Overview
If you are ready to integrate cultural insight and sensitivity into environmental conservation and mentorship, this is the role for you.
About the position
The Grand Canyon Trust seeks a passionate, positive, and detail-oriented individual to help lead trips for young leaders and volunteers across the Colorado Plateau. Projects range from one to nine days in length, on weekdays and weekends. This job requires long hours in the field, camping for days at a time, and maintaining a positive presence among participants. You will co-lead trips with Grand Canyon Trust staff and typically be joined by community, tribal, or federal agency partners.
About 70% of your time will be with the Rising Leaders Program, which provides opportunities for young people ages 15-30 to build leadership, advocacy, and professional skills. You’ll work on these projects:
Regional Intertribal, Intergenerational Stewardship Expedition (RIISE): This Colorado River trip is designed to connect Indigenous youth with cultural knowledge holders of tribes who call the Grand Canyon home. Native participants and knowledge holders discuss the Grand Canyon through storytelling, historical context, and ecological awareness. TRIP DATES: July 20 – July 28, 2025
LeaderShift: This field-based leadership training takes young people across the Colorado Plateau to build change-making and advocacy skills. Participants learn about the legacy of energy extraction, its impact on local communities, and paths toward just and equitable futures. TRIP DATES: August 9 – August 17, 2025
Seeds & Stories: These workshops connect high school students to traditional agriculture. Young people assist Native farmers, ranchers, and land stewards with food sovereignty projects that center Indigenous food traditions. TRIP DATES: TBD
About 30% of your time will be with the Volunteer Program, which runs stewardship and restoration projects throughout the field season (April-October). Projects may include fence building, stream restoration, pulling weeds, and more. To get an idea of the projects you might work on, please check out past projects.
What does this position entail?
Ensure the safety and well-being of trip participants.
Lead all aspects of trip implementation: review menu, shop for food, pack gear, manage risk, engage with trip participants, share knowledge, cleanup gear, debrief with Trust staff, and report accomplishments.
Educate trip participants on the Trust’s mission, values, and projects.
Engage participants one-on-one and in group settings through discussion, activities, and workshops to share knowledge and facilitate reflection.
Participate in data collection and restoration projects.
Demonstrate outstanding people skills, including the ability to read social cues and support positive group dynamics.
Maintain a level head throughout inclement weather, difficult situations, and interactions with participants.
Drive a four-wheel-drive truck responsibly on all types of road conditions.
Qualifications:
Excellent customer service, hospitality, and communication skills.
Ability to anticipate, troubleshoot, and solve challenging problems when and if they arise.
Willingness to stay energized and positive and take on your fair share of less glamorous tasks (i.e. cleaning gear and taking down the groover).
Ability to work in areas without cell service or access to other forms of electronic communication.
Knowledge of or a strong desire to learn about environmental issues on the Colorado Plateau.
Required Skills:
Experience with or significant connection to Indigenous communities of the Colorado Plateau.
Current Wilderness First Aid certification (or higher) or ability to complete the certification prior to leading trips.
Current food handler certification or ability to complete the certification prior to leading trips.
In-depth knowledge of river trip kitchen and groover (toilet) systems.
Experience managing risk for groups in wilderness settings.
Experience working with diverse participants
Preferred Skills:
Note that experience includes lived experience, traditional knowledge, volunteer experience, school or coursework, work experience, and other related qualifications, skills, and experience.
No candidate will meet every requirement. If you’re excited about the position and think you may be a good candidate, we encourage you to apply.
About Grand Canyon Trust
Mission: To safeguard the wonders of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau, while supporting the rights of its Native peoples.
Confession time: We’re biased. We think the Southwest is the greatest place in the world, and we aim to keep it that way.
The Grand Canyon Trust has been a leading voice in regional conservation for more than 30 years. From improving air quality around the Grand Canyon to helping win national monument protections in southern Utah, the Trust works tirelessly to protect the Colorado Plateau’s remarkable landscapes.
We are a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to making sure the region’s natural wonders, communities, and cultures thrive. We’re in it for the long haul, and we hope you are too.
