If you’re an experienced outdoor educator who is truly passionate about working with high school students (not to mention, you’re someone who can’t understand how 35 television seasons of “Survivor” can continue to produce finalists who can’t build a fire — even with a hefty chunk of flint in their hands), then you need to know about our latest job opening.
At a 30,000-foot level, what is mostly required of our new Outdoor Education Instructional Specialist is a dedication to teach others and, more specifically, high school students who haven’t found a lot of success in traditional school settings. If you can wear a variety of hats that weren’t just designed for warding off the sun, this jobs for you.
Successful candidates must be enthusiastic about implementing an outdoor education curriculum and hiring and supervising field instructors, in addition to teaching classes both on campus and in the backcountry. Most important, our new outdoor education leader will lead our traditional 24-day wilderness orientation trips for incoming students — a rite of passage for all incoming Eagle Rock School students that takes place three times a year within areas designated as Wilderness.
The position also includes conducting outdoor education classes for veteran Eagle Rock School students, keeping track of all of the equipment that goes along with an outdoor-focused campus, mentoring at least one Public Allies Fellow, and an abundance of faculty duties that make for invigorating days, nights and weekends on and off our sprawling 640-acre mountainside campus in Estes Park, Colo. For this job, having both the physical and emotional stamina to work in harsh wilderness environments for extended periods of time, is also a must.
As for specific requirements, a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree — or equivalent experience in Outdoor/Experiential Education or a related field — is required. A current Wilderness First Responder certification is also a must-have for this position. In addition, we are seeking candidates with at least five (5) years of outdoor program leadership experience in a variety of course designs and program models.
AMGA Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) certification is desirable, and good-to-have attributes would be skill at driving a minibus or a pickup truck pulling a trailer — sometimes on bad roads in poor weather. Oh, and a big plus would be the ability to speak English and Spanish.
Ours is a boarding school with a heart — and an appropriate sense of humor. And that’s primarily because we go to great lengths to hire instructors who possess these two qualities and more. Our new instructional specialist candidate must express a love of working and collaborating with young people, which means potential Marine Corps drill instructors need not apply.
The job description also includes demonstrated visionary thinking, seasoned judgment, and dedication to learning that is happily performed without looking at a clock. Patience and tolerance aren’t just “nice to have” qualities; they are mandatory for this, and all positions at Eagle Rock School.
Our student population includes a mix of LGBTQIA students, as well as students from low-income backgrounds, and students from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds — all of whom are on the path to reengaging themselves in their own education. Our firm belief is that if we treat students like responsible adults, they will respond as responsible adults.
Specific duties asked of our new Outdoor Education Instructional Specialist include joining one of Eagle Rock’s residential house teams as an advisor; volunteering for evening and weekend duty; participation in community meetings, service projects, intramural sports events; and sharing a particular skill or craft with the school family.
For a complete list of requirements, see the Outdoor Education Instructional Specialist job listing at http://eaglerockschool.org/about-us/employment.
To apply for the position, please submit a cover letter, resume, brief skills self-assessment, and phone number and email address of three professional references to info at eaglerockschool dot org. Clarifying questions can also be sent to that address, but please don’t call. We only accept electronic submissions.
While we will review applications as they arrive, we have a deadline of Oct. 27 for this position. Phone interviews will be conducted from Oct. 20 through Nov. 3, and three-day on-site interviews will take place in early November. The start date for the new instructional specialist will be no later than January of 2018.
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