and training.

• In addition, National Geographic Society offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package that includes, but is not limited to, medical, dental, and vision insurance;
• engaging and comprehensive wellness program; 401(k) retirement savings plan with matching contributions after 6 months of employment;
• flexible paid time off benefits with up to 22 days of paid annual leave per calendar year (15 days for new hires in their first year, prorated based on the number of pay periods remaining in the year) and 10 days of sick leave;
• 12 paid holidays and a paid winter break between December 25 and 31; paid parental leave, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility benefits;
• learning and development opportunities; Lifestyle Spending Account; pet adoption assistance and insurance; pre-tax transportation benefits with a generous employer subsidy;

employer-paid life insurance and disability benefit; and a variety of National Geographic discounts and perks.

Job Designation

Hybrid - At the Society, we believe in the advantages of coming together to build community, mentor and learn from colleagues, and connect more deeply with our mission.

As a result, the majority of our staff are Hybrid. Our Hybrid category requires that staff work at Base Camp two days each week : every Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hybrid staff are also always welcome to come in additional days each week if they prefer.