Nature Interpretation, Wildlife Adventure Travel

Hiring: Bear Viewing Guide
Company: Great Bear Lodge

Location: On-site, BC. Includes floatplane transportation between Port Hardy and the lodge. Candidates from anywhere in Canada are welcome to apply.
Housing: Accommodation and meals are provided while at the lodge.

Great Bear Lodge is seeking a highly motivated candidate to work as a Bear Viewing Guide at our ecotourism lodge on the central coast of British Columbia, in the traditional lands of the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation.

We host people from around the world to see the grizzly bears of the Great Bear Rainforest, and are proud to be part of the conservation economy in BC. If you have seen a video on social media of a whale bubble-feeding right next to a dock full of delighted people, that’s us!

Our ethos is threefold: to safely view bears in a natural setting while eliminating or minimizing impact on them, to make every aspect of our operation as sustainable as possible (from hydroelectricity to solar panels to green cleaning products), and to deliver a world-class wildlife tourism experience. Great Bear Lodge is a founding member of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association, and helped developed the best practices for bear viewing in BC.

The floating lodge hosts 10-18 guests from May through October, flying them by seaplane from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island for a 3-night stay at the lodge. Guests go out on three safaris/activities each day, returning to the lodge for wilderness-gourmet meals and eco-chic accommodations. The guided excursions have a strong focus on natural history interpretation.

The team at the lodge includes owner Tom Rivest, who manages the bear viewing and oversees general operations, lodge manager, chef, housekeeper, relief chef/housekeeper, 1-2 lodge helpers, maintenance person, and 4-5 bear guides.

Job details

• University degree in Biological Sciences or Natural History Interpretation. Degree in progress may be acceptable in special circumstances. Extensive eco-tourism guiding experience with grizzly bears or other wildlife may be acceptable as an alternative to a degree.
• Strong interpersonal skills, clean professional appearance and dress.
• Ability to work cheerfully and independently in a remote field setting for long periods of time, working and living very closely with other staff members and guests.
• Birding/wildlife identification experience/aptitude.
• Good sense of humour and a passion for wildlife and people.
• Driven to provide excellent customer service and exceed customer expectations on a daily basis.
• Wilderness First Responder or equivalent First aid training.

Highly Desirable additional qualifications:

• Work experience or training in natural history interpretation/science teaching.
• Experience operating and maintaining small rowboats and outboard motors.
• Previous experience working around grizzly bears

Benefits:

• Wage: $240 per day
• Accommodation and meals are provided while at the lodge
• Share of gratuities
• Team apartment in Port Hardy for days off
• Floatplane transportation between Port Hardy and the lodge (30-40 minutes)

Details:

Ideally you:

• Are a self-starter with a strong work ethic.
• Work well in a team.
• Would savour life in a remote wilderness setting with limited access to communication or traditional social life.

And you would be really excited to help the team deliver a world class wildlife tourism experience for all of our guests.

This is an amazing place to work (check out the backyard!), but working in such a remote place is not for everyone. We work in a rainforest. It can rain daily for two weeks. Or longer. Living and working in a small floating facility feels like being on a large boat. Team members cannot exercise on land as we are high density grizzly habitat. You need to be creative with your workouts and your downtime.

If you would like to apply, please send a cover letter with 3 references to info@greatbeartours.com

Please mention you saw this at rcen.ca or goodwork.ca.

There is no deadline for applications, we will be assessing applications as we receive them.

If you are interested in the position and would like to hear more details to see if you would be a good fit, reach out in an email.