Paul Botha

Background

About Paul Botha

At 14 I joined the Vancouver Aquarium as a Youth Volunteer Lead and spent 7 formative years and over hours - and a lot of fun - developing and honing a lifetime career of delivering STEM informal education, in a collaborative environment where I also learnt the value of excellent customer service, clear communication, being adaptable, accountable, and so much more. Even as a Land Survey Engineer, I spent 5 years computer drafting and teaching new hires how to draft on our software. During the ‘08 crash, I took a year to volunteer on conservation projects through South America. Upon returning to Canada, I rejoined the Vancouver Aquarium first as a Customer Service Supervisor, responsible for scheduling and leading a team of work experience high school students, then as an Outreach Educator. As one in a team of 4, we developed and delivered marine based educational and conservation programs in schools, community centers, and rural communities. We also tracked and reported program metrics. As a Program Specialist at Science World (Vancouver), I was part of team who developed and managed additional educational programming. My role specifically was focused on Spring, Summer and Winter breaks, to design, develop, implement and manage, thematic pop-up science programs, curate a science lab, organize programming by community stakeholders, arrange speaker series, etc. I also curated and managed the budget for the Sustainability Gallery, recruited and trained volunteers, and managed Science Adults events. At Parks Canada, as Urban Outreach Program Specialist I recruited, mentored and supervised a group of 8 university students, and helped to develop, facilitate and grow the collaborate educational program where Parks Canada delivered programming at Science World and the Vancouver Aquarium. In my time covering the maternity leave position, I grew the reach of our contact to over ppl a year. As a Trip Leader / Manager at Backroads, I utilized all my skills and developed and grew: coordinating with many groups, managing strict timelines, delivering educational content, adapting to fast changing circumstances, adapting to personalities, international experience, and usually all at the same time. This was a fast-paced and demanding environment, with great professional rewards. Currently, I am working as the team lead for e-commerce and fulfilment at The Bike Shop in Calgary. Current initiatives include merchandising the warehouse and e-commerce store and leading the fulfillment team in delivering excellent customer experience.