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NOW HIRING:
Specialist Guide - Part-Time School Year
Specialist Guide - Summer Seasonal
Real skills. Real standards. Real mentorship.
Why Trackers
Trackers Earth is built for people who want their work to be real. We teach skills that matter. We hold high standards. And we trust kids with meaningful responsibility—because competence grows when adults lead with calm judgment, clear boundaries, and a culture of service.
As a Bushcraft Specialist Guide, you are one of the people who makes Trackers different. You teach wilderness living skills with depth and integrity. You bring practiced fieldcraft into a youth setting and make it safe, developmental, and worth caring about.
What You’ll Do
Specialists teach youth ages 5–17 in fields they are already deeply practiced in. As a Bushcraft Specialist Guide, you teach wilderness survival and nature awareness the way it’s meant to be taught: through deliberate curriculum, repetition, field judgment, and real outcomes.
You mentor students through Bushcraft & Wilderness Living Skills—shelter building, fire craft, tracking, foraging, navigation, stealth/fieldcraft, and the calm discipline of moving competently through living landscapes. This is not “outdoor activities.” This is practical competence, taught with care.
This is not a generalist role. You’ll be supported by Lead Guides, Coordinators, and Directors—but in the field, you lead the skill. You model the craft. You set the standard. And you help kids feel what competence actually is.
Specialty Area – What We’re Hiring For
We are hiring for the following Specialist track, where Trackers already has curriculum, infrastructure, and community need:
- Bushcraft & Primitive Skills (Wilderness Survival, Tracking, Foraging, Fieldcraft)
We need Specialists who exceed beginner interest, hobby-level, or intermediate experience. We’re seeking true specialists with:
- Long-term, demonstrable mastery in the field
- A proven history of outcomes-based instruction (ideally with youth)
- Recognition as a subject-matter expert (externally or within Trackers)
- Capacity to combine technical instruction with youth mentorship in a safe, developmental environment
Trackers subject-matter evaluators may request a skills demonstration, portfolio, teaching sample, or references to assess experience and fit. Demonstrations may include live or recorded field instruction, tool use, and skill breakdown appropriate for youth settings.
Schedule & Commitment
- Season: School-Year and Summer options
- Schedule: Most Specialist shifts are under 5 hours per day
- Location: Portland & Sandy, OR (must report to assigned worksite; remote work not available)
- Required Trainings: Required before each season
- Required Training - First Year: Choose June 6–7 or 8–9, 2026
- Required Training - All Staff: June 10–12, 2026
Key Responsibilities
Lead the Skill
- Deliver focused, progression-based instruction in Bushcraft & Wilderness Living Skills
- Hold safety as non-negotiable: tools, fire, terrain, water, and student behavior
- Maintain a clean, prepared, and professional teaching environment in the field
- Model good judgment, calm boundaries, and high standards kids can rise to
Mentor Youth
- Balance developmental mentoring with real skill progression
- Tailor instruction across ages while maintaining outcomes
- Teach ethics and stewardship alongside technique (care for tools, place, and people)
Support the Trackers Team
- Communicate clearly with Lead Guides/Coordinators about plans, needs, and safety considerations
- Collaborate with fellow educators to reinforce Trackers culture and expectations
- Build positive group tone: respect, accountability, belonging, and effort
Qualifications
Required
- 4+ years of professional or instructional experience in Bushcraft, wilderness living skills, tracking, foraging, or closely aligned fieldcraft disciplines
- Demonstrable outcomes in teaching, coaching, or field leadership
- Strong alignment with hands-on mentoring and Trackers quality programming
- Ability to hold firm boundaries with warmth and clarity
- Must be 18+ years
Preferred
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field —or— mentorship-based equivalent
- Depth in experiential education, youth mentorship, or apprenticeship-style teaching
- Relevant certifications (examples: WFA/WFR, hunter safety, tool-safety credentials)
Specialty Track: Bushcraft & Primitive Skills
This track includes a wide range of nature-based and traditional living skills that foster long-term self-sufficiency, ecological connection, and field judgment. Completing a long-term wilderness immersion course may not be enough on its own. We look for proven, practical competence and real-world application in many of the following areas:
- Bushcraft & Wilderness Living Skills: shelter, fire craft, knives/tools, field safety posture.
- Animal Tracking & Nature Awareness: track & sign, sensory awareness, landscape reading.
- Flintknapping & Stone Tools: crafting cutting tools with traditional techniques.
- Primitive Technology: hide tanning, natural fiber processing, bow-making.
- Wildcrafting & Foraging: sustainable harvesting of edible/usable plants.
- Naturalist Skills: wildlife, botanical, and ecological literacy.
- Stealth & Fieldcraft: movement discipline, observation, situational awareness.
- Navigation: map/compass basics and safe group travel management.
- Traditional Mentorship: direct, long-term learning from experienced practitioners.
We often meet strong applicants from adjacent fields (wilderness therapy, outdoor education, guiding, forest schools, summer camps). We respect those worlds—and we share some overlap. But don’t assume that overlap equals readiness for this Bushcraft Specialist role.
Trackers is skills-forward. Our bushcraft programs are built around progression, repetition, field judgment, and real outcomes. If your background is primarily facilitation, recreation, or therapeutic support, you may be an excellent Guide or Coordinator—yet it’s important to distinguish that from the Bushcraft Specialist role.
- Outdoor Recreation / Guiding offer strong travel and leadership. This role requires deeper hands-on bushcraft: stealth, tracking, navigation, fire/shelter systems, and traditional skills.
- Wilderness Therapy: cultivate high-value relational work and risk management. This role is not clinical; it centers lived high-end craft capability along with in-depth tracking and nature awareness models.
- Outdoor/Environmental Education, Forest School, Summer Camps, STEAM include creative teaching, culture-building, and curriculum. This role requires highly structured skill progression in hands-on bushcraft tool and advanced nature awareness systems.
If your experience comes primarily from one of these paths, we still encourage you to apply—just be specific about your personal practice: the skills you can reliably teach, the environments you’ve taught them in, and the outcomes you’ve produced with youth.
Pay & Compensation
Hourly Pay: $22.50–$28.50/hour
Final pay is determined based on:
- Demonstrated expertise and real-world instructional experience
- Relevant certifications required or valued for the specialty
- Program need and staffing priority of the specific specialty
- Group size, safety responsibility, and equipment/tool complexity
- Familiarity with Trackers standards and quality programming
Because specialty areas vary in demand and instructional depth, compensation may vary by assignment. Pay is reviewed quarterly through an internal process designed for equity and consistency.
Training Pay: All required trainings are paid at Oregon minimum wage. Standard field rate begins after training is complete.
Gear Transport & Storage Compensation
Some Specialist roles may include voluntary, compensated tasks such as storing, loading, and transporting program gear (example: fishing poles, archery tackle). When applicable, Trackers provides additional pay for gear setup/breakdown and stipends for off-site storage during active program months. All responsibilities and compensation are confirmed prior to each season.
How to Apply
This role is competitive and space is limited per discipline. If you believe you meet the criteria, submit your application at the link below, noting:
- A short summary of your relevant experience
- Any certifications or licensure
- A portfolio, work samples, or demo (upon request)
Apply early. Qualified applicants may be invited for an interview and/or skills demonstration. Employment is at-will and this posting is not a contract.
Mutual Fit Period All new roles—including seasonal transitions—begin with a 90-day mutual fit period. This time supports onboarding, training, feedback, and shared expectations.
Physical Requirements & Certifications
This is a hands-on, active role. Physical requirements vary by assignment. Outdoor roles may require stamina in rugged environments; studio roles require safe tool handling, materials management, and active supervision.
Physical Requirements – Outdoor Programs
(Examples: Bushcraft, Tracking, Forestry, Paddlesports, Rock Climbing)
- Ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs
- Hike 5–20 miles per day (program dependent), including uneven terrain
- Remain on feet for extended periods in variable weather conditions
- Move safely across natural landscapes such as forests, hills, and rivers
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
Required Certifications
- CPR/First Aid and Anaphylaxis/Epinephrine Auto-Injector (or ability to obtain before start)
- Oregon Food Handler’s Permit (or ability to obtain before start)
- Mandated Reporter Training (required for adults 18+ in Oregon)
Additional Requirements
- State Fishing License (if assisting with fishing-based programs)
- Background check and professional references
- Valid U.S. driver’s license held for 2+ years (required for driving responsibilities)
About Trackers
At Trackers, we help children feel like that group of kids wandering country backyards 50 years ago: tired, muddy, wet, independent, and happy from being out in the woods and exploring creeks. We are acutely aware of the real hazards of the outdoors, so we work to keep kids safe but not encapsulated from, nor phobic of nature. We believe children need to develop independence and competency in the wild—not only for their own connection, but also to contribute to their families, future generations, and the more-than-human world. We believe it is okay to be thirsty at times, cold at times, and wet at times. This builds empathy and care for the gifts of life, fostering true adventure and genuine accomplishment. We also believe it is critical for children to feel supported and cared for as they explore their passion for service and responsibility. Through a healthy life found in nature, they can test their limits and discover the great potential of the often untapped physical grit and emotional resilience they possess.
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