Science Communicator (Planetarium Presenter) in Bristol

Explorer Dome is looking for science presenters to join our team delivering high-quality, hands-on science shows in our mobile planetarium visiting schools across the UK. When schools book a visit from us, they expect to receive the best quality science shows from presenters who are knowledgeable, highly trained, passionate about science education and, most importantly, fun! If you love science (especially astronomy), have a passion for education & inclusion, enjoy working with children and travelling the UK, then we want to hear from you!

Explorer Dome is one of the UK's best‑respected science outreach organisations, bringing science alive to over 80,000 people every year. Based in Bristol, we tour the Southwest, Southeast, Midlands and beyond visiting schools, colleges, youth groups, family events, fairs & festivals with inspiring, entertaining, hands‑on science shows. We are looking for at least one fabulous, part time science presenter.

You will receive training from highly experienced science communicators, work with a great team to develop your presentation skills and expand your subject knowledge, you’ll travel the country and meet thousands of excited children eager to listen to what you have to say and be inspired by your passion and enthusiasm.

Who are we looking for?

• Presenter! You need to be friendly, outgoing and have excellent face‑to‑face communication skills with adults and children; you’ll need a persuasive voice, plenty of enthusiasm and a flair for performance.
• Inclusion – you’ll be working with people from a wide range of ages, backgrounds & abilities, from pre‑school to A‑Level, mainstream and SEND, so you will need to respect the values of equality, diversity and inclusion in science education.
• Science – a science‑related degree is preferable, but it’s more important to have an excellent general knowledge of science subjects as you will be communicating aspects of space science, physics, chemistry, biology, environmental science and geography; however, enthusiasm, dedication and the ability to learn quickly is far more valuable.
• Driving – it is essential that you’ve held a full, clean UK driving licence for at least 12 months; you do not need to have had previous experience of driving vans, but if you are not able to drive, this outreach job is not for you… or perhaps it is, but you need to learn to drive first and come back to us in a year’s time!

What does the job involve?

• A typical day involves meeting your co‑presenter early (anything from 8am to 4am!), loading the van and driving to school for a cup of tea; bear in mind that a school can be anything from 5 minutes to 3 hours’ drive from Bristol, so you must be enthusiastic enough to deal with early starts and long days; you always work in a team of 2 to share driving and presenting, improve diversity, quality, interaction with the children, maintain a lively pace in the shows and make the working day more enjoyable.
• You will set up the planetarium & look after the equipment – some basic maintenance skills will be required to keep your kit operating well, staying safe and looking good.
• You will liaise with school staff to make sure the visit runs smoothly and you represent Explorer Dome professionally.
• Presenting the shows! You will be given a script to learn and plenty of training, but we want you to use your own words and express your own interests & personality as a presenter, so you’ll be encouraged to be creative and adapt the presentations as you gain experience; we present between 2 – 7 shows in a school day, so you may be home by lunchtime or later in the evening.
• As a science presenter you will have a good general knowledge of science subjects and will be expected to keep up to date with developments, science news and particularly what’s going on in astronomy, space missions and astronomical events.
• We sometimes travel between two local schools (or a school and an after‑school event) on the same day; we often spend part of the week staying overnight on mini‑tour - you’ll get the chance to visit some interesting and beautiful parts of the country, and we provide a moderate budget for overnight accommodation and expenses. Every day is different!

Explorer Dome presenters are employed initially on a zero‑hours, part‑time contract and you can expect to work between 2-4 days per week (10-50 hours) during the school term, with occasional extra work at the weekends and during school holidays. Working days are organised by arrangement with you and can be on regular days or ad hoc to suit you. Presenters are paid an hourly rate - UK Living Wage (currently £13.45/hour) for early‑career science communicators, rising with skills and experience. Progression to Senior Presenter and a regular contract would be expected after 12-18 months with Explorer Dome and after demonstrating suitable quality of work, ability to work as part of our team and active involvement in training of other new members of staff.

To apply, first please browse our website to get to know us, then please email us with your CV and a covering letter telling us about yourself, your science and/or presenting background, any experience with astronomy, planetariums, children, schools, outreach or performance, why you want to work with Explorer Dome and anything else you think we should know. We look forward to welcoming applications from a wide range of people of all ages, genders, backgrounds, experiences and academic history and we look forward to hearing from you!