Potomac Towpath Crew Leader
Conservation Begins Here®
The Student Conservation Association (SCA), America’s #1 conservation service organization seeks qualified applicants to lead, educate, and inspire young adult members (18+) for the 2023 C&O Canal Program. Work as a leader to help preserve and protect this beautiful and historic National Park Service site.
Training Dates: April 3, 2023 – April 14, 2023 (mandatory paid training)
Program Dates: April 3, 2023 – September 22, 2023
Work Schedule: Rotating A and B week schedule. Up to five hours per week of administrative work outside of normal work hours.
A Week = Monday - Friday 6:00 am - 3:30 pm
B Week = Monday - Thursday 6:00 am - 3:30 pm, Friday off
Location: Hancock, MD
Transportation and Site Locations: The leader must provide their own transportation to and from the maintenance shop at the Palisades, Maryland site. The Palisades shop is located at: 11710 Macarthur Blvd Potomac, MD.
Primary Responsibilities:
As Crew Leader, you will guide and inspire a team of 2 SCA crew members. This SCA team will support the CHOH maintenance staff with routine daily maintenance activities based at the Hancock maintenance shop. Primarily, this project requires SCA members to remove vegetation from historic stone culverts, locks, flumes, abutments, walls, and any other historic stone structure within the park boundaries that the NPS deems the need for vegetation removal. This crew will assist the NPS staff with the removal of fallen trees in the park and along the towpath. In addition, members will support projects related to carpentry, masonry, and GIS mapping. If members do not already have basic first aid and CPR training, they will receive this training during the program. Members of this crew may receive chainsaw certification, dependent upon the capacity of NPS staff to host the training.
The crew leader will work collaboratively and efficiently with their team to complete these projects by deadline. Tool usage, safety, risk, and job hazard assessments will be part of training and daily briefings. Crew leaders will learn to work safely in outdoor environments while learning new skills alongside their crew members. Being open to new experiences is a huge advantage for crew leaders.
In addition to field work, crew leaders should expect to complete ~3-5 hours/weekly outside of work hours to complete crew leader administration tasks. These tasks may include coding expense receipts, uploading photos from the field, writing incident reports, or reviewing members’ time logs, among other things.
Bonus: If the position is successfully completed, members may be eligible to earn the Public Land Corps (PLC) Hiring Authority giving them eligibility to apply to merit vacancy announcements within the Federal Government for two years.
Specifically, the Crew Leader will:
- Act as a Crew Supervisor, by facilitating teamwork, managing field-based tasks, and guiding crew dynamics
- Serve as an Advisor, by training members in technical conservation work skills, mentoring personal and professional development, and teaching environmental stewardship
- Act as a Project Manager, by communicating with agency park partners, ensuring successful and timely completion of work projects, and upholding a positive representation of SCA
- Perform tasks as a Program Administrator, by organizing logistics, completing documentation, managing a budget, and communicating with SCA staff
- Experience working with youth or young adults (18 years old+) teaching or environmental education a plus
- Experience with conservation work skills or related skills preferred – i.e., trail maintenance, trail construction, habitat restoration, chainsaw, carpentry, landscaping, and gardening
- Ability to perform manual, physical labor for up to 8 hours per day, exposed to the elements, and must occasionally lift and/or move 40 pounds or more
- Must be able to attend Crew Leader training: 5/8/23 – 5/12/23
- Must be a minimum of 21 years of age
- Must have the ability to legally work in the US
- Must have a valid driver’s license for 3+ years and MVR that meets SCA standards
- Must be able to meet SCA’s criminal background check standards
Leader Benefits and Compensation: $825/week total salary during position, Bi-weekly pay
Leadership1957
COVID-19: Visit the following website for more information about SCA’s COVID-19 Policies, including medical and religious exemptions: www.thesca.org/covid.
SCA is an EOE dedicated to workforce justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Read more at: https://www.thesca.org/justice-equity-diversity-and-inclusion/.