Gap Program Instructor
Job Title: Gap Program Instructor
Season: Fall: August 26th, 2024 to November 20, 2024
Reports to: Gap Program Director
General Responsibilities
Gap at Glen Brook’s Program Instructor works closely with the Gap Director to deliver a semester of programming to gap year students. The Program Instructor brings their own authenticity and skill-set to the work of supervising and facilitating this dynamic gap program. We are currently looking for an instructor with a passion for youth mentoring and facilitation, wilderness leadership experience, basic culinary skills, and/or homesteading or farming skills.
Specific Responsibilities
Student Welfare
- Serve as the primary staff presence around meals and during evenings and weekends.
- Serve as the first line of communication for the gap cohort in the house, fielding questions as diverse as “What is the water-to-rice ratio again?” to “I’m feeling anxious, can we talk?”
- Maintain a high level of safety awareness, risk assessment, and group dynamics.
- Ensure students understand and abide by rules and guidelines.
- Respond promptly to medical or mental health concerns.
- Assist gap students in cultivating wholesome meals and a wholesome meal culture (family dining, home-made and home-grown, etc.)
- Schedule time to do weekly well-being check-ins with each Gapper.
Student Learning and Role Modeling
- Teach, guide, and inspire through formal and informal mentorship and teaching.
- Co-lead wilderness trips and mentor participants in planning and packing for hiking, canoeing and camping trips.
- Based on skills and experience: plan and lead workshops on various topics that center around sustainable living skills (i.e. wilderness skills, herbalism, community building, crafts, ecology, carpentry, etc.)
Necessary Experience
- Enthusiasm for the benefits and complications of community living.
- Experience leading groups on multi-day excursions in outdoor environments.
- Experience in conflict resolution, group facilitation, and/or teaching.
- Strong ability to connect well with people, and to develop meaningful mentor relationships with emerging adults.
Requisite skills:
- Strong communication skills.
- Outdoor/backcountry medical experience—at least WFA; WFR preferable.
- Clear driving record.
- Lifeguard certification.
- We can help you complete a WFA and Lifeguard certification if needed.
Preferred skills:
- Experience with farming, gardening, or farm education.
- Confidence with basic home cooking.
Dates and Compensation
- Employment Dates: Mon, Aug 26 to Wed, Nov 20 2024
- Program Dates: Sep 3 to Nov 17.
- Total time: 13 weeks
- Rate of pay: $577/wk plus room & board; Total Pay: $7,500
- You will be scheduled 2 days off per week.
Additional Responsibilities
All Glen Brook employees commit to getting our work done as a whole, whatever the work may be. This means that, occasionally, we work outside our specific department and assist on other projects—for example, every Friday all staff and gappers participate in a “ Work Party” together. In this vein, some days or weeks may be longer than others.
To Apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 2 references to:
Tori Heller, Gap Program Director, tori@glenbrook.org