Year-Round Crew Member
Start Date: Preference will be given to candidates with availability to start as soon as possible.Position Duration: Position is year-round with funding secured through October2029, with potential to extend
Status: Regular/Full Time
Compensation: $21 per hour paid every two weeks
Position Supervisor: Field Crew Program Manager
Location: Based in Johnson City, TN
Schedule: Expectation for this position is 40 hours per week. Weekly schedule will depend on project and time of year but will include 8-day and 4-day hitches, generally camping overnight but returning home at the end of the workday when project logistics allow.
Application Deadline: Applications accepted until position is filled.
Full-Time Nonprofit
Job Location
Johnson City
Job Description
Schedule: Expectation for this position is 40 hours per week. Weekly schedule will depend on project and time of year but will include 8-day and 4-day hitches, generally camping overnight but returning home at the end of the workday when project logistics allow.Crew Structure: 1 Crew Leader, 1 Assistant Crew Leader, 4 Crew Members
Four Field Crew Members will work under supervision of a Field Crew Leader and an Assistant Field Crew Leader while camping and working on remote projects with limited to no cell service. Crews are expected to backpack and live in physically demanding, remote environments often for 8 (and sometimes 10) days at a time. Conditions of this environment may vary significantly including freezing temperatures, high humidity, persistent rain, and high elevation. The remote nature of our work may mean delayed access to medical care. Crew Members should have good communication skills and judgment, an ability to be trained in the field, professionalism, initiative, willingness to learn, ability to express needs and concerns, emotional maturity and resilience, resourcefulness, and comfort in the outdoors with minimal contact to others while on hitch.
A typical work hitch includes meeting at the SAWS office, driving a SAWS vehicle to a trailhead (sometimes multiple hours), backpacking into the project site, staying in the field for up to ten days at a time, hiking out, traveling back to the office, cleaning gear, tools, vehicles, completing reporting requirements, and preparing your crew for the next work hitch.
Field crews may address projects including, but not limited to:
• Trail relocations
• Erosion control (installation of water bars, grade dips, log or stone steps, etc.)
• Reestablishing trail surface
• Brushing trail corridors and removing downed trees
• Rockwork (stairs, retaining walls, etc.)
• Trail conditions surveys
• Public lands boundary marking
• Public education (Leave No Trace, bear safety and awareness, Wilderness education, etc.)
• Or tasks assigned by Field Coordinator or Program Manager.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Duties are done under supervision of the Crew Leader, Assistant Crew Leader, and at times the Field Coordinator
• Work with crew leaders to effectively complete critical backcountry stewardship projects while maintaining high standards for project completion
• Assist in developing and maintaining effective, positive relationships with US Forest Service personnel, partner organization staff, and partner organization volunteers
• Create media (blogs, photography, video, etc.) to share reporting and documentation
• Backpack, camp, and work in physically demanding, remote environments for up to 8 days at a time in adverse weather
• Help to maintain a crew cache of tools and equipment
• Learn and practice ‘Leave no Trace’ techniques
• Follow SAWS policies and procedures and attend all SAWS staff events in various locations in the southeast.
• Maintain a positive working environment in challenging conditions including extreme cold or heat, prolonged sun exposure, persistent rain, high humidity, and biting insects.
• Use a variety of hand tools such as picks, hoes, rock bars, axes, and crosscut saws and understand complex rigging systems.
• Help maintain SAWS gear and tool cache including monitoring inventory and repairing broken tools.
• Perform continual and physically strenuous activities for up to 11 hours a day including: hiking up steep slopes or for long miles into high elevation, and using trail tools including crosscut saws/chainsaws, 8lb hammers, hoes, shovels, and mattocks by pushing and pulling, lifting, kneeling, bending, squatting, twisting, sitting, and climbing.
Benefits
• USFS Crosscut saw certification
• First Aid and CPR certification
• Opportunities for professional development and network growth
• May qualify for Public Land Service Corp (PLC) Hiring Authority certificate
• Opportunities for pro-rated gear deals
• Health, dental, vision insurance (Health: SAWS pays 100% of monthly premium, 50% of premium for dependents. Dental & Vision: Employee pays 100% of premiums)
• Life and disability insurance
• Paid vacation (16ohrs) and holidays (14 days)
• Sick leave accrual
• Paid parental leave
• Food stipend ($40 per day in the field)
Qualifications
In addition to enthusiasm for the SAWS mission, applicants should have the following:
• Ability to travel on foot over rough terrain for up to 10 miles per day while carrying 60lbs. or more
• Ability and desire to create a safe and inclusive work culture
• Knowledge about group dynamics and conflict resolution preferred
• Ability to live and work in a remote and primitive setting with a diverse group of people without the ability to communicate with folks outside the crew
• Desire to be a member of a hard-working team and transformative non-profit organization
• Ability to regularly lift and/or move up to 60 pounds
• At least 10 months of active experience on a trail crew or similar role
• Experience backpacking or in the back country either in a personal or professional setting is preferred
• Ability to gain a First Aid and CPR certification. (Current certifications preferred.)
• Must be able to speak, understand, read, and write English
• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions
• Ability to pass a background check
• Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident
• Must have a reliable form of transportation to get to and from trailheads, USFS Offices, SAWS events, and other work locations.
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