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.  Please thoroughly browse our program offerings online to get a solid sense of the work opportunities. 

Purpose of the Position

Our field Instructors come from all over the country to lead courses in the summer. All have some  experience in outdoor recreation, education or wilderness therapy and are attuned to the unique needs of diverse adolescents, LGBTQ+ people, women and girls.  They are the front line of our work and have the empowering responsibility of leading our courses for girls, women and LGBTQ+ youth in the wilderness.  Our instructors are tasked with building an open and welcoming course culture for participants, teaching the Women’s Wilderness curriculum and guiding in a backcountry environment. Additionally, field instructors manage and mitigate all risks during courses for participants and fellow instructors and must have the experience and ability to respond to emergency backcountry situations when/if they arise.

We are currently hiring Rock Techs for our Girls Lead For Life program, for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. 

Girls Lead For Life (GLFL) is a FREE program for girls and non-binary individuals in 6th-12th grade. Participants will meet weekly after school for about 10-12 weeks. This is a beginner friendly course where participants will learn climbing basics from tying knots, belaying, and climbing techniques. The semester will end with participants being able to experience an outdoor climbing session. We offer this program during the fall and spring semesters after school. 

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.

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

• Co-instruct 1-9 day wilderness-based courses for girls, women and LGBTQ+ youth. Technical skill areas include hiking and camping, backpacking, and rock climbing. Wilderness, camp craft skills, and risk management are essential across all courses
• Lead and promote individual participants’ development of leadership, environmental stewardship and mental/physical health through teachable moments and group process
• Teach Women’s Wilderness Core Curriculum
• Successfully implement WW policies & procedures
• Facilitate group activities and encourage girls’ leadership in experiences such as cooking, setting up/breaking down camp, hiking, climbing, playing and curriculum sessions
• Lead groups in navigation, map reading, route finding and geo-based decision making
• 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 Logistics Coordinator and interns
• Participate in pre/post course briefings at the office in Boulder. Maintain high standards of professionalism and complete all paperwork with attention to detail.
• Manage risk in dynamic outdoor settings
• Apply situational judgment to outdoor settings, including but not limited to emergency situations
• Work collaboratively with co-instructors and interns in teams of two or three people
• Drive a 15-passenger van
• Manage gear, food and supplies on course, including overseeing gear repairs, care and maintenance 

Additional roles and responsibilities for climbing instructors

• Co-instruct 1-5 day climbing programs for women and girls
• Teach technical skills such as belaying, knots, crag safety, gear placement, anchor building, etc
• Locate and assess crags in a front country setting
• Set up institutional-grade anchors via walk-ups or lead climbing. Supervise participants at the crag

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

• Participate in multi-day staff training (mid-May)
• Prepare and submit all paperwork, background checks and certifications in a timely manner
• Work collaboratively with the 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

Seasonal contract. Non Exempt. 

Location

Based in Boulder, CO.  Field work in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico.

Compensation

$150-$200 daily rate. (Based on experience) 

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 Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness First Aid and CPR certification. If you do not currently have WFR or WFA you  can still apply! Discuss with WW hiring
• Current certification as a Single Pitch Instructor (climbing guides only)
• Valid Driver’s License and strong driving record
• Available for a multi-day, overnight staff training in mid-May close to Boulder, CO

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 and/or LGBTQ+ youth preferred but not required) 
• Excellent judgment and decision making skills
• Knowledge of camping, hiking, backpacking, orienteering in remote wilderness areas
• 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 work autonomously and as part of a team in a fast-paced, demanding environment
• Experience working with diverse and non-dominant populations (preferred)
• Ability to facilitate group discussions, promote awareness, and identify teachable moments surrounding WW-relevant issues

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to work long days as needed for up to 12+ hours a day in the field, or possibly more in the case of an emergency 
• Ability to work in all (and occasionally adverse) weather conditions outdoors
• Ability to carry equipment weighing up to 50 pounds 
• Ability to walk up to 10 miles a day with a 40 lb pack 

All Climbing Instructor applicants are required to have the following additional skills and experience:

• Extensive personal experience rock climbing 
• Ability to lead climb at the trad level 5.7 or higher
• Experience leading rock climbing courses or programs in a professional setting
• Current AMGA certification (Single Pitch Instructor or higher) desirable for all applicants, but required for Lead Rock Climbing Instructors

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. 

How to Apply

Interested candidates can apply via this Google form: Field Staff Application Form

Women’s Wilderness is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We don’t just accept differences — we celebrate, support and thrive on them 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.