Washington Trails Association is seeking leaders who love working outdoors with teens and share our belief that everyone should feel included in the hiking community. The Youth Trail Crew Leader works outdoors leading high school-aged volunteers in building and maintaining trails on public lands. The position’s primary responsibility is to lead 6-8 day Youth Volunteer Vacations in various frontcountry and backcountry locations in Washington. This is a temporary, field-based position that reports to the Youth Trail Program Manager.

Washington Trails Association enhances hiking experiences in Washington by empowering a diverse and growing community of hikers to explore, steward and protect trails and public lands. WTA has built the largest statewide volunteer trail maintenance program in the nation using a proven formula of “be safe, have fun and get some work done.” WTA leads 160,000 hours of volunteer service annually to maintain, repair and build trails across the state; one-quarter of volunteers are youth 18 and under. WTA is committed to cultivating an inclusive culture and environment at WTA where staff and volunteers of all identities feel valued.

Major responsibilities include:

Leading volunteer work parties

  • Ensure physical, mental and emotional safety for a crew of 14-18 year old volunteers of diverse backgrounds
  • Support, motivate, and train volunteers to complete a variety of trail projects. Projects may include annual maintenance, new trail construction, installing drainage structures, and construction of steps, turnpike, puncheon and retaining walls
  • Manage camp, including set-up, breakdown and food preparation and management
  • Effectively manage emergency situations following WTA’s emergency response protocols
  • Positively represent WTA’s mission, programs and membership in all interactions with volunteers, trail users and others

Preparing for work parties

  • Participate in pre-trip briefing and debrief meeting before/after each trip
  • Communicate directly with youth volunteers and their guardian(s) via email and phone prior to trips
  • May assist Field Manager in scouting trail projects for volunteers

Documenting work parties

  • Ensure morning safety review is delivered to volunteers and documented
  • Maintain and submit Sign-in and any incident report forms for youth volunteers in a timely manner
  • Prepare and submit summary report and thank you email to youth volunteers for each work party in a timely manner
  • Report all incidents affecting the safety, health, and well-being of volunteers
  • Provide digital photo documentation of project progress and volunteer engagement

Schedule:

The Youth Trail Crew Leader is a temporary position starting in June 2019 and continuing through August 2019. The expected schedule for leading each Youth Volunteer Vacation trip is 6 days for frontcountry trips (Sunday to Friday), and 8 days for backcountry trips (Saturday to Saturday) with occasional exceptions. During this time, the crew leader will camp with the crew in frontcountry and backcountry locations. We strive to schedule 6 days between trips, during which the crew leader is expected to complete approximately 4 hours of trip preparation activities and be available for a pre-trip briefing at an agreed upon time. Mandatory paid training is June 24-27 (within two hours of Seattle).

Desired skills, experience and personal traits preferred:

  • Demonstrated experience leading and camping with youth
  • Demonstrated experience building or maintaining hiking trails
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively with people of diverse races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and economic backgrounds
  • Ability to create a crew community where every member feels included and valued
  • Ability to work independently and contribute to a team effort
  • Ability to work in an outdoor environment, including hiking and backpacking up to 10 miles daily in a variety of terrain, and follow minimum impact guidelines
  • Ability to work 12+ hour days (7 hours of trail work + camp management)
  • Ability to effectively manage emergency situations
  • WFR and CPR certifications valid through the duration of employment
  • Valid driver’s license and ability to drive a truck on highways and dirt roads
  • Reliable internet access and cell phone for work party planning and documentation
  • Full availability from late-June through August, including training dates
  • Youth Trail Crew Leaders and Assistant Crew Leaders are responsible for their own transportation to our logistics facility in North Bend and/or trailheads for trips. For Crew Leaders who have a personal vehicle, mileage reimbursement will be provided.

Compensation:

Compensation for this position is $19.75/hour for training, administrative and scouting assignments. Summer trips are paid a flat rate of $1,700 per frontcountry Youth Vacation and $2,200 per backcountry Youth Vacation. Food is provided during Youth Volunteer Vacation trips. Position is eligible for paid sick leave. WTA
provides safety hard hat, work gloves and safety glasses. WTA does not provide boots, clothing or other personal outdoor and backpacking gear required for field work.

To Apply:

Please apply online at www.wta.org/jobs. This position is open until filled, with priority given to applications received by January 20, 2018. Finalists must pass a Washington State background check. If you have any questions, please contact jobs@wta.org.

Washington Trails Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, creed, gender identity, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.