OUTDOOR EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION

Positions: Youth Facilitator - Outdoor Experiential Learning
Organization: Trails Youth Initiatives
Location: on site in Stouffville, GTA/York Region, Ontario

Who Are We?

Trails Youth Initiatives is a charity and private school that provides a long-term program for vulnerable youth. We focus on fostering community, emotional intelligence, and self-knowledge through outdoor experiential education. We augment students’ traditional schooling with intentional community-building, conscious challenge, and lifelong support in order to position them for success.

Participants commit to our four-year program with a group of 20 of their peers: two weeks each summer, and one weekend per month during the school year. At this home-away-from-home camp setting, participants build resiliency by developing a connection to their peers, a connection to a place, and a connection to themselves. Trails focuses on growing and strengthening skills such as Non-violent
Communication, conflict resolution, leadership, critical thinking, and reflection. With our focus on transference, participants build positive engagement with Trails, the outdoors, and their authentic selves. Typical daily activities may include hiking, canoeing, swimming, camping, skiing, snowshoeing and yoga.

Position Overview:

Reporting to the Program Director, Facilitators work with youth aged 11-17 in an overnight setting.

Facilitators provide 24-hour supervision to participants in addition to teaching principles of healthy living and seasonal outdoor activities such as canoeing, swimming, camping skills, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. During the summer, Facilitators are also responsible for leading camping trips at Trails Lakeside site in Stouffville (Years 1 and 2) and/or off-site canoe trips (Years 3, 4, 5) in Ontario’s backcountry (e.g. Algonquin Park, Temagami).

Weekend sessions (October–May) require Facilitators to be on site overnight from Friday 5pm through Sunday 5pm, and consist of seven sessions total (approximately one weekend per month). Summer sessions (June–August) consist of a minimum of 11 days up to 13 days consecutively, including work over weekends and holidays.

We are mindful of the value of varied experience beyond the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to fulfilling the criteria below, please consider applying. Trails often offers access to some courses and certifications listed below in order to equip our staff with necessary skills to be successful in this role.

Crucially, you will be passionate about the Charity’s mission to challenge and equip vulnerable youth to become contributing members of the community.

Required Skills, Qualifications, and Certifications:

Preference is given to those who are able to commit to the full-year contract (weekend sessions and summer sessions)

Mandatory by first day of work:

• Completed Police Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening (valid within 3 years)
• Current Standard First Aid and CPR-C (or higher)

Requirement for Off-Site Summer Trip Staff:

• Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA)(or higher)
• Bronze Cross (or higher)
• Trails will be offering a Bronze Cross course on-site for those in need of certification in June 2024

Preferred certifications:

• Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
• NLS
• F-Class License
• Ontario College of Teachers Certification

• Mandatory Attendance at all Staff Training (may be full-day, evenings and/or overnight)
• Experience leading groups of youth from at-risk communities
• Teaching and/or instructing experience
• Strong relationship-building, interpersonal, cross-cultural awareness, time-management, and leadership skills
• Ability to respond to shifting priorities and refocus after interruptions which may include managing challenging behaviours
• Openness to engaging in mindfulness activities and one on one coaching with behavioural interventions
• Willingness and flexibility to work outside of regular business hours as needed
• Camping and canoe tripping experience preferred

Key Accountabilities:

Leadership and Teaching

• Reviews, prepares, and delivers Trails curriculum to participants, founded in outdoor and character education principles, and complies with the Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum
• Adheres to Trails behaviour management philosophy with team support, this includes positive, proactive, and constructive feedback to participants
• Attend and contribute at regular team meetings
• Assess learning using rubrics and other tools in an accurate and timely manner

Safety

• Responsible for 24-hour care of participants including during program, meals, and overnight
• Initiate first aid and crisis response as needed
• Maintains strict confidentiality of participant information
• Ensure site, equipment, and spaces are organized and in effective working order after use
• Is sensitive to and able to assess emotional well-being of individuals and collective
• Identifies and informs Director Team of issues that may affect delivery of program

Communication

• Be respectful and professional at all times
• Establishes and maintains healthy working relationships
• Provides ongoing feedback and coaching to team and sets standards and expectations
• Refer to Trails policies and procedures to answer questions and inform participants
• Monitor email account regularly for work-related emails

Additional Duties

• Additional duties as assigned by Director Team

Weekend Session Dates (you will be assigned to one of the below cohorts):

Cohort #1
January 19-21, 2024
February 23-25, 2024
April 5-7, 2024
April 26-28, 2024

Cohort #2
January 26-28, 2024
March 1-3, 2024
April 12-14, 2024
May 3-5, 2024

Cohort #3
January 12 - 14, 2024
February 9 - 11, 2024
March 22 - 24, 2024
April 19 - 21, 2024
May 10 - 12, 2024

- Lesson preparation is an expectation of the role and must be completed a week prior to the above mentioned dates

- A one-hour virtual meeting with your staff team is mandatory on the Thursday prior to the weekend

Required Training:
- February 3, 2024 - Staff training - 9am - 5pm

Summer Session Dates:

On site session (Stouffville, ON):
Year 1A - July 8 - 18th, 2024
Year 1B - July 22 - August 1st, 2024
Year 2A - August 5 - 16th, 2024
Year 2B - August 19 - 30th, 2024

Off-site - Canoe Trip:
Year 5 - June 25 - July 8th, 2024
Year 3 - July 22 - August 1st, 2024
Year 4 - August 19 - 30th, 2024

*Offsite trip staff require additional certifications

Required Training:
- June 21 (5:30pm) - 23 (5:30pm), 2024 - Staff Training weekend

APPLY

Please email opportunities@trails.ca with your cover letter and resume, and to set up an information call. Please indicate you saw this posting at GoodWork.

To learn more, please visit our website http://www.trails.ca

Trails is recognized as one of Maclean’s Best Canadian Charities

Consider:

• Do you have experience working with youth from at-risk communities?
• This position requires time planning and delivering lesson plans for our youth - are you able to ensure that you can effectively complete this before your weekends?
• This is an overnight, weekend position - one weekend/month from October to May (7 weekends). Is this something you would be available to commit to?
• Do you have, or are you willing to obtain a Standard First Aid and CPR C?

Expected start date: 2024-01-13