AZCC 2025 Spring Flagstaff Roving Crew Leader

Overview

The Roving Crew Leader position is an opportunity to make a difference in young peoples’ lives while completing conservation projects on public and private lands. Leaders will be mentors, educators, and facilitators for young adults, working to promote the health and resiliency of our land, air, and water.

Standard schedule generally consists of a two-week hitch cycle with 8 days in the field as a crew unit and 6 days out of the field with some exceptions. Crew Leaders are required to come in for an additional day each hitch cycle to complete administrative duties and check-ins with program staff, typically the day after returning from project. On-hitch, crews camp together, prepare all meals together, and work together as a group to complete all projects and chores.

The Roving Crew Leader (RCL) position differs from a standard Crew Leader position in a few important ways. The RCL is typically not attached to one crew for the duration of a field season but rather is expected to either cover supervisory duties for a crew whose leader is absent or offer additional support and leadership alongside a crew’s regular leader. The RCL may be assigned to the same crew for multiple hitches or asked to join different crews each hitch (or even split a hitch between multiple locations as needed). The RCL may also be asked to cover crew leader duties for a crew based out of a different office, despite where they are located- this is a statewide position. When filling in for an absent Crew Leader, the RCL should be expected to fill all supervisory, work-related, disciplinary, budgetary, and administrative tasks normally covered by a Crew Leader. In the event of a Crew Leader unexpectedly quitting or being terminated, the RCL may be asked to fill in as a long-term replacement leader for that crew, potentially for an entire season. Finally, there may be times when Office Staff decide to keep the RCL out of the field for all or part of a hitch, in order to work an irregular schedule and/or help with other program tasks (logistics, preparedness, vehicle maintenance, shuttling/evacuating crew members, etc.)

The Roving Crew Leader position requires patience, a consistently positive mental attitude, mentorship, technical aptitude, focus on efficiency, and a high level of competence in the outdoors. It also involves an administration role, where weekly paperwork is due in a timely manner to supervisors. Finally, crew leaders must exhibit the ability to effectively work on diverse teams and those from a variety of populations and communities.

Tagged as: Backcountry Skills, Conservation, Crew, Development, Full Time, Support Staff, Trail Supervisor, Crew, and Leaders