Girls Lead for Life Lead Instructor & Rock Tech


We are currently hiring instructors for our Spring semester (January-May 2023).

About Us

Women’s Wilderness is a non profit organization dedicated to supporting girls, women and LGBTQ+ people in accessing their power and improving their health through connections to the outdoors and community. We exist at the intersection of social justice, health equity, environmental justice and outdoor education. With a 24-year history, Women’s Wilderness is a dynamic, committed non-profit seeking to grow its impact and scope of social change.

All Women’s Wilderness courses provide a parallel experience of enjoying the outdoors offering opportunities for girls and non-binary youth to grow in their leadership, mental health, physical health and environmental stewardship. Courses assume no prior skill or experience level, are developmentally-oriented and are designed in an agile way to meet needs of the group. Physical, mental and emotional safety are our highest priorities, along with ensuring positive outdoor experiences in nature and community.  

Women’s Wilderness offers programming for elementary, middle school, and high school girls or youth that identify with a girl community.  Summer courses focus on climbing, backpacking, or a combination of both.


Purpose of the Position

Our Girls Lead For Life (GLFL) Instructors all have some experience in outdoor recreation, education or wilderness therapy and are attuned to the unique needs of diverse adolescents, girls, and LGBTQ+ youth. They are the front line of our work and have the empowering responsibility of leading GLFL curriculum, building an open and welcoming course culture for participants, and managing and mitigating all risks for the group.

GLFL is a FREE program for girls and non-binary individuals in 6th-12th grade. This program is designed to help girls and non-binary individuals become leaders while allowing them to become more confident in their abilities through weekly lessons they can apply in their everyday lives. This is a beginner friendly course where participants will meet once per week after school for 10 weeks to learn climbing basics from tying knots and belaying, to climbing techniques, bouldering basics, as well as leadership essentials. The fall semester will end with a family day where participants can demonstrate the leadership they’ve cultivated throughout the program. The spring semester culminates with an outdoor climbing session to demonstrate their skills outside of the gym setting.


1. Instruct and Manage Field Courses and Participants [90%]

  • Co-instruct GLFL 10-week program by collaborating with your team to teach climbing basics and core curriculum
  • Lead and promote individual participants’ development of leadership capacity, environmental stewardship and mental/physical health through teachable moments and group process
  • Facilitate group activities and encourage girls’ leadership in experiences such as knot tying, bouldering basics, belaying, playing and curriculum sessions
  • Teach Women’s Wilderness Core Curriculum
  • Successfully implement WW policies & procedures
  • Focus on building confidence, leadership, authenticity, and self-expression through new challenges, relationship-building, and self-reflection.
  • Conduct pre-course preparations with support from the GLFL Program Manger
  • Participate in pre-course briefing each week with your co-instructors to plan the lesson format for the upcoming session
  • Maintain high standards of professionalism and complete all paperwork required with attention to detail.
  • Conduct and complete all paperwork required during/post GLFL sessions (e.g. attendance forms, course surveys, incident reports, and participant growth data)
  • Manage risk and apply situational judgment in dynamic indoor (and outdoor- when applicable) settings, including but not limited to emergency situations
  • Work collaboratively with co-instructors and interns/volunteers in teams of two to three people
  • Drive a 15-passenger van and complete pre-course driving safety curriculum

     

Additional roles and responsibilities for climbing instructors

  • Teach technical skills such as belaying, knots, safety checks, footwork, and bouldering technique
  • Locate and assess crags in a front country setting (spring outdoor session only)
  • Set up institutional-grade anchors via walk-ups or lead climbing. Supervise participants at the crag
  • Additionally, field instructors and must have the experience and ability to respond to emergency frontcountry situations when/if they arise
 

2. Women’s Wilderness Team Engagement [10%]

  • Prepare and submit all paperwork, background checks and certifications in a timely manner (this will take about 20 hours, where you will be paid at the staff training rate listed below)
  • Work collaboratively with the GLFL Program Manager & Logistics team to support and improve program operations and systems
  • Engage with office staff and fellow instructors to create a welcoming community and work environment
  • Act in accordance with Women’s Wilderness values (below) and support the organizational mission

 

Job Type

Hourly pay. Non Exempt. Projected weekly workload: ~5-6 hours per week (not including required on-boarding training). 


Location & Timing

Based in Englewood, CO. 3pm-7pm, weekday TBD. 


Compensation

$22/hr, $15/hr for staff training.


Experience, Skills and Attributes

Below are the skills, experiences and attributes that we are looking for as we evaluate applications. Candidates don’t need to have all these experiences and competencies, but should be able to display strengths across multiple areas.

Attributes

  • Must be 21 years or older
  • Current AMGA certification as a Single Pitch Instructor
  • Current Wilderness First Responder certification
  • Valid Driver’s License and strong driving record


Experience and Skills

  • Passion for social justice, equity and the outdoors (required), experience working in social justice, equity, gender or sport/play (preferred)
  • Experience working in a wilderness setting in outdoor education or wilderness therapy 
  • Experience leading or instructing youth (girls, BIPOC youth, and/or LGBTQ+ youth preferred but not required) 
  • Experience working with diverse and non-dominant populations (preferred)
  • Excellent judgment and decision making skills
  • Ability to lead groups, to serve as a role model for participants, and peer mentor other instructors (if lead instructor)
  • Excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills
  • Willingness to learn and to give and receive feedback, model self reflection and growth
  • Ability to facilitate group discussions, promote awareness, and identify teachable moments surrounding WW-relevant issues

Physical Requirements:

  • Extensive personal experience rock climbing 
  • Ability to lead climb at the trad level 5.7 or higher
  • Ability to walk up to 7 miles a day with a 40 lb pack 
  • Ability to carry equipment weighing up to 50 pounds 
  • Experience leading rock climbing courses or programs in a professional setting
  • Ability to work the spring Outdoor Climbing Day for up to 8 hours in the field, or possibly more in the case of an emergency 
 

Values and Culture

The culture that we’ve created at Women’s Wilderness is a key piece of our success. The employees and volunteers that thrive at Women’s Wilderness  are expected to come to this work and community ready to live the values that we have co-created: 

  • We believe ACCESS TO NATURE IS A RIGHT and being outdoors has transformative potential for us all.
  • We WELCOME UNIQUE AND DIVERSE IDENTITIES, experiences, and ideas and rely on them to do our best work. 
  • We COLLABORATE CONTINUOUSLY  in partnership and community.
  • We LEAD from out front, from behind, but most importantly, from within. 
  • We HUSTLE for ourselves and for each other  — and after the hustle, we celebrate. 
  • We EVOLVE AND ADAPT individually and collectively in the face of our dynamic world. 

Women’s Wilderness is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We don’t just accept difference — we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our programs, and our community. We are proud to be an affirmative action employer, committed to diversity, equity and inclusion of ALL people in our hiring and employment practices. We encourage applications from people who are typically underrepresented in the outdoors, based on race, ability, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, etc.