Project ENGAGE Education & Outreach Professional (Staff Wage)

Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and operating across a range of schools, communities, and U.S. states, Project ENGAGE aims to expand and bring to scale the Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE) program. Project ENGAGE has the central aim of building capacity within school divisions/districts to continue delivering CARE longitudinally using a train-the-trainer model.Recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to promote educator wellbeing, CARE offers schools a unique professional development program that reduces teacher stress, promotes supportive classroom interactions, and improves student engagement, motivation, and reading competencies. Evidence supporting CARE's efficacy has been evaluated and confirmed by What Works Clearinghouse (WWC).The project is led by PI Patricia Jennings, Professor of Education at the University of Virginia.

ENGAGE researchers will recruit 48 elementary schools to participate in the project. Half of the schools will be randomly assigned to receive the CARE program in 2026-2027; the remaining schools will receive the CARE program in 2027-2028. Teachers and other staff members will participate in 3 training sessions throughout the year (2 full days before the school year begins and 1 virtual day during the school year).

The Education & Outreach Professional will work alongside ENGAGE Prof. Jennings to develop and lead communications between the research team and local public schools. This will involve supporting several primary functions:

• School and Teacher Recruitment:co-identify and build relationships with participating schools, act as primary point of contact and liaison between project staff and division/district leadership and teachers, maintain and support relationship with public schools throughout the duration of the project.
• Training Logistics: Support logistics for in-person and virtual trainings.
• Data Collection:work with AIR to schedule and oversee classroom observations; maintain ongoing communications with individual teachers to support data collection process.
• Other duties might include:lead and/or participate in team meetings (remote), oversee the maintenance of accurate records of activities, write periodic reports on activities.

Compensation: $40/hour

This position is anticipated to work 10-20 hours per week.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree
• 5+ years of teaching experience
• 3+ years of experience with mindfulness practices
• 3+ years of delivering professional development programming for educators
• Familiarity with Chicago Public Schools and/or Chicago-area public charter schools
• Familiarity with the CARE professional development program

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education: Bachelor's degree required.

Experience: 5+ years of relevant professional experience required.

Licensure: None.

o apply, please submit an application online at https://jobs.virginia.edu and attach a current CV/resume and cover letter.. Search on requisition number: R00080609.

Internal applicants may search and apply for jobs on the UVA Internal Careers website.

The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment. This position will also require an Education Verification.

Questions related to the application process may be directed to Jen Krahn, Sr. HR Specialist, at jak8w@virginia.edu

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

This is a wage position which is not eligible for leave or other benefits and is limited to 1500 hours of work in a year. For more information, refer to the Wage Employment link: http://uvapolicy.virginia.edu/policy/HRM-029

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA's commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.