Job Description

We hire and cultivate a positive, engaged, and supportive team of 6-8 guides each summer to facilitate our programs . Each week there are 12-18 participants and 2-5 specialized staff from our partner organizations who join our team on the river. Our guides have the opportunity and responsibility to lead, teach, and support participants in their whitewater experience, as well as in camp. When participants come to the river for a LEAP experience, they are most often stepping way out of their comfort zone and choosing to challenge their personal edges physically, socially, and introspectively. Our guide team has the honor and responsibility to care for that experience on and off the water for each individual and group.

Special Benefits

• Opportunity to be a role model, mentor, and guide to specific and under-served communities

• Professional Development: paid whitewater guide training, orientation and trauma-informed training for leading wilderness programs, specific to the populations we serve

• Competitive field instructor salary

• Spend your summer on the glorious Salmon and Deschutes Rivers

• Dynamic work environment

• Professional purchase discounts

Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

• At least 18 years old, over 21 preferred

• Current (or ability to obtain) Wilderness First Responder & CPR certifications

• Enthusiasm and interest in working with youth and adults in a wilderness context

• Ability and enthusiasm to work a physical job for up to a 3-month period with minimal time off and limited personal time

• Ability to diligently comply with our zero-substance use policy while facilitating programs

• Ability to attend pre-season training and orientation in Oregon and Idaho

Ideal Candidates:

• Solid experience working with youth in wilderness settings

• Experienced whitewater kayak or raft guide/instructor, preferably multi-day excursions

• Ability to connect with people of various ages and diverse backgrounds

• Professional and/or personal multi-day backcountry excursions

• Working understanding of trauma formation + trauma-informed care

• Clean driving record

• Expertise in Leave No Trace practices and principles

Why work here

WE CREATE MEANINGFUL LEARNING & REFLECTIVE EXPERIENCES

• Participants learn to safely navigate class III and IV rapids and manage risk in whitewater.

• Our curriculum is designed to support individual success and group development through overcoming challenges together in a natural setting.

• We focus on reflection and group collaboration to encourage learning from daily experiences and decisions on the river.

• We believe in the therapeutic nature of the wilderness. Participants have the opportunity to be unplugged from media and their everyday lives, and to experience well-supported, healthy risk and optimal stress to encourage new pathways and skills for stress management.

• LEAP leaders focus on facilitating with questions, coaching conversations, deep listening, meaningful connections, and experiential learning. LEAP leaders are not therapists or mental health providers, and all offerings are within their appropriate scope and expertise.

WE BELIEVE EACH PERSON HAS WORTH & DIGNITY

• We recognize, understand, and encourage the celebration of human differences.

• Each participant is encouraged to own their sense of self, persevere, and challenge limitations they have given themselves or that the world has imposed on them.

• We foster a safe environment in which people can connect, find support, and share joy.

WE SHARE THE IMPORTANCE OF WILDERNESS

• Our participants often have little or no wilderness experience, and by increasing access and providing opportunities for wilderness experiences through our program, we aim to cultivate a sense of enjoyment, responsibility, and appreciation for our natural world.

• Our programs take place on the beautiful Deschutes River in central Oregon, and on the wild and scenic Salmon River in Idaho, one of the longest free-flowing rivers in the lower 48 states.

• We operate under the Leave No Trace principles.

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