JOB POSTING
Assistant Dive Safety Officer-Seasonal
Posted: Open to internal and external applicants
Reports to: Dive Program Manager
Status: Full-time, hourly, seasonal position, through mid-March 2025
Hours of work: Sunday-Thursday workweek, 7am-4pm. Occasional need for weekend or after-hours work as related to events and other projects
Date needed: November, 2024 - mid-March 2025
Posting expires: Open until filled, priority given to applications received by October 3.
Position description:
The Seattle Aquarium, a leading marine conservation organization, is looking for an Assistant Dive Safety Officer to join the Dive Programs team. We're on a mission to inspire conservation of our marine environment, and our dive program is an essential part of that effort. As an Assistant Dive Safety Officer (ADSO), you'll play a key role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of our diving services while working alongside a passionate team of staff and volunteers. In this seasonal position, you'll help support our mission by maintaining diving equipment, ensuring diver proficiencies, and fostering a culture of safety.
Key functions:
- Dive Equipment Maintenance: Ensure that all SCUBA systems and Surface-Supplied Air Systems (SSAS) are maintained in a clean, safe, and efficient manner for use by Aquarium staff and volunteer divers. You will assist with troubleshooting, repairs, and replacements as needed to guarantee equipment reliability. Your proactive approach to identifying and implementing equipment upgrades will be highly valued. Includes driving Aquarium vehicles for supplies locally on a regular basis.
- Daily Dive Support: Act as a Dive Tender or Dive Person inCharge (DPIC) during daily dive operations. You'll help oversee safe diving practices within all Aquarium habitats, ensuring compliance with the Seattle Aquarium's Dive Safety Manual as well as relevant federal, state, and scientific regulations.
- Volunteer Engagement: Help orient, train, and authorize volunteer divers. You will work closely with our volunteer team, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment. Well supported volunteers are critical to our success and the wellbeing of our ecosystems.
- Diver Training and Proficiency: Assist with the training and proficiency testing for staff and volunteer divers, ensuring all divers are properly trained and equipped for their roles. You'll help coordinate training sessions and authorizations, and support the team in maintaining high dive safety standards.
- Safety Drills and Emergency Response: Under the direction of the DPM, conduct diver emergency response drills to ensure preparedness for any potential emergencies. You will help ensure that all staff and volunteers are familiar with emergency procedures and able to respond quickly and effectively if needed.
- Field Research Support: Act as a Shore Observer and other support duties for Aquarium-led or partnered field research projects. This may involve both SCUBA and non-SCUBA related activities that contribute to marine conservation research efforts. Your participation will be a key part of the Aquarium's ongoing work to advance conservation research and policy.
- Teamwork and Relationship Building: Collaborate closely with internal staff and external stakeholders, including volunteers, researchers, and guests. We value communication, teamwork, and respect for all members of our community, and we encourage you to bring your unique perspectives to help foster an inclusive and positive work environment.
- Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Every team member at the Aquarium is expected to actively contribute to advancing DEI and our S.A.L.I.S.H. In this role, you will advance equity and accessibility into your daily work and interactions, ensuring that all staff, volunteers, and guests feel authentically respected.
- Other duties relevant to the above functions and responsibilities as assigned, as appropriate for the type of position.
Skills and experience: The skills and abilities listed below may be demonstrated through a combination of relevant cultural and community programs, jobs, internships, volunteer experience, and/or formal or informal education. If you meet some of the requirements and you are passionate about our mission and our ocean, we encourage you to apply and look forward to learning more about you.
- Two or more years' experience demonstrating levels of increased responsibility in dive safety and underwater operations.
- Possess and maintain a SCUBA certification to the level of Dive master (or equivalent) from a nationally recognized certification agency.
- Experience in temperate water diving conditions, including drysuit.
- Current AAUS membership would be highly regarded.
- Exposure to Commercial and Scientific diving regulations.
- Remain current in emergency oxygen administration, first aid and CPR.
- Maintain Washington state driver's license.
- Certifications required within first two weeks of hire; the Aquarium can pay for these trainings if someone does not have them.
- PSI cylinder hazmat and visual cylinder inspector.
- O2 administration instructor; DAN DFA Pro preferred.
- Equipment repair technician certifications.
- Sound Judgment and Decision-Making: Ability to assess situations thoroughly, make informed decisions, and take safe, creative actions in response to opportunities or challenges.
- Strong Communication and Organizational Skills: Consistently communicate proactively, track tasks, and organize work effectively to keep both yourself and others informed and on track. Experience working in multicultural, multilingual environments is highly valued.
- Project Leadership: Comfortable acting as the point person for projects or activities, taking ownership and ensuring successful outcomes.
- Diving Equipment Expertise: Proven ability to troubleshoot, repair, and service SCUBA and dive-related equipment, ensuring safe and efficient operations.
- Innovation and Problem-Solving: A willingness to bring fresh ideas, innovate, and find efficiencies to improve processes within the dive program.
- Technical Skills: Proficiency with computer software, including Outlook, MS Word, Excel, MS Teams, equipment databases, and internet browsers. Willingness to learn and adapt to new technology as needed.
- Professional Development: A commitment to staying current on industry trends and developments in SCUBA safety and technology, both inside and outside the organization.
- Commitment to Mission and Values: Understanding and embracing the Aquarium's mission, with a demonstrated commitment to regenerative practices and equity work as part of your professional approach.
Working conditions:
- Special job or environmental conditions and physical requirements (sitting for long periods, lifting (50lbs), keyboarding 50% of time, extensive travel, exposure to outside weather conditions, overtime or shift work requirements).
- Requires confidence handling, working with or exposure to large and potentially dangerous animals, animal diseases, animal feces and toxic chemicals. Subject to bites, stings, scrapes and exposure to various plants and animals.
- While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell.
- Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.
- Required to lift SCUBA gear that is more than 50 pounds.
- Ability to be on their feet six or more hours during a workday; be physically active through physical motions.
- Required to work outdoors year-round, near water, on wet and slippery surfaces and at heights.
Salary and benefits: $28-$30 per hour/ Dependent on experience. Temporary staff are not eligible for benefits but accrue paid sick time and are paid an additional $0.75/hour to assist with transportation costs.
How to apply: The Seattle Aquarium is committed to expanding a diverse, equitable, and inclusive conservation movement. We are invested in building an Aquarium with a wide variety of backgrounds, identities, languages, cultural ways of knowing, and life experiences. We know research shows that society has conditioned communities of color, trans and gender non-conforming people, immigrants, people with disabilities, and other marginalized candidates to more frequently not apply to a job because they don't feel that they meet all of the qualifications listed even if they are qualified. If you meet some of the requirements and you are passionate about our mission and our ocean, we encourage you to apply and look forward to learning more about you.
Interested candidates should upload a resume to our online application to be considered. Application review will begin immediately.
SeattleAquarium.org/careers
Please let us know if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for this job by emailing us at ...@seattleaquarium.org.
Note: If offered the position, candidates must pass a background check and motor vehicle records check. Conviction record is not an automatic disqualifier; we are a second chance employer. Regarding driving records: Within the last three years, you must not have had more than two moving traffic violations or any major violation (DUI, reckless driving, negligent driving, etc.).
About the Seattle Aquarium:
The Seattle Aquarium is a respected authority on Puget Sound, the Salish Sea and the world's one ocean. Our passionate staff increases awareness and drives the change needed to preserve and protect our marine environment by providing an inspiring visitor experience, engaging daytime and evening events, conservation education programs for people of all ages and backgrounds, community outreach to marginalized populations, research that advances understanding of animals in our care and their counterparts in the wild, advocacy and policy work, an award-winning volunteer program, high-impact marketing and communications, and more.
Our values, developed in conjunction with our staff, include commitments to adopting and promoting sustainable practices, creating awe-inspiring experiences, constantly learning and improving, fostering an inclusive community, maintaining scientific credibility through evidence-based practices and honoring our unique place by using our location and history as a lens for larger understanding.
Proudly accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, we're among the top 10 aquariums in the U.S. by attendance, and we welcome over 850,000 people each year. Guided by our mission of Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment, we're working to substantially increase our conservation impact by expanding our campus with a new building, the Ocean Pavilion. Learn more at SeattleAquarium.org.
Timeline:
We anticipate the following recruiting schedulefor those candidates who are selected for consideration.The following dates are preliminary and subject to change.We will work with candidates to set interview dates.If hired, relocation assistance is not available.
- Application deadline: Mid-October 2024
- Priority given to applications received by October 2nd
- Interviews completed by Early November 2024
- Start date: November 2024