Job Posting
FIRST Lego League at McQuaid - Lead Mentor
Job Summary
- Coach two to four Middle School Lego Robotics teams between September and February. The Lead Mentor will report to the Robotics Director and will receive regular guidance and support, but will have overall direct responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the teams.
- Each year at the start of the Fall Semester, McQuaid recruits a large number of Middle School students to join the FIRST Lego Robotics team. Many students are returning team members, however, the 6th-grade team members will be new and most likely inexperienced. The Lead Mentor will introduce the FIRST Lego Challenge for the current season, guide students into teams of no more than eight, and coach the teams towards a successful attempt at the Regional Qualifier in December. Lego Robotics teams will focus on designing and building a robot that can accomplish a variety of tasks, an in-depth research project, robot coding, and team cooperative skills. The Lead Mentor must be able to guide each team through time management, project management, leadership roles, and conflict resolution
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
- Oversee and guide students in grades 6-8 in successfully competing in the 2025-26 FIRST Lego League season.
- Communicate regularly with the parents, students, and Robotics Director about team progress, needs, and possible issues.
- Organize parent volunteers to help during team practice
- Organize practice schedules that allow for maximum time working with the team for the maximum number of students on each team.
Additional Responsibilities
- Other duties as assigned.
- Be prepared to coach multiple teams and/or delegate to volunteer parents as well as volunteer high school robotics students
- Be prepared to coach during a McQuaid tournament hosted in mid-December, and likely to coach at least one team that advances to the semi-finals in mid-February.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
- Safe, productive, healthy, inclusive team-based approach at all times.
- Supervise the teams’ progress while maintaining an environment of student leadership on all teams.
- Supervise snacks and clean up when needed.
Competencies/Skills
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Outstanding organizational skills
- Ability to patiently work with students aged 10-14 in a non-classroom setting.
- Experience in beginner-level coding
- Appreciation for FIRST Robotics and project-based STEM learning
- Willingness to delegate tasks and organize volunteer support
- Maintains confidentiality and respects professional boundaries.
- Understands and is committed to the mission of Jesuit education and formation.
Education and Experience Requirements
- A Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM or related field is preferred, or the individual should be working towards a comparable degree.
- Two to three years of prior experience in teaching or coaching is strongly preferred.
- Experience with some of the following: Scratch coding environment; modular robotics; Lego system; Apple iPad; Windows PC environment; and the design/engineering loop.
The statements contained herein describe the scope of the responsibility and essential functions of this position, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements.
Physical Demands
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- While performing the duties of this job, the position involves walking, standing, lifting, and bending. The person is also required to talk and hear. The position requires frequent standing, walking, sitting, and reaching with hands and arms. Part of the duties may include lifting, carrying boxes as needed. Frequent and regular repetitive movements are required using the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. The employee will occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
Work Environment: Fast-paced school environment working in a school and/or office setting.
Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:
- This is a five to six-month position, with the possibility of more.
- This is a minimum of six hours a week, maximum fifteen hours.
Salary: $1,100 Stipend
Reports To: Robotics Director
How to apply: Candidates should send a cover letter and resume to employment@mcquaid.org on or before July 1, 2025. For more information about McQuaid Jesuit, please visit our website www.mcquaid.org
Equal Opportunity Employment Policy
It is McQuaid Jesuit’s policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment, consistent with federal, state, and local laws. Accordingly, all applicants for employment are to be treated without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or citizen status, qualified handicap, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, or inconsequential handicaps. This policy pertains to every aspect of an individual’s relationship with the school, including but not limited to recruitment, selection, compensation, benefits, training, promotion, transfer, discipline, or termination.