Specialist I, Biotechnology Curriculum Development (Hourly)

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Austin Community College is a public two-year institution that serves a multicultural population of approximately 41,000 credit students each Fall and Spring semester.  We embrace our identity as a community college, as reflected in our mission statement.  We promote student success and community development by providing affordable access, through traditional and distance learning modes, to higher education and workforce training, including appropriate applied baccalaureate degrees, in our service area.

As a community college committed to our mission, we seek to recruit and retain a workforce that:

• Values intellectual curiosity and innovative teaching

• Is attracted by the college's mission to promote equitable access to educational opportunities

• Cares about student success and collaborates on strategies to facilitate success for populations including; first generation college students, low-income students, and students from underserved communities.

• Focused on student academic achievement and postgraduate outcomes

• Welcomes difference and models respectful interaction with others

• Engages with the community both within and outside of ACC

Job Posting Title:

Specialist I, Biotechnology Curriculum Development (Hourly)

Department-Specific Recruitment Details:

Job Description Summary:

To provide temporary assistance as needed

Job Description:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. High School Partnerships and Program Coordination

• Maintain regular communication with AISD high schools and other regional high schools participating in, or interested in joining, ACC biotechnology dual credit and articulated credit programs.
• Maintain an updated directory of participating high schools, program contacts, biotechnology courses, participating teachers, and program implementation status.
• Build and maintain relationships with high school principals, counselors, biotechnology instructors, STEM coordinators, and district administrators.
• Conduct outreach to prospective high schools and present opportunities to participate in ACC dual credit and articulated biotechnology pathways.
• Coordinate with high school administrators and teachers to support the implementation, scheduling, and sustainability of biotechnology courses.
• Work directly with the ACC Dual Credit Program Director regarding high school course planning, program requirements, and implementation timelines.
• Organize and facilitate regular meetings between ACC and high school partners, including the required Articulated Credit Fall Meeting and additional meetings as needed throughout the academic year.
• Identify barriers to program participation and recommend strategies to improve recruitment, access, student persistence, and program effectiveness.

2. Biotechnology Curriculum Development and Alignment

• Collaborate with the ACC Biotechnology Department Chair, Dual Credit Program Director, high school teachers, and industry partners to develop and improve biotechnology curricula for high school students.
• Support alignment between high school biotechnology courses, ACC biotechnology programs, dual credit requirements, articulated credit agreements, and workforce expectations.
• Help develop and adapt instructional materials, laboratory exercises, course outlines, laboratory manuals, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and competency-based learning activities.
• Incorporate hands-on biotechnology techniques and current industry practices into high school learning experiences.
• Promote inquiry-based, project-based, and research-informed instructional approaches that connect classroom concepts to real-world biotechnology applications.
• Identify affordable, accessible laboratory activities that high schools can implement with existing resources or modest additional investments.
• Work with ACC faculty and external partners to identify opportunities for curriculum innovation, microcredentials, and career-connected learning experiences.

3. High School Teacher Professional Development

• Plan and coordinate summer biotechnology training workshops for high school teachers in collaboration with Bio-Rad, InnoVATEBio, ACC faculty, and other appropriate partners.
• Provide or coordinate hands-on training in biotechnology laboratory techniques, equipment use, laboratory safety, aseptic technique, molecular biology, and other relevant methods.
• Help teachers translate professional development experiences into classroom-ready laboratory activities and instructional materials.
• Identify professional development opportunities through conferences, workshops, industry partners, and national biotechnology education networks.
• Support sustained communication and collaboration among high school teachers and ACC faculty to share effective teaching practices and strengthen curriculum alignment.
• Evaluate teacher training activities and identify opportunities for improvement and continued support.

4. Early STEM Engagement and Student Recruitment

• Collaborate with ninth-grade teachers and school administrators to design introductory STEM and biotechnology activities that encourage students to explore science and technology at an early stage.
• Develop outreach activities that introduce students to biotechnology applications, laboratory skills, scientific discovery, and potential career pathways.
• Promote participation in ACC biotechnology programs, dual credit opportunities, articulated credit pathways, summer workshops, and relevant STEM events.
• Support outreach initiatives that increase awareness of biotechnology careers and improve access to STEM education for students from multicultural educational backgrounds.
• Coordinate with high school counselors and teachers to help students understand course sequences, program expectations, and pathways from high school to college and employment.

5. Institutional and External Collaboration

• Attend ACC events involving high school teachers, counselors, administrators, dual credit partners, and STEM education stakeholders.
• Represent or support the ACC Biotechnology Department at relevant educational conferences, biotechnology workforce events, and professional development activities.
• Work closely with the InnoVATEBio Director and ACC Biotechnology Department Chair to develop and implement programs for high school teachers and students.
• Maintain and strengthen partnerships with biotechnology companies, educational organizations, universities, community colleges, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Identify external resources, grants, equipment, training opportunities, and collaborative initiatives that support high school biotechnology education.
• Communicate program needs, opportunities, progress, and challenges to relevant ACC leadership and partners.

6. Program Assessment and Continuous Improvement

• Track participating high schools, teachers trained, courses implemented, student participation, dual credit and articulated credit pathways, and outreach activities.
• Maintain organized records of partnership meetings, professional development, curriculum development, and program implementation.
• Collect feedback from teachers, students, administrators, and partners to assess program effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
• Prepare periodic activity summaries and recommendations for the Biotechnology Department Chair and other relevant administrators.
• Support continuous improvement of biotechnology curricula and high school partnership initiatives using participation data, stakeholder feedback, and emerging workforce needs.

Expected Outcomes and Performance Indicators

Performance will be evaluated in coordination with the supervising department and applicable ACC policies. Potential indicators include:

• High school partnerships: An accurate, regularly updated directory of participating and prospective high schools, teachers, administrators, and program contacts.
• Partner engagement: Regular communication with participating high schools and successful coordination of the annual Articulated Credit Fall Meeting and other scheduled partner meetings.
• Program expansion: Increased outreach to high schools and growth in participation in ACC biotechnology dual credit and articulated credit pathways, as appropriate to program capacity.
• Curriculum development: Development or revision of biotechnology course materials, laboratory activities, instructional resources, and curriculum-alignment documents.
• Teacher development: Delivery of summer biotechnology workshops and other professional development opportunities, with documented participation and feedback.
• Early STEM engagement: Implementation of outreach activities for ninth-grade students and other high school populations to introduce biotechnology and STEM career pathways.
• External collaboration: Sustained engagement with InnoVATEBio, Bio-Rad, industry partners, ACC faculty, and educational institutions.
• Program assessment: Maintenance of records and preparation of periodic reports documenting activities, accomplishments, challenges, and recommendations.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Be a faculty (adjunct or fulltime) in the ACC Biotechnology department
•  Knowledge of biotechnology education, laboratory practices, and STEM curriculum development.
• Ability to coordinate partnerships across high schools, colleges, and external organizations.
• Ability to develop instructional materials and support curriculum alignment across educational levels.
• Strong communication, organizational, interpersonal, and project coordination skills.
• Ability to organize workshops, meetings, outreach activities, and professional development events.
• Ability to work collaboratively with faculty, teachers, administrators, students, and industry representatives.
• Familiarity with hands-on, inquiry-based, project-based, and research-informed teaching approaches.
• Ability to identify affordable and practical laboratory activities suitable for high school educational settings.
• Ability to maintain accurate program records, assess activities, and prepare clear reports.

Preferred Qualifications

• Academic background or professional experience in biotechnology, biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, or a related field.
• Experience in biotechnology laboratory instruction, curriculum development, or laboratory-based education.
• Experience working with high schools, dual credit programs, articulated credit programs, or college-to-career pathways.
• Experience coordinating professional development or hands-on laboratory workshops for educators.
• Experience collaborating with biotechnology industry partners or workforce development organizations.
• Familiarity with laboratory safety, standard operating procedures, and competency-based instruction.

Institutional Impact

This position will strengthen ACC's biotechnology education pipeline by connecting high school learning with college-level education, undergraduate research, and biotechnology workforce opportunities. Through effective partnerships, aligned curricula, teacher training, and accessible hands-on learning, the specialist will help students develop the knowledge, technical skills, confidence, and scientific mindset needed to succeed in STEM education and biotechnology careers.

The position supports ACC's broader goals of student success, workforce development, dual credit expansion, community engagement, and stronger partnerships with regional schools and the biotechnology industry.

Pay Rate

$26.90/hour

Up to 19 hours per week.

Number of Openings:

1

Job Posting Close Date:

October 27, 2026

Clery Act

As required by the US Department of Education, employees are required to report violations under Title IX and, under the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), select individuals are required to report crimes. If this position is identified as a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified, trained, and provided resources for reporting.

Austin Community College produces an Annual Security Report as required by the Clery Act. This report includes statistics from the previous three years concerning reported crime that occurred on campus; public property adjacent to and accessible from campus; and in certain non-campus buildings/property owned or controlled by ACC. The report includes institutional policies concerning campus security and other safety information.

For direct access to the current Annual Security Report, visit www.austincc.edu/asr . You may obtain a hard copy by contacting the Clery Compliance Officer ( [email protected] ). For an overview, see ACC's Clery Act website.

Disclaimer

The above description is an overview of the job. It is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities of the job, nor is it an all-inclusive list of the skills and abilities required to do the job. Duties and responsibilities may change with business needs. ACC reserves the right to add, change, amend, or delete portions of this job description at any time, with or without notice. Employees may be required to perform other duties as requested, directed, or assigned. In addition, reasonable accommodations may be made by ACC at its discretion to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions of the job.