Adventure Camp Lead Instructor

Our Adventure Day Camp Instructors lead 5-day outdoor adventure camps for 4th - 8th grade students in the summer months. They work with two assistant instructors to plan, organize and lead outings in various outdoor pursuits, including hiking, stand-up paddle boarding, canoeing, rock climbing, and mountain biking. Thursday is our overnight trip, which often involves canoe-camping on the Wisconsin or Kickapoo Rivers.

ADC Lead Instructors have expertise and experience in one or more of our camp activities and are great teachers and outdoor leaders to boot! Applicants with strong backgrounds in all three activities will be among the most competitive candidates, but you need not be expert in all activities to apply. Most important is a love for working with kids and general comfort with outdoor living and recreation. 

Tired climbers posing on the back to the trailhead

Tired climbers posing on the back to the trailhead

ABILITIES

  • Successful communicator - listens & speaks well with both school-age and adult learnersBuilds trust and rapport easily with people of all ages/backgrounds

  • Sees the best in kids, even when they are not demonstrating their best attitudes or behavior

  • Sets high expectations for students, enabling them to rise to the occasion

  • Exemplifies a competent & confident outdoor athlete and leader

  • Juggles complex responsibilities and multi-task under time pressure

  • Envisions activities, curriculum and timelines for entire days and 5-day weeks

  • Knows and/or learn local outdoor natural resources (Parks, forests, waterways) towards having a strong quiver of destination options

ROLES

  • Leads a team of instructors (two assistants) and 12 students on a week of multi-sport adventures, including one overnight camping experience (Thursday night)

  • Participates in organization, instruction, and leadership (in accordance with qualifications and experience) of outdoor rock climbing trips, flatwater and moving-water (up to Class 1) SUP and canoe trips, and group mountain biking trips on technical single-track terrain

  • Communicates pro-actively with parents via email, in person, and/or via phone to set expectations and arrange logistics

  • Discusses, learns and develops goals for each student and the group as a whole

  • Develops creative solutions, often on-the-fly, for logistics, weather and interpersonal challenges

  • Becomes familiar with local paddling, biking and climbing areas and chooses terrain appropriate to daily camp goals and adapts as necessary

  • Manages risk with vision and poise

  • Mentors assistants and apprentice instructors toward healthy skills, pedagogy and character development

  • Expands terrain knowledge and improves technical and movement skills in personal time

  • Maintains personal and company equipment

Catching shade on the river bank during a water break.

AVAILABILITY

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM, Monday thru Friday, for at least eight of our ten weeks
Staff training June 5 - 9
Camps run June 12 through August 25
No camp the week of July 3 - 7

If you are available before June 5th, we’d love to get you out on some climbing days to jump start your training!

QUALIFICATIONS

Mandatory:
Wilderness First Responder (WFR) (training available March and May 2023), previous commercial guiding/outdoor instructor experience or public/private school teaching experience

Helpful but not required:
AMGA Single Pitch Instructor, ACA Instructor Level 1 or greater in SUP and/or River Canoeing; mountain bike instructor training

COMPENSATION

$220/day ($315/overnight shifts) + standard employee benefits