NOW HIRING:
Coordinator Guide - Summer Seasonal
First Off… The Conundrum We Face Together
Apply only if you meet the qualifications below—or if, after some soul-searching and reading, you believe you truly grasp our philosophy. If you’re confident you can learn fast and help us continually Do It Better, we want to hear from you.
Smart people know what they don’t know. We value Jacks-of-all-trades, multidisciplinary learners, and autodidacts. This detailed job description isn’t here to scare you off—it’s here to start an honest conversation and help you succeed.
Second Off… This Process Should Matter to You
This may read like a manifesto, but it’s simply our way of being real about what we do and why it matters. Keep reading if this resonates with you, or if you just enjoy our humor—or Dune references.
P.S. Full Qualifications & Responsibilities follow the manifesto.
Maybe This Is You
You’re a Wilderness Educator—and maybe even a Stoic from the Hellenistic philosophical tradition. Above all, you’re a Truly Helpful Human who understands how kids learn and is ready to push outdoor skills education even deeper. You evolve programs to always be Better, Faster, Stronger, keeping depth, integrity, and purpose at our core.
And you know what you’re getting into. Trackers is a huge, complex organization—both an opportunity and a grand responsibility. You don’t just want to understand your lane; you want to see how it fits into the greater Trackers Ecology. This part is crucial: we fight to keep them personal, meaningful, and deeply connected. That balance requires a curious mind willing to see beyond the day-to-day.
For this job to work, it must feel like a call to cation. You thrive on clockwork flow. You love it when a plan comes together. You wake up every day seeking intellectual and physical challenge. Hopefully, you need a place where deep connections between kids, families, and the natural world come together to create something bigger than any one individual.
What We Need!
We’re looking for a Coordinator who ensures our camps and classes run smoothly—someone thoughtful, adaptable, and energized by a fast-paced environment. Before applying, consider the scale of what we do:
- Serving 20,000+ youth and adults annually
- Operating across the Bay Area, Seattle, and Portland
- Offering 45+ unique themes, from crafts to story adventures
Experience at any program scale is welcome—what matters is your self-awareness, confidence, and readiness to learn from 20+ years of best practices.
Here We Do Hard Things! Because... Grit.
At Trackers, we teach old-school outdoor skills. We offer award-winning youth and adult programs in wilderness survival, archery, fishing, homesteading, blacksmithing, and more. Our camps and classes are available as single-day sessions, week-long experiences, or 9-month mentoring programs. Our version of outdoor education can be challenging—but kids need it now more than ever. Our staff understands this: Here, we do hard things!
Because what we do is unique, Trackers programs can feel harder and more complex than typical camps. We transport kids from the city to the wilderness. We operate in all weather conditions. We teach skills that demand both physical and mental competency—and grit. Kids as young as 5 years old use woodcarving knives. We share skills many have forgotten—skills that might even scare others. We do hard things because we have to.
What is Tracking?
We’re called Trackers Earth because the Art of Tracking is at our core. Tracking is more than following footprints—it’s a way of seeing the world. It means mapping landscapes, recognizing patterns, and passing on survival knowledge. We teach kids and families to hunt, fish, and forage, building a deep connection to the land through caretaking and nature awareness.
That’s what it means to be a Tracker.
The Four Guilds of Trackers
We divide our curriculum into Four Guilds because we know kids are inspired by fun stories.
- Rangers Guild: Rangers train to be ready through wilderness survival—crafting shelter, finding water, and building fire. They track animal trails to understand nature’s patterns.
- Mariners Guild: Mariners flow with nature, exploring waters through fishing, boating, and river navigation. They learn wayfinding to journey well by land and water.
- Wilders Guild: Wilders are caretakers, stewarding the land through forestry, homesteading, and foraging. They tend ecosystems by gathering sustainably.
- Artisans Guild: Artisans connect the team, crafting tools through woodworking, ceramics, and blacksmithing. They blend story with skill, deepening our connection to the land.
What Our Parents Say!
BTW, our parents recently voted for our new motto: Trackers Earth—Giving Kids Knives Since 2004!
But we’re Dune fans, so we’re partial to: Trackers Earth—the Gom Jabbar of Camps.
Key Responsibilities
Sharing Trackers Skills
The most important responsibility is to share Trackers Skills. Your primary goal is to foster a culture of mentoring where kids and all students continually develop independence and self-direction in these skills. This growth helps them better care for and connect with:
- Family & Community
- Many Generations
- The More-Than-Human-World
- The Silent & Invisible
By Silent & Invisible, we mean teaching students to move with fantastic powers of stealth and invisibility, fully blending into the forest. This fosters awareness and comfort with silence, allowing them to find connection in nature.
Summer Camp Targets:
- Coordinate a team of educators (usually 4-10) during summer.
- Ensure high-quality, kickass summer camp programs for staff and campers.
- Provide real-time feedback and mentorship to the staff you supervise.
- Oversee daily summer camp operations, proactively addressing needs.
Make Camp Go:
- Ensure all programs prioritize safety, implementing and refining safety protocols.
- Oversee logistics and gear, ensuring seamless team accountability.
- Foster a culture of stewardship—for the land, students, guardians, and each other.
- Innovate on the Tracking & Four Guilds curriculum alongside founders and staff, recognizing that storytelling is one of the most powerful learning tools.
Communicate With Curiosity:
- Communicate to a high degree with families and staff, caring for them and sharing what Trackers is all about.
- Cultivate a culture of curiosity—insisting that everyone asks better questions to understand the innate ecology of our organization.
- Create systems that encourage people to get offline and back into the real world, fostering face-to-face collaboration, problem-solving, and brainstorming.
- When not sharing an office or teaching for the full day, make it a priority to call our global Director or Founders daily for a check-in, progressively building your understanding of Trackers Ecology.
Qualifications
At Trackers, we value guides who are not just instructors—but practitioners, learners, and contributors to a living culture of nature connection. We appreciate the Jack of All Trades and the autodidacts. Our team includes multi-disciplinary learners who pursue skills with rigor, humility, and curiosity. You don’t have to be a master—but you do need to strive for and respect the depth of mastery, growing every season.
Experience:
- 2+ years of experience in outdoor education or camp leadership.
- Experience working with team-building, survival skills, or hands-on nature connection.
- Prior team leadership experience preferred (e.g., summer camp leadership, school-based programs, or outdoor guiding).
- Given the specialized nature of our programs, prior experience with Trackers is highly valued and will be a significant factor in candidate consideration.
Outdoor Skills:
You don’t need to be an expert in every skill, but you must understand their depth and have a strong desire to grow. These represent the depth we seek:
- Bushcraft & Wilderness Living Skills: Long-term self-sufficiency.
- Animal Tracking & Nature Awareness: Trailing animals & knowing track & sign.
- Flintknapping & Stone Tools: Crafting cutting tools with traditional techniques.
- Primitive Technology: Hide tanning, natural fiber processing, bow-making.
- Wildcrafting & Foraging: Knowledge of sustainable harvesting of edible plants.
- Naturalist Skills: Classic naturalist training in wildlife, botanical & ecological studies.
- Shelter Building: Debris huts, lodges & other land-based survival shelters.
- Fire Making: Bow drill, hand drill, tool-based & fire-building in wet conditions.
- Bird Language & Stealth: Reading alarm calls as sign & moving invisibly.
- Fishing, Hunting & Trapping: Ethical harvest using modern and traditional methods.
- Field Archery & Bowmaking: Bowmaking & practical field archery for hunting.
- Navigation & Boating: Orienteering & traversing with watercraft.
- Forestry & Homesteading: Food production & regenerative caretaking for the land.
- Traditional Mentorship: Direct, long-term learning from experienced practitioners.
While modern outdoor education may introduce some of these skills, Trackers Earth operates differently—not better, just different. We have profound respect for the following fields, recognizing them as sister programs doing phenomenal work. While we share many aspects, don’t view Trackers solely through their lens.
- Outdoor Recreation: Activities such as hiking, camping, and guiding that offer outdoor sports. While we integrate these skills, our curriculum goes beyond them to include forest craft, folk craft, and deep nature connection.
- Wilderness Therapy: Programs that use nature as a healing venue rather than for deep connection and community skill-building. These programs are invaluable and led by practitioners we deeply respect, but they are not our focus.
- Outdoor Education: General environmental science, ropes courses, team-building, and leadership training. While we share many components, our emphasis is on in-depth survival and foraging skills.
- Environmental Education: We value the impact of programs that emphasize advocacy or activism. However, Trackers teaches hands-on skills—hunting, fishing, and foraging—to help kids develop a deep care for the more-than-human world.
- STEAM Education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math programs often approach nature through an academic lens. While we incorporate these elements, we prioritize experiential learning through outdoor skills and nature immersion.
- Forest Schools: Programs for young children centered on outdoor free play. This early nature connection is crucial, but our curriculum emphasizes skill development to foster broader outdoor independence for all ages.
- Summer Camps: We offer camps and deeply respect camp professionals who create incredible programs. While we share many structural and social aspects, our focus is on skills-driven, immersive learning through nature connection.
For a better understanding of our philosophy, explore the work of Tom Brown Jr., Ray Mears, and Jon Young.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in education, environmental sciences, or program management
- Or equivalent training from wilderness schools (e.g. Tracker School, Roots, BOSS, Rewild Portland, Twin Eagles, etc.)
Compensation
This is a salaried, exempt position with responsibilities requiring independent judgment, leadership, and planning—especially when working with minors and leading high-risk outdoor activities. Weekly pay is not tied to hours worked.
2026 Summer Season
- Weekly Pay: $1,542
- Typical Hours: 45–49 hours/week
Summer Training
- Required Training - Coordinators: June 8-12, 2026
- Required Training - All Staff: June 15-19, 2026
- Training Rate: Hourly Local Minimum Wage
- All summer training hours—regardless of tenure or certification—are paid at hourly minimum wage.
- Certification bonuses do not apply during training weeks. Bonuses begin once staff are placed in active programs.
Note on Hours
Stated hour averages reflect the seasonal rhythm of Trackers Earth programs. As a salaried exempt role, compensation is fixed per week and not adjusted based on time worked. Actual hours may vary depending on program needs, weather, site logistics, and team responsibilities.
Mutual Fit Period
How to Apply
Apply early for best consideration. This application covers both school-year and summer roles. You can indicate your availability and interests. Not all applicants will be placed immediately—qualified candidates may be added to an on-deck list based on fit and timing. If you're a current summer staff member interested in working during the school year, please submit a separate application for Fall.
Mutual Fit Period
All new roles—including returning staff transitioning from summer to fall—begin with a 90-day mutual fit period. This allows time for training, feedback, and alignment, especially as school-year programs involve greater independence and long-term mentorship with students.
Physical Requirements & Certifications
This is a hands-on, active, and at times field-based role. As a Specialist Guide, your physical requirements will vary depending on your assigned program. Outdoor roles may require physical stamina in rugged environments, while classroom-based roles focus more on tool handling, shop safety, and materials management.
Physical Requirements – Outdoor Programs
(Examples: Bushcraft, Tracking, Forestry, Paddlesports, Rock Climbing)
- Ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs
- Hike 5–20 miles per day, including off-trail and uneven terrain
- Remain on feet for extended periods in variable weather conditions
- Move safely across natural landscapes such as forests, hills, and rivers
Physical Requirements – Classroom-Based Programs
(Examples: Ceramics, Woodworking)
- Ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs (e.g., clay, lumber, tools)
- Stand or move between workstations for extended periods (3–5 hours)
- Use hand tools and equipment with fine motor coordination and precision
- Maintain awareness of shop safety protocols in active teaching environments
- Occasionally transport materials or equipment between locations
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
Additional Requirements
- State Fishing License (if assisting with fishing activities)
- Background check and references
- Valid driver’s license held for 2+ years
CDL Requirement
Coordinators in summer transported programs are responsible for driving large school buses between sites. When Coordinators for these programs lack a CDL with Passenger Endorsement, it creates added costs and logistical challenges for Trackers—including the need to hire extra drivers. For this reason, a CDL with Passenger Endorsement—or active progress toward one on an approved timeline—is a core requirement for the following roles:
- All School Year Coordinators
- All Summer Adventure Camp (transported) Coordinators
Eligibility Requirements
To operate Trackers Earth vehicles requiring a CDL, candidates must:
- Be 21 years of age or older
- Hold a valid U.S. driver’s license
- Have a clean motor vehicle record (MVR) for the past 3 years, with no major violations (e.g. DUI, reckless driving, license suspension)
CDL Certification Timeline
If a candidate does not already possess the required CDL:
- It must be obtained within 4 months of hire
- Or no later than 30 days before the start of required staff training for the Summer Season.
Training & Support
Trackers Earth provides training and certification support for qualified candidates. We are committed to equitable access and can assist with the licensing process, including test preparation and cost reimbursement, where appropriate.
Personal Attributes:
- You want to make common sense common again.
- You might be a Dune fan and you’re the Duncan Idaho of outdoor education (not required though).
- You have faith in kids' competence and remember what it’s like to be one!
Disclaimer
This job description does not constitute a contract of employment. Employment with Trackers Earth is at-will. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
About Trackers
At Trackers, we help children feel like that group of kids wandering country backyards 50 years ago: tired, muddy, wet, independent, and happy from being out in the woods and exploring creeks. We are acutely aware of the real hazards of the outdoors, so we work to keep kids safe but not encapsulated from, nor phobic of nature. We believe children need to develop independence and competency in the wild—not only for their own connection, but also to contribute to their families, future generations, and the more-than-human world. We believe it is okay to be thirsty at times, cold at times, and wet at times. This builds empathy and care for the gifts of life, fostering true adventure and genuine accomplishment. We also believe it is critical for children to feel supported and cared for as they explore their passion for service and responsibility. Through a healthy life found in nature, they can test their limits and discover the great potential of the often untapped physical grit and emotional resilience they possess.
