Outdoor Instructor Job Information

About us:

Peat Rigg Outdoor Training Centre is a beautifully restored 18th-century farmhouse set within a 97-acre farm. We are 1.5 miles from the village of Cropton, on the edge of Cropton Forest in the heart of the North York Moors National Park, the Centre offers a truly immersive outdoor experience.

Designed to provide an inspiring setting for personal development programs, Peat Rigg’s beautiful rural location fosters a spirit of adventure while encouraging full engagement with nature and farm life. We are committed to excellence, and our instructional team are at the core of our delivery of High-Quality Outdoor Education. Each program is carefully crafted to enhance young people’s self-confidence, self-esteem, and overall well-being.

The living in option:

Peat Rigg has a self-contained staff flat, with individual rooms and shared, bathroom, lounge and kitchenette. All food for any staff living in Peat Rigg is provided when a course is running. Any instructor wishing to live in will not be charged for the first year, and it is at a heavily subsidised rate in any subsequent years.

In non-work time, there are plenty of exciting options for enjoying the outdoors. Excellent mountain biking and walking on the North York Moors, local single pitch crags, surf and sea on the North Yorkshire coast. Pickering is 10 minutes away and York 45 minutes.

It’s a busy Centre!

Peat Rigg is very popular, and most clients have been coming here for many years. We pride ourselves on our customer service and expect to provide an exceptional outdoor learning experience for every group, and for every individual within that group. Because Peat Rigg is always fully booked it gives us the opportunity to offer good full-time jobs, not just seasonal or part time jobs.

Your Role:

This job, and the corresponding amount for pay, has been set at a level that it is appropriate for somebody who has good experience of working in a residential centre and has already made good progress with a range of activities and qualifications. It could also be suitable for somebody who is at an earlier stage in their career but does not have as much experience or level of qualifications.

We want all our instructors to have a good range of National Governing Body awards. Your individual training plan will outline how we will help you progress to gain the appropriate qualifications to enable you to be responsible for instructing any activity to our groups.

If you already have a range of NGB awards you will move more quickly to being passed off to operate your own groups at Peat Rigg.

NGB’s that we like are:

First Aid
Rock Climbing Instructor (RCI) or SPA
UKCC Paddlesport Instructor
Mountain leadership Award
Mountain Bike Leader (MIAS, BC L2)
D1

Other aspects of the job include:

Developing existing and new activities to ensure that all clients have a safe challenging, rewarding experience
Being part of a duty rota to provide a full a varied programme of activities (normally one evening duty per week and occasional weekends)
Being involved in Course Directing to liaise with group leaders and ensure that everything meets their needs.
General maintenance and PPE checks.

For staff that want to progress there are many opportunities to take on additional responsibilities for personal development and the continued improvement of Peat Rigg.

Who are we looking for?

For us, choosing the ‘right’ person will be as much about attitude, enthusiasm and ability to work with young people as it will be about qualifications.

You should have most of these skills and abilities and values:

A people person, who will work well within our team and with our wide range of clients
Easy to get on with, have good communication skills and a friendly manner
Be hardworking and able to cope with occasional pressure
Be well organised and very safety conscious
Be willing to learn and flexible
Enthusiastic, well-motivated, with a passion for the outdoors and developing young people

And some of the following knowledge and experience (the more the better)

Experience of working with young people in a residential Outdoor Centre or similar setting
An understanding of principles of experiential learning within Outdoor Education
A range of outdoor experience and qualifications
Other experience beyond the Outdoor Education sector

How to apply

Please fill in the application form (below) and return it to info@peatrigg.org together with a covering email letter.

If you have any questions, or would like an informal chat about the job before you apply, please contact Ian Thorpe or Dave Shields on 01751 417112.

Application form