About AMC’s Youth Opportunities Program: The Youth Opportunities Program is an outdoor education, professional development, and social justice program of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Each year, the AMC’s Youth Opportunities Program (YOP) makes the outdoors accessible to over 35,000 youth throughout the Northeast. We do this through collaborative partnerships with organizations and schools in urban and under-resourced communities that historically have faced barriers to outdoor recreation. Through providing outdoor leadership training, trip planning and access to gear lending libraries, YOP supports youth workers and teachers so they may foster impactful and relevant outdoor experiences for their youth. Inspired by the principles of the Civil Rights movement, YOP was founded in 1968 to offer equitable access to outdoor experiences for youth-serving organizations in the City of Boston. www.outdoors.org/yop

About YMAP: The Youth Mountain Adventure Program (YMAP) is an initiative of YOP to support youth organizations located in the Greater Boston area. The project mission is to promote positive youth development among youth ages 11-18 through multi-day wilderness adventures. These 4-day excursions are provided free of cost, including transportation. Trip activities include hiking, camping, backpacking, and canoeing at AMC’s Cardigan Reservation in New Hampshire. YMAP trips are a chance for YOP groups to participate in longer, more challenging trips that may not be possible for individual agencies to lead independently. 

This position represents a great opportunity to work closely with Boston area youth agencies, while teaching in and experiencing the outdoors. 

Based in Charlestown, the YMAP Summer Adventure Instructor is responsible for the planning, logistics and co-leading of seven 4-day YMAP excursions with YOP Members and their organization’s youth. Instructors are responsible for some administrative tasks including trip planning, conducting pre-trip meetings, providing support for YOP’s equipment room, completing trip reports and debriefs. Adventure Instructors also gain exposure to future employment opportunities at the Appalachian Mountain Club. This position reports to the YOP Youth Programming Manager.

General Responsibilities:
- Lead groups of 8-10 youth (ages 11 to 18) on a variety of outdoor adventure activities with a co-leader from the participating youth agency. - Trips include a series of four-day camping, hiking, and canoeing experiences, as well as day trips.
- Plan and organize food, gear and other programmatic needs for each week. 
- Clean and maintain trip equipment, including tents, stoves, sleeping bags, clothing, and cooking gear. 
- Collaborate with and mentor co-leaders (youth agency partners) in the development of the YMAP trip itinerary and outdoor programming that supports the youth agency goals.  
- Teach leadership, communication, teambuilding and challenge initiatives, basic outdoor skills, and Leave No Trace ethics, all with safety as a top priority. 
- Conduct program evaluation through administration of brief youth surveys
- Complete post-trip reporting responsibilities including trip summaries, statistics, and organizing paperwork and photographs. Record successes, challenges and/or recommendations for program improvement.
- Assist in completing a funder report at the end of the season by compiling photos, recording quotes, stories and crafting narratives for each trip as well as analyzing group demographics.
- Conduct participant pick-up/drop-off from the Boston area with a 12-passenger van.

Required Qualifications:
- Must be 21 years old by June 1st, 2019. 
- Mandatory participation in YOP’s 5-day Outdoor Leadership Training (OLT) in May or June.
- Dedication to YOP’s mission to make the outdoors accessible to all.  
- Dedication to working with people representing a diverse range of cultural, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds.
- Experience leading groups of youth on day and multi-day outdoor trips.
- Ability to build rapport with co-leaders and youth and work effectively in a team environment.
- Excellent group management and facilitation skills. Ability to lead meaningful and effective group games and activities.
- Excellent logistical and organizational skills for outdoor program planning and implementation. 
- Outdoor leadership skills including backpacking, hiking, camping and canoeing.
- Wilderness First Aid and CPR (Can be obtained upon hire).
- Ability to drive 12-passenger van safely and possession of a clear personal driving history. (Must hold valid driver’s license and be able to pass a DOT medical exam.)
- Willingness to hike and camp in mountain terrain carrying a 40-50 pound pack, in all weather conditions. 
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and willingness to learn Efforts to Outcomes, our participant database.
- Ability to work evenings and occasional weekends, including being in the field Tuesday through Friday for seven weeks in July and August.

Seasonal Benefits of working with the AMC: Here is a list that highlights benefits offered for our seasonal employees. Benefits may vary based on position. 
- Employee discounts on AMC merchandise
- Use of AMC destinations and lodges, free and discounted rates
AMC membership
- Pro-deals with major gear distributors.