SAWS Year-Round Assistant Crew Leader

About the Job

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 August 2030, with potential to extend

Status: Regular/Full Time

Compensation: $23/hr paid every two weeks

Position Supervisor: Virginia Program Manager

Location: Roanoke, Virginia

Schedule: Expectation for this position is 40 hours per week. Weekly schedule will depend on project need and time of year but will primarily consist of 8-day hitches (with 
some 4-day hitches), mostly camping overnight and occasionally returning home at the end of the workday when project logistics allow.

Crew Structure: 1 Crew Leader, 1 Assistant Crew Leader, 4 Crew Members

Application Deadline: Applications accepted until position is filled.

Under leadership of the Crew Leader, the Assistant Crew Leader will help lead four Crew Members 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. Leadership of the crew will require excellent communication skills and judgment, ability to train in the field, professionalism, initiative, emotional maturity and resilience, 
resourcefulness, patience, ability to delegate tasks, technical trail work skills, and comfort in the outdoors with minimal contact with others while on hitch. Crew leaders are expected to make decisions in the field to keep their crew safe and provide a high quantity and quality of work for our partners. Crew Leaders are ultimately responsible for successes and shortcomings of the crew.

A typical work hitch:
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 for the next work hitch.Field crews may address projects including, but not limited to:

• Rockwork (stairs, retaining walls, etc.)
• Reestablishing trail surface
• Brushing trail corridors and removing downed trees
• Erosion control (installation of water bars, grade dips, log or stone steps, etc.)
• Trail relocations
• Trail conditions surveys
• Public lands boundary marking
• Public education (Leave No Trace, bear safety and awareness, Wilderness education, etc.)
• Other tasks as assigned

Duties and Responsibilities
Essential Functions

Trail Repair and Maintenance
• Perform trail maintenance and construction, including but not limited to: clearing downed trees, brushing trail corridors, repairing tread, addressing drainage issues, building trail structures, using rigging systems, and removing trash.
• Backpack, camp, and work in physically demanding, remote environments for up to 8 days at a time (and occasionally up to 10 days) with a crew of 5 other people.
• 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, 8 lb hammers, hoes, shovels, and mattocks by pushing and pulling, lifting, kneeling, bending, squatting, twisting, sitting, and climbing.
• Travel on foot over rough terrain for up to 10 miles per day while carrying 60 lbs. or more.
• Regularly lift and/or move up to 60 lbs.
• Live and work in a remote and primitive setting with a diverse group of people without the ability to communicate with people outside the crew.

Crew Management
Assistant Crew Lead will assist the Crew Leader in the following responsibilities:

• Transport the crew and equipment safely in SAWS 12-passenger vans or SAWS trucks for drives up to 5 hours.
• Adjust plans and make decisions for the crew and project work as the season, work week, or day unfolds, sometimes changing last minute.
• Manage, train, supervise, and lead the day-to-day details of project work in varied weather conditions with limited to no contact with supervisor.
• Communicate directions, project specifications, and constructive feedback to supervisees, accommodating various learning styles.
• Monitor, manage, and promote the crew’s physical and emotional safety.
• Teach leadership skills and facilitate leadership opportunities for Crew Members.

Reporting and Logistics
Assistant Crew Lead will assist the Crew Leader in the following responsibilities:
• Submit paperwork (timesheet, hitch report, incident reports, project photos) online in a timely manner through SAWS’s designated software and by email.
• Manage credit card purchases and receipt reconciliation online.
• Communicate by email and phone about work details, plans, and changes.
• Check in daily via emergency communication device.
Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Additional Expectations
• Work with SAWS staff and partners like the USFS to effectively complete critical backcountry stewardship projects while maintaining high standards for project completion.
• Maintain a positive working environment in challenging conditions including extreme cold or heat, prolonged sun exposure, persistent rain, high humidity, and biting insects. 
• Address and work through conflicts and interpersonal dynamics amongst the crew, with other SAWS staff, and with partners.
• Follow SAWS policies and procedures and attend all SAWS staff events in various locations in the southeast.
• Assist in developing and maintaining effective, positive relationships with US Forest Service personnel, partner organization staff, and partner organization volunteers.
• Create and foster a safe and inclusive work culture.
• Help maintain SAWS gear and tool cache including monitoring inventory and repairing broken tools.
• Learn and practice ‘Leave no Trace’ techniques.
• Create media (photography, video, etc.) to share for reporting and documentation.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications
In addition to enthusiasm for the SAWS mission, applicants should have the following:
Leadership/Culture
• At least 3 months actively serving in a leadership position with experience leading a team or group, preferably in a field-based position.
• Experience problem solving and taking an active role in resolving interpersonal conflicts.
• Experience teaching skills to others and providing constructive feedback.
• Desire to be a member of a hard-working team and transformative non-profit organization.

Trail Work Experience
• At least 9 months of active trail work experience ideally with a variety of projects (logging out, rockwork, rigging, brushing, trail design, timber work).
• Demonstrable experience maintaining remote, backcountry trails. (Familiarity with Wilderness trail maintenance preferred.)
• Previous crosscut experience and ability to certify at a B-bucking crosscut/chainsaw level within 1 year of the start of position. (Current certifications preferred.)
• Ability to gain a Wilderness First Responder and CPR certification. (Current certifications preferred.)

Other
• Must be able to speak, understand, read, and write English and have strong communication skills both verbal and written.
• Must have and be able to maintain a valid driver’s license and can drive a SAWS vehicle.
• Ability to pass a background check.
• Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident.
• Must have a reliable form of transportation to get to SAWS Office.