NOW HIRING:
Specialist Guide - Part-Time School Year
Guide, Coordinator or Specialist School Year or Summer Seasonal
You specialize in bushcraft and primitive skills—teaching long-term wilderness living, traditional crafts, and nature awareness systems that build self-sufficiency, ecological connection, and field judgment. You work with students ages 5–17, building disciplined outdoor systems, teaching progressions with depth, and creating the kind of group culture where kids leave genuinely more capable than they arrived.
We are an action-packed, fast-paced old school outdoor program. We value competence-building field education where kids earn confidence through real adventure and challenge. Trackers operates with clear safety systems, time-tested procedures, and an intricate camp environment few organizations match. This is a strong container where serious practitioners thrive.
Who You Are
You hold safety and technical standards, run your group with calm authority, and build team culture where students contribute, take responsibility, and rise to standards that respect their capacity. This role demands situational judgment, teaching craft, and the ability to make clean calls and adjust plans while maintaining disciplined field practices from fire circle to forest floor.
If you are ready to join one of the Best Camps in the Known Universe, a crew where connection, independence, competence, and deep craft knowledge are valued, where everyone is leveling up their skills, and where your mastery in bushcraft and primitive skills will be put to meaningful use building capable kids, you can find your crew here.
Specialty Track - Bushcraft & Primitive Skills
This track includes nature-based and traditional living skills that foster self-sufficiency, ecological connection, and field judgment. We look for proven competence in many of these areas:
- Bushcraft & Wilderness Living: shelter, fire craft, knives/tools, field safety posture
- Animal Tracking & Nature Awareness: track & sign, sensory awareness, ecological mapping
- Primitive Technology: flintknapping, hide tanning, fiber processing, bow-making
- Wildcrafting & Foraging: sustainable harvesting of edible/usable plants
- Stealth & Fieldcraft: movement discipline, observation, situational awareness
- Navigation & Mentorship: map/compass, group travel, traditional apprenticeship
What We're Looking For
We often meet strong applicants from wilderness therapy, outdoor guiding, forest schools, and environmental education. We respect those worlds and share some overlap.
- Outdoor Recreation / Guiding: Strong travel and leadership foundation, but this role requires deeper hands-on wilderness living skills—stealth, tracking, fire/shelter systems, traditional skills
- Wilderness Therapy: High-value relational and risk management skills, but this role centers in-depth forest craft capability and nature awareness models of foraging and folk skills
- Outdoor/Environmental Ed, Forest School, Camps: Creative teaching and culture-building, but this role requires highly structured skill progression in hands-on bushcraft tools
If your experience comes from these paths, apply—but be specific: what skills you reliably teach, where you've taught them, and outcomes you've produced with youth. If you are still growing in your bushcraft skills, please consider applying for a general Guide or Coordinator—Trackers is a great community to level up and grow with.
Role Options
You can apply for one or more roles based on your experience and the scope you want to take on this season.
Guide - Educator
Lead a team of kids through real skill, real responsibility, and serious fun in a fast-paced summer season. You teach by doing, hold clear boundaries, and build team culture where kids rise to standards and earn confidence through competence. You run your group independently within Trackers safety systems, procedures, and lore.
- 1+ years leading youth in camps, education, coaching, or similar dynamic settings
- Hourly Pay: $17.50–$22.00/hour; Training Pay: local minimum wage
- Teaching Weeks: June 15 – August 21, 2026 (typically Mon–Fri)
- Required Training: First Year June 6–7 or June 8–9, 2026; All Staff June 10–12, 2026
- Hourly pay is set within the above range based on approved add-ons — View Pay Rubric →
Coordinator - Manager
Oversee camp and lead the crew in programs where old school skills meet high operational standards. During an action-packed summer season, you manage teams of 4–10 Guides, hold safety and culture, and own the flow of the day across multiple groups. This role requires situational awareness, systems thinking, and clear coaching that helps staff level up while the program stays steady and high quality.
- 2+ years leading teams in camps, outdoor programs, education, or operations-heavy environments, with demonstrated progression to coordinator or manager level
- Salaried Exempt: Day Camps $840–$1,056/week; Overnight Camps $1,040–$1,256/week; Training Pay: local minimum wage
- Teaching Weeks: June 15 – August 21, 2026 (typically Mon–Fri)
- Required Training: First Year June 6–7, 2026; All Staff June 8–12, 2026
- Weekly pay is set within the above ranges based on approved add-ons — View Pay Rubric →
Specialist - Mentor
Teach your craft with depth to youth and support the instructional team. You bring mastery in a real discipline and pass it on through clear instruction, high expectations, and safe systems. This role requires teaching clarity, field judgment, and the ability to make hard-earned knowledge accessible and alive while working independently within Trackers programs and supported by Lead Guides and Coordinators.
- 3+ years of professional or instructional experience in your specialty. Long-term depth, not hobby-level interest—you're recognized as a subject-matter expert
- Hourly Pay: $22.50–$28.50/hour; Training Pay: local minimum wage
- Teaching Weeks: June 15 – August 21, 2026 (typically Mon–Fri)
- Required Training: First Year June 6–7 or June 8–9, 2026; All Staff June 10–12, 2026
- Pay is set within the range based on experience, relevant certifications, and program needs.
Physical Readiness
This is a hands-on role. Physical demands vary by program assignment. Reasonable accommodations may be available for qualified individuals.
Adventure - Outdoors
- Lift, carry, and pack up to 50 lbs; hike 10–20 miles in a day as needed across uneven, off-trail terrain while supervising youth (you’ll get your steps in)
- Supervise safely in outdoor conditions: heat, cold, rain, and snow; operate in heat index up to 104°F and AQI 69–150 with modified breaks and activity levels as needed
- Arrive prepared for the outdoor environment with insulated and waterproof outdoor clothing and footwear appropriate to environmental conditions
- Ride transport with students via van/bus as assigned, including extended rides in noisy vehicle cabins
Required Certifications
- CPR & First Aid (or ability to obtain before start)
- Emergency allergy response training
- Mandated Reporter Training (Oregon; 18+)
- Each certification is due 2-weeks before start date.
Additional Requirements
- Background check + references
- Valid driver’s license held 2+ years (for driving assignments)
- Complete required Trackers trainings (paid)
- Program Dependent: Food Handler’s Permit (food prep) + Fishing License (fishing programs)
Driving & CDL - Optional + Pay Bump
- Optional: Optional for Guides—may expand placement and scheduling priority.
- Pay bump: CDL Class B + Passenger Endorsement qualifies (see pay rubric).
- Eligibility: 21+ years, Valid U.S. driver’s license, Clean MVR (past 3 years; no major violations)
How to Apply
Apply early and note your availability and interests (school-year, seasonal breaks, summer). Qualified applicants may be placed on an on-deck list for upcoming openings. Employment is at-will, and this posting is not a contract.
Mutual Fit Period: All new hires—including seasonal transitions—begin with a 90-day mutual fit period for onboarding, training, feedback, and clear shared expectations.