Outdoor education, Adventure leadership, Teaching

Position: Land Based Learning Specialist
Organization: Take a Hike Foundation
Location: Lower Mainland / Interior BC

Are you passionate about youth, mental health, and the land?

Take a Hike Foundation is seeking a Land Based Learning (LBL) Specialist with an expertise in mental health, and a passion for the land, education and supporting vulnerable youth and families, to become part of our Programs Team either on the Lower Mainland or the Interior of BC region (with access to Kelowna and Vernon, and occasional visits to Merritt and Trail, this role also includes remote support for a program in Simcoe, ON).

THE ORGANIZATION:

Take a Hike empowers youth who experience vulnerability to change the trajectory of their lives with a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom. Take a Hike engages youth with intentional, continuous clinical counselling, experiential land-based learning, and community. Our public school district partners provide high quality education, and together, we empower youth with the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, and achieve success – however they define it.

For more information on the program, please visit takeahikefoundation.org.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Take a Hike runs alternate education programs to support youth experiencing vulnerabilities. Land-Based Learning is a key part of every Take a Hike program; through taking youth outside, we aim to build belonging, community, and connection with the land. As a mental health foundation, we understand that there is a connection between time spent in nature, and our wellbeing. We honour Indigenous knowledge and wisdom in our connection to the land and combine this with aspects of place-based learning and adventure-based learning. Youth go outside once a week on ‘out days’ and can participate in 1-2 multi-day trips every year.

Land-Based Learning Specialists are primarily in service to program teams, to support them in providing Land-Based Learning opportunities for the youth. Some aspects of the role will be directly in service and relationship to the youth, as needed and in response to need from program teams (e.g. leading out days). Given the geographic distribution of TAH programs, LBL Specialist support will often be provided remotely, via online meetings, email communication and logistical support. The LBL team will collaborate to create centralized resources, standards, and communications for all programs.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support weekly out days:

• Proactively work with program teams to plan out days that address the learning, healing, and growth goals of the youth.
• Schedule meetings with program teams to plan out days. Support teams in making plans that are coordinated, appropriately delegated, manageable, and sustainable, while aligning with TAH goals.
• Connect staff teams to learning plans, curricular links and other resources that integrate land-based learning with Ministry of Education core competencies and academic goals. Additionally, provide learning plans that support social and emotional learning and therapeutic goals.
• Identify and support opportunities to program teams that focus on local and sustainable offerings that align with program budgets and existing workloads.
• Attend 1-2 out-days per week and model and promote TAH land-based learning practices.
• In collaboration with staff teams, manage logistics, bookings, and purchasing, transportation, and approval processes for programs.
• Document LBL success with photos, videos, youth quotes, etc.
• Create, maintain and manage inventories of out-days and ideas that program teams can pull from.
• Develop and support community connections and relationships related to LBL activities, (e.g. outdoor activity guides, local Indigenous knowledge keepers, and other service providers) and ensure that these opportunities are in line with TAH goals and budget restraints     
• Be trip point person and emergency contact for out days

Support multi-day trips:

• Maintain inventory/information of trips for repeat engagement
• Project manage trip planning, risk assessment, approval process, and support communication with youth and caregivers
• Manage trip planning logistics, including bookings and purchasing
• Provide on-site support leading up to trips including gear packing, meal planning, shopping and pack out, and updating first-aid kits
• Where necessary, participate in multi day trips during the school year

Gear and other coordination:

• Ensure there is appropriate gear for each program
• Support gear organization, maintenance, and inventory
• Support regional gear partnerships
• Support effective scheduling of transportation for all trips

Risk Management and LBL Projects:

• Implement and maintain TAH LBL risk management systems and policies, including the promotion of staff team understanding and compliance
• Work with the LBL team to identify gaps in policy/procedures, and collaborate on developing documentation and guidance as needed
• Work as part of a land-based learning team to ensure appropriate consistency across TAH programs
• Support LBL-based projects, systems, fund development and infrastructure
• Other Program Supports

And such other duties as TaH may assign from time to time.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:

Education and Experience:

• Two to five years’ experience in outdoor education
• Wilderness first aid (minimum 40 hours)
• Valid driver's license and access to a vehicle (Clean divers abstract for purposes of car rental potential)

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to travel to other regions on occasion
• Ability to physically support and lead youth in outdoor activities
• Ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships; responsive to the needs of youth and classroom cultures/staff teams.
• An understanding of outdoor education through a decolonial lens, and a commitment to centering Indigenous perspectives.
• Ability to source, create, and share outdoor education material with staff teams, and where possible facilitate lessons to youth via a variety of land-based and outdoor activities
• Working knowledge of trauma-informed practices in education.
• Confident risk management in relation to outdoor activities, including psychological safety.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365, including SharePoint, OneDrive, and cloud-based organization and collaboration tools.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Outdoor guiding certifications
• Outdoor Council of Canada Field Leader course or other comparable coursework
• Teaching certification
• Experience working with vulnerable youth
• Experience working in the school system

TERMS & COMPENSATION:

Job type: Part Time, Term (from approximately September 2026 to June 2027 with the possibility of renewal)

• 3 days per week at 0.6FTE (during most of the school year, Tuesday-Thursday)
• 4 days per week at 0.8FTE (during spring trip season; usually around April 5th to June 11th)

Salary Range: $3,600 per month (22.5hours/week) to $4,800 per month (30hours/week)

Paid Time off: 9 Vacation days (taken during school breaks), 3 sick days, 3 personal days, 3 bereavement days per fiscal year

We are happy to offer this role benefits which include:

Physical and mental wellbeing support:

• Employer paid Health, Dental, Wellness and Travel Health Coverage 
• An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which offers up to 12hours of counselling
• A Health Spending Account (HSA) which offers $750 of additional coverage

Financial wellbeing support:

• 4.5% RRSP contribution matching program (optional)
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage and Life Insurance
• Short term disability (STD) & Long-term disability (LTD) coverage

This position is subject to funding and will be reevaluated annually to ensure alignment with program needs.

HOW TO APPLY:

If this position is of interest to you, please submit your cover letter and resume to our online portal.

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

Applications will be evaluated, and interviews conducted, on a rolling basis and you are encouraged to apply early.

Take a Hike values the diversity of the people it hires and serves. Diversity at Take a Hike means fostering a workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected, and responded to in ways that fully develop and utilize each person’s talents and strengths. Individuals who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Black, people of color, people living with disabilities and candidates with lived experience in mental health are encouraged to consider this opportunity. In accordance with provincial Accessibility Acts, reasonable accommodation will be provided upon request throughout the recruitment process.

Our endorsement of reconciliation can be found on our website here.