Overview
Position: Head of Outdoor Education
Starting date: August 2024
Salary: $72,969 to $118,916, Plus Head of Department Stipend
St. George’s School is seeking a dynamic leader for the role of Head of Outdoor Education to oversee the extensive outdoor education offerings at the School. These include annual “Grade Programs” for all students in Grades 1 – 10, an intensive full-year integrated Grade 10 program (Discovery 10), and collaborating with a number of other school departments with outdoor offerings.
This full-time position is primarily administrative in nature with some field and school-based teaching responsibilities related to outdoor education. Ideal for a candidate with previous outdoor education or camp leadership experience, the responsibilities of this role are to organize and lead major grade trips and to provide administrative support for all aspects of the department. This individual works collaboratively with other full-time staff and coordinates part-time instructors to deliver a world-class outdoor education program that reflects the St. George’s School Mission and Vision. An important aspect of this role is the ability to objectively balance desired learning outcomes with associated risks.
Responsibilities will include:
Leadership
Be an advocate for the role of outdoor and environmental education experiences and skills broadly in the life of the school through curricular and extra-curricular initiatives that bring energy and a love of learning through outdoor and environmental experiences.
Attend Head of Department meetings as required and act as a conduit of information to and from the department with respect to the strategic plan, instructional priorities, and school goals.
Planning and Administration
Facilitate planning, instruction, and assessment and provide the administrative support to manage outdoor education programs from inception to completion, including all of the logistical aspects.
Develop and manage the departmental budget.
Recruit and hire instructors and guides to support large programs.
Provide logistical and administrative support for instructors while they are in the field.
Develop and articulate clear standards and protocols for all outdoor education programs to ensure that best-practices and risk management concerns are adequately addressed.
Ensure that the BC Ministry and SGS curriculum is implemented in courses that Outdoor Ed is responsible for; with current focus on Core Competencies, Literacy, Numeracy, and First People’s Principles.
Manage the use, repair and ongoing replacement of an extensive collection of outdoor equipment.
Communication
Communicate program information and risks to parents and other stakeholders.
Respond to parent inquiries and work collaboratively with Student Resource, Personal Counselling, Residential Life and others with respect to student needs while participating in outdoor programming.
Qualifications:
Minimum of five years of outdoor and environmental education leadership experience with youth from a variety of age levels.
Experience leading trips in remote areas with young adults/teens/children.
Experience and qualifications in some or many self-propelled outdoor activities: canoeing, sea kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, snowshoeing, backcountry skiing.
Required Certifications (or capacity to earn by August):
Advanced wilderness first aid (80+ hours).
BC Class 2 or 4 driver’s license.
Required Skills:
Demonstrated leadership abilities and strong interpersonal skills.
Ability to work in a collaborative manner with all stakeholders of the school.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Strong problem-solving and organizational skills.
Proven ability in budgetary planning and financial management.
Demonstrated organizational abilities with experience managing large-scale outdoor experiences and large staff teams.
Experience in the area of risk management.
Preferred Skills:
Experience with current teaching methodologies and implementing the BC curriculum within outdoor settings and in the classroom, with a particular focus on inquiry and experiential learning practices.
Demonstrated and ongoing work in diversity, equity, inclusion and justice practices.
Experience with interviewing and hiring outdoor guides and instructors.
Training or experience in teacher evaluation and development.
About St. George's School
St. George’s School is a world-class boys’ university preparatory school offering a day program for students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 and a boarding program for Grade 8 to 12. With a total enrollment of 1150, of which 100 are boarding students from over 20 countries worldwide, St. George’s School has achieved national and international prominence in many academic, artistic, and athletic competitions. The School enjoys the reputation as one of the preeminent schools in Canada. Here are some of its unique characteristics:
We are Canada’s World School For Boys: There is compelling research evidence to suggest boys and girls learn differently. We are a school that focuses on the specific needs of boys while ensuring that each of our students has a global mindset.
We are Committed to Authentic Learning: Using approaches like Harkness and project-based-learning, our students are consistently shown how to apply learning in real life, problem-solving contexts.
