Being an outdoor instructor at Adventure Treks is an incredible opportunity- seeing students immersed in nature, fostering a community, and building their confidence and leadership on the trail! Instructors know the demands of operating on the sun's clock and sleeping in a tent for weeks at a time with peers and students that rely on them. In the highs and lows of a trip, they're always engaged, bringing fun to any situation, staying motivated, and working hard.

Instructors are in charge of safety, satisfaction, and success. It's not always easy, but it's so rewarding!

Our commitment to providing fun, growth-oriented, and community-minded experiences for our students allowed us to safely and successfully operate our 2020 summer season, create new gap semester programs, provide fulfilling jobs, and avoid large staff layoffs.

Adventure Treks operates 13- to 30-day wilderness-based programs for teenagers in British Columbia, Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Wyoming, and North Carolina. Instructors lead activities like backpacking, rock and ice climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking, canoeing, whitewater and sea kayaking, and whitewater rafting. On each adventure, the five- to six-person instructor team works together to coordinate all aspects of the trip like managing group dynamics, teaching outdoor skills, maintaining equipment, and handling medical issues. 

Our 60% instructor retention rate is in part due to our competitive salary, benefits, and opportunities to work our summer, fall, and Spring Leadership Adventure Semester, and spring and fall educational programs.

Qualifications

Applicants must be 21 (college graduate/degree in progress preferred), have a valid WFR & CPR certification, clean driving record, several years of experience working with youth and leading outdoor programs, and the ability to maintain positive energy levels with little/no time off and very limited personal time. Our gap semester faculty also require professional experience backpacking and at least one of the following: rock climbing, whitewater kayaking/canoeing, and mountain biking. Experience with developing and teaching lesson plans, and a strong passion for community building and have worked or are going to work a summer season with Adventure Treks. 

Dates of Employment
Summer: June 9 - August 15
Fall Gap Program: August 24th-November 24th
Fall School Groups: Dates TBD, at minimum 4 consecutive weeks

Instructor Compensation
We’re pleased to offer a competitive salary with the starting salary for first-year instructors being: Summer season: $2,800; Spring and fall programs: $3,000; gap programs $4,500

• Adventure Treks offers travel reimbursements up to $500 to help instructors travel to and from Staff Orientation
• Accommodations, meals (and coffee!) on your trip, outfitted activities, equipment, transportation to and from the trip’s locations are provided by Adventure Treks.
• Pro Deal accounts with access to discounts on a wide range of outdoor brands.
• Reimbursement for Wilderness First Responder Certification for returning instructors and access to a professional development scholarship.
• Focus on year-round personal and professional growth which include career resource webinars and reimbursements towards professional development
• An opportunity to work both Adventure Treks spring, summer, and fall programs and gap semesters with a focus on career growth and professional development through the progression of instructor, trip leader, regional director, and gap semester faculty 

Benefits

Personal and professional skills learned at Adventure Treks are applicable to many experiences for years to come:

• Leadership and Responsibility: responsible for 24 teenagers and all aspects of running a safe and fun trip
• Communication: with your students, co-instructor, trip leader, regional director, parents, and Adventure Treks office
• Resilience and adaptability: positively overcome adversity and creatively solve problems
• Decision making: confidence in safe, quick, and intentional decisions
• Strong work ethic: the hardest job with the biggest rewards and fulfillment
• Relationship building: a role model to students, creating strong connections with students, instructor team, and building a strong community
• Feedback: continual opportunities to provide and receive feedback to students, co-instructors, and trip leaders