Status: Part-time, seasonal from September 8, 2022 – May 2022
Salary: Per diem rate starting at $120/day
Organization Description
With over 50 years of innovation in experiential and outdoor education in the Pacific Northwest, Northwest Outward Bound School continues to change lives through challenge and discovery. Our transformative and educational wilderness courses are set in some of the most dramatic and stunning parts of the United States. Northwest Outward Bound School (NWOBS) was founded in 1965 and facilitates wilderness-based programs in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and serves urban youth and schools in the Portland metropolitan area. As an Outward Bound School, we are committed to the core values of compassion, integrity, excellence, and equity, inclusion and diversity. We strive to achieve the following outcomes: character development, leadership, and creating an ethic of social and environmental responsibility.
Position Summary
Northwest Outward Bound School (NWOBS) Portland Programs are designed to support students and adults in getting to know each other and build a lasting sense of community, trust and belonging by working collaboratively on a common set of challenges. In this supportive environment, NWOBS instructors encourage adults and students to work together, learn new skills, take risks, and reflect on their experience. Instructors are primarily responsible for the delivery and overall safety of experiential learning, including community building, challenge courses, climbing wall, school-based initiatives, and team building programs.
Compliance with our current COVID-19 Vaccination Policy is required for all NWOBS employees.
Primary Roles and Responsibilities
Program
Responsible for structuring a safe, inclusive, and fun learning environment for all participants.
Sequence activities that are appropriate for the group based on an assessment of group skills, abilities, development stage, goals, program objectives, and social cultural need.
Identify the inherent risks involved in each activity and continually assess and adjust programming accordingly.
Understand and recognize common group dynamics and able to respond with appropriate strategies.
Deliver program curricula and activities to meet the needs of different learning styles and student populations.
Provide appropriate opportunities for participants to identify and reflect upon their experience.
Create a learning environment that incorporates emotional, physical, social, and cultural domains of safety.
Effectively resolve conflict with co-workers and students; facilitate conflict resolution in group and individual settings.
Clearly establish limits and boundaries for student behavior.
Build collaborative working relationships with co-instructors and community partner representatives.
Comply with NWOBS safety policies and procedures, as well as any current health and safety guidelines from governing bodies.
Other
Represent NWOBS at community engagements, tabling sessions. and events.
Assist in the care, organization, and transportation of program materials
Assist other NWOBS basecamp programs, depending on need and availability
Other duties and responsibilities as assigned
Knowledge and Skills
Experience facilitating youth programming in a variety of outdoor and indoor setting(s).
Demonstrated commitment to engaging in equity, inclusion, and diversity efforts (in a professional or personal setting).
Ability to facilitate activities, lessons, and discussions, including presenting engaging lessons that meet learners' needs and allows for transference.
Experience working with students from a broad range of identities and creating positive group environments.
Awareness of personal biases and the impact that your behavior may have on those around you, or the willingness to uncover and grapple with personal biases.
Able to manage multiple priorities in real time while resolving individual and group behavioral issues with a variety of tools.
Experience working in a team setting with one or more colleagues.
Ability to have open, honest, and difficult conversations, including the ability to give and receive feedback.
A federal background check will be required.
Current Basic First Aid and CPR or higher or ability to certify prior to program start.
Accountabilities
This position reports to the Portland Program Director.
Compensation
Per diem base rate begins at $120/day and is in line with our Portland Program Advancement Plan.
Instructors will work 1-3 days weekly on consistent days set each quarter from September 8, 2022 – May 2023. Paid training will be provided. Additional work is often available outside of scheduled days.
All positions qualify to participate in our gear discount program and course tuition discounts.
Application
To apply, please email a cover letter, and resume in PDF format to: [email protected]. In your cover letter, please describe what motivates and excites you about this position and how it connects with your previous experience. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the positions are filled. All applicants will receive updates on this process and their standing from Outward Bound. If you do not receive a response from us, please check your email’s spam folder. Interviews will take place during the first week of August and will be conducted in-person in Portland. Interviews via Zoom are available for individuals with health concerns or significant travel challenges.
Please contact Rob Healy at the above email address for any questions.
No other emails or phone calls, please. We appreciate all responses, but due to the expected high volume of resumes received, we can only contact those applicants whose qualifications best match the position requirements.
NWOBS recognizes that there are barriers precluding people with marginalized identities (e.g., black, indigenous, and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, genderqueer, trans, people from low-income communities, rural communities, people with disabilities, and more) from being able to access transformative and inclusive educational experiences. These barriers also prevent people from accessing and having inclusive and culturally relevant experiences in the outdoors. NWOBS believes it has the responsibility, as an educational institution, to dismantle these barriers so that it can fulfill its mission of changing the lives of all who desire a quality outdoor education experience, and not just the lives of those with the privilege of being able to access NWOBS today. As such, NWOBS aspires to be more reflective of and relevant to the communities in the Pacific Northwest, both within its staff and leadership body as well as its student body.
NWOBS is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of NWOBS to provide equal employment opportunity in accordance with applicable law to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, military status, political opinion, national origin, familial status, mental or physical disability, source of income, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law, in all personnel actions.
Sign Up for Updates
Stay informed on Northwest Outward Bound School news and updates! Please fill out the form below to begin receiving our email newsletter.
This website uses cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Please visit our
Privacy Policy to learn more.