Location: Estes Park, Colorado

Current Field Locations: 

Lost Creek, CO (Summer)- Gila, NM (Fall)- Superstitions, AZ (Winter)

Required Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of leadership experience in wilderness outdoor adventure programming
• Outdoor program management experience
• Experience training, supervising, and coaching wilderness staff
• 18+ day course backcountry backpacking experience as lead instructor
• Outward Bound/NOLS/or similar experience, ideally in CO/NM/AZ
• Current WFR & CPR certifications
  • SPI, AIRIE Avi I, Swiftwater Rescue, Lifeguard certifications preferred

Additional Qualifications & Essential Job Functions  

• Experience in teaching social/emotional, restorative practices, and technical outdoor skills curriculum
• Strong logistical, organizational, supervisory, and facilitation skills
• Exceptional role model, mentor, and advisor for students
• Ability and willingness to work long hours in difficult and stressful conditions in the backcountry. Excellent physical condition, ability to carry a 60+ lb backpack
• Clean driving record and experience driving multi-passenger vehicles (15-passenger vans and/or buses)’
• Experience working with diverse populations, including but not limited to students from low and middle-income backgrounds; LGBTQIA+ students; students from suburban, urban, and rural settings; students from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds; young people ages 14-20; students who have not found success in traditional educational settings.

About Eagle Rock

Eagle Rock School is a full-scholarship, year-round boarding school located in Estes Park, Colorado. With an enrollment of up to 72 high school students, our supportive, community-focused environment fosters a transformative learning experience where students can thrive. We implement effective and engaging practices that nurture each student’s unique potential, empowering them to think critically and connect deeply with their education and the world around them. Our school primarily serves adolescents from historically marginalized communities, who have the desire and commitment to excel in academics, leadership, and personal growth. Eagle Rock is also a Professional Development Center, supporting innovative educational practices across the United States. Eagle Rock supports students and educators to become catalysts of change in their lives and communities.

Role Overview

This role is a combination of in-field backpacking instruction and on-campus student development. While facilitating two to three 24-day wilderness student orientation programs a year you will directly supervise 2-6 staff members and support 5-15 teenagers in the foundational outdoor living skills and seek to implement our school curriculum while in the field. Main curriculum goals include: social-emotional learning, conflict mediation skills, interpersonal communication, and fostering individual leadership within students. This role reports to the Outdoor Education Program Manager when in the field. Once the trip is complete you will transition to on-campus support and work directly with the Athletics Coordinator.

Wilderness Overview

All Eagle Rock students begin their school orientation with the transformative power of the wilderness. This backpacking experience is an essential rite of passage to becoming a veteran student and is their first introduction to our school’s values. Throughout 24 days in the wilderness, our outdoor instructors will support students’ journey as they:

• Build community with other new students and instructors
• Learn wilderness skills – hiking, climbing, camping, cooking, basic hygiene and nutrition
• Expand their comfort zone, embracing healthy challenges
• Build confidence, resilience, and determination
• Practice leadership, conflict resolution, restorative practices, and effective communication skills
• Reflect and make commitments toward the future they want to create

The Successful Candidate Will Possess the Following Attributes: 

• A deep commitment to working with high school students
• A love for supporting students in the outdoors who may have been historically excluded from outdoor spaces
• An ability to be resilient and gracefully adapt to changing circumstances
• High level of self-awareness and the ability to care for oneself while caring for others
• Strong problem-solving and interpersonal skills
• Highly competent in risk management, leadership, and coaching skills
• A commitment to being anti-racist and to promoting social justice
• Implicit in this job is a willingness to commit to both personal and professional growth, specifically aligned with our organizational commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Responsibilities

In-field Curriculum & Instruction responsibilities

• Lead instruct three 24-day backpacking courses for students per academic year; Aid in the planning, development, and facilitation of staff training for Outdoor Education Contract Staff
• Assist in the development and implementation of an outdoor education curriculum that is culturally competent and relevant to our diverse student body
• Support students in feeling comfortable in the outdoors and support programming to effectively engage historically underrepresented students in the outdoors and increase equity in the outdoor education field
• Serve as mentor and supervisor for all instructors through one-on-one coaching and delivering timely feedback while in the field
• Support Wellness Week experiences by planning and facilitating multi-day adventure activities

On-Campus Program Support

• Create and deliver outdoor education experiences for students that integrate related content areas.
• Areas of instruction may include personal growth, technical wilderness skills (rock climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, telemark skiing, hiking, etc.), first aid and safety, environmental science, and others depending upon expertise
• Manage Outdoor Education resources, including equipment upkeep, repairs, coordinating inventory, and management of first aid kits and medications
• Manage & upkeep the indoor climbing wall and other HPOE spaces
• Coordinate wilderness food inventory and purchasing
• Manage department resources appropriately
• Assist with maintenance of department budget, track expenditures, and turn in receipts in a timely manner
• Prepare written evaluations of students and track new student credit
  Assisting with ongoing risk management projects and AEE accreditation

On-Campus Student Support

• Facilitate activities for students to feel seen, valued, and able to show up as their authentic selves
• Support students as they are confronted with a variety of issues related to their personal and academic growth
• Hold students accountable through conversation, relationships, and restorative processes;
• Celebrate student successes, recognized rites of passage, and cultivate joy;
• Create, support, and facilitate evening activities that excite and empower students and support their engagement in the community
• Model effective communication, conflict management, and self-care
• Meet students where they’re at and support their (and your own) ongoing learning
• Be a student advocate, mentor, and support. This can include engaging with student families, staff, and student success teams to support student wellbeing
• Help plan and facilitate Athletic Programming such as Intramurals, morning exercise, weekly chores, related clubs, groups, and holding relevant community gatherings

Schoolwide Involvement

• Assist with the development of special events and other recreational activities within the Athletics and Outdoor Education Program and across campus
• Co-create and deliver engaging student programming opportunities as part of the student service team. This includes some evening and weekend schedules
• Perform other duties related to being an active community member at ERS including advisories, intramural participation, community meetings, service projects, house team participation, driving, and other events
• Share your unique skills with the school (e.g., sports, spiritual practices, poetry, yoga, music, hiking, magic tricks, etc…)
• Engage in professional development and all staff programming
• Actively participate in school-wide and departmental diversity, equity, and inclusion work as part of our organizational commitment to an anti-racist and social justice school
• Be an active member of the ERS community beyond this job description
• Practice self-care, model having boundaries, and engage in healthy coping mechanisms to support your well-being in this immersive community and, intense role

Application Materials 

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 professional references (phone number and email address) as ONE document to  [email protected]

Clarifying questions can also be sent to [email protected].

Compensation:

Salary range for this position: $55,000-$70,000, based on education and experience.

• Paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (reimbursed by Eagle Rock)
• $1000 wellness bonus, yearly bonuses (based on budget availability and performance)

Hiring Timeline

We are committed to finding the right person. This timeline is offered to give applicants a sense of our ideal process. We intend to do as much as we possibly can to stick to this plan. However, we do realize that there might be a circumstance with the best candidate that would require us to shift our plan. We hope the right person is not dissuaded from applying by incongruence between their commitments and our timeline.

Application Deadline:  Open until filled (the posting will be removed if we are no longer accepting applications)

Phone Interviews:   March-April 2025

On-Site Community Interviews:   March-May 2025

Start Date:  May, 2025

Eagle Rock is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and does not tolerate any form of unlawful discrimination. All employment decisions at Eagle Rock are based on merit and to the principle of equal employment opportunity. In keeping with both the letter and spirit of this policy, Eagle Rock will continue to recruit, hire, train, and promote into all job levels the most qualified persons without regard to race, color, religion, genetic information, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran’s status or any other protected characteristic. Therefore members of racial/ethnic minorities and other protected classes are encouraged to apply.