Heart of Oregon Corps is hiring Summer Crew Leaders who have a passion for empowering and inspiring positive change in the lives of young people, and are able to work outdoors on national forests for 4 ten-hour days each week. Heart of Oregon Corps is a large regional non-profit that operates 6 youth training programs. At Heart of Oregon Corps, 16-24 year old local young people with barriers to success improve their own lives while gaining job skills on projects that improve the community. You can learn more about our work by visiting www.heartoforegon.org.

This crew leader position will be working with the Central Oregon Youth Conservation Corps (COYCC), our seasonal summer program run in partnership with the United States Forest Service. COYCC hires high school-aged young people from across Central Oregon for 8 weeks of environmental conservation work on public lands adjacent to where they live. As corpsmembers, these young people will learn job skills, earn wages, work alongsied USFS professionals, and become the next generation of conservationists through projects that improve public lands and keep local communities safer from wildfire. Crew leaders work an additional week of training at the beginning of the season (9 weeks, dates below).

We’re looking for staff Summer Crew Leaders who can supervise, mentor, and direct teens during conservation projects on public lands. This is also a great opportunity for experience with Forest Service work during the summer!

This position runs a crew of 5 local youth (ages 16-18) for 8 weeks in the summer, working alongside US Forest Service on conservation projects like fire fuels reduction (piling slash, fire lines, preparing for controlled burns), habitat restoration (invasive species removal, caging and planting trees, wildlife and cattle fencing projects), and trail work (maintenance, brushing, tread work), and more. Crew Leaders are responsible for driving youth to and from work sites in HOC or USFS rigs, identifying potential job hazards, implementing proper safety practices, completing job logs, and managing crew cohesion and culture. Forest Service specialists help direct and train crews on the technical aspects of conservation projects and provide on the job training for crew leaders. Crew Leaders are expected to direct crews without USFS assistance once they are proficient/familiar with job tasks.

Summer Crew Leaders are assigned a crew and based out of one of the following USFS work stations: Redmond, Bend, Madras, Prineville, Sisters, Warm Springs, or Crescent. The position is supervised by HOC’s Summer Program Manager and supported by USFS staff daily. The entire regional program has 15 Crew Leaders and 80 youth. The program schedule is: Crew Leader orientation/training week 6/21/21 through 6/25/21, and then Monday through Thursday 6/28/21 through 8/19/21.

The ideal candidate will have at least 1 year of experience in youth supervison or teaching and experience in outdoor work. A valid driver’s licence, a clean driving record (part of the background check), and current CPR/first aid certification is required. For driving insurance, HOC prefers Crew Leaders to be at least 24 years old, but may approve younger drivers that have clean driving records. Crew Leaders must be able to work outside in summer conditions for 4 days per week, ten hour shifts. Basic comfortability with manual labor and hand tools required.

Starting wage range for the position is $17.00/hour (firm). This is a full-time, seasonal (temporary), hourly staff position.