R.A.D. Camps is hiring an Outdoor Climbing Instructor to lead beginner-friendly climbing and support active outdoor youth programs for elementary and middle-school kids in Bend, Oregon.
This is a climbing-specific youth role, not a general camp-counselor posting. The best fit has real climbing experience, good safety judgment, and experience coaching, teaching, or supervising children in active group settings. Strong-fit backgrounds include climbing gym instruction, youth climbing team support, outdoor climbing, ropes-course facilitation, outdoor education, adventure guiding, recreation leadership, coaching, teaching, or camp leadership.
Why this role stands out
- Lead climbing-focused programming for a local outdoor youth organization.
- Help kids build confidence, body awareness, patience, and trust in a structured climbing environment.
- Use real climbing judgment, group-management, coaching, and outdoor-leadership skills.
- Work with a team that values child safety, emotional maturity, parent trust, and clear communication.
- Paid pre-season training is included, including CPR and First Aid completion if needed.
What you will do
- Lead or support beginner-friendly climbing sessions, climbing-support days, adventure blocks, and active outdoor programming.
- Teach clear expectations around helmets, harnesses, footwear, ropes, belay-area behavior, spotting boundaries, communication, pacing, and equipment care.
- Help set up, check, organize, and reset climbing-related equipment and activity spaces.
- Keep groups calm, supervised, structured, and engaged before, during, and after climbing activities.
- Coach nervous or beginner climbers with patience, encouragement, clear boundaries, and strong safety judgment.
- Adapt activities for different ages, skill levels, confidence levels, weather, energy, and group needs.
- Support transitions, lunch/snack flow, van loading, outdoor activities, extended care, and broader team coverage when assigned.
- Communicate professionally with kids, families, teammates, and leadership.
Required qualifications
- At least 21 years old.
- Available for paid staff training June 12-14, 2026.
- Strong in-person availability June 15-August 28, 2026, Monday-Friday.
- Hands-on climbing experience, such as climbing gym instruction, belaying, outdoor climbing, youth climbing teams, ropes-course work, climbing-wall programs, or similar climbing leadership.
- Experience working with children or youth in coaching, teaching, camp, recreation, childcare, outdoor education, or similar active group settings.
- Strong safety judgment around children, climbing equipment, group movement, supervision, and busy outdoor-program environments.
- Professional, punctual, reliable, patient, emotionally mature, and physically able to work active summer days indoors and outdoors.
- CPR and First Aid required by the start of the season; certification can be completed through pre-season training if needed.
- Able to pass a background check before employment.
- Valid driver's license and clean driving record preferred; required for any van-driving assignment.
Preferred experience
- Climbing gym instruction, youth climbing team coaching, outdoor climbing instruction, ropes-course facilitation, adventure guiding, outdoor education, or seasonal youth-program leadership.
- Belay, harness, helmet, rope, route-setting, climbing-wall, and climbing-equipment familiarity.
- WFA, WFR, CPR/First Aid, lifeguard, belay, climbing-wall, AMGA, CWI, or similar medical, safety, or climbing credentials.
- Experience leading elementary or middle-school age groups and supporting behavior, emotional regulation, inclusion, parent communication, and busy transitions.
Schedule and pay
- Paid training: June 12-14, 2026.
- Core season: June 15-August 28, 2026.
- Full-time seasonal role, expected around 40 hours per week.
- Typical program days are Monday-Friday, often around 7:15 AM-4:30 PM depending on pre-care, after-care, field trips, van coverage, and program needs.
- Pay: $23.00-$26.00 per hour depending on experience, education, certifications, returning-staff status, driving/van eligibility, and assigned responsibilities.
- Mandatory training is paid. Overtime may be available and is paid at 1.5x for hours over 40 in a workweek.
Best-fit candidate
This role is best for someone who loves climbing, enjoys helping kids build confidence, and can bring calm, organized, safety-first leadership to active summer program days.
Apply through Indeed. Questions can be sent to [email protected]. Learn more at radcamps.com.
Pay: $23.00 - $26.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Professional development assistance
Application Question(s):
- This role requires staff to be at least 21 by training for insurance/transportation reasons. Will you meet that requirement and can you attend paid staff training June 12-14, 2026? If either is a problem, please explain.
- What dates or weeks are you unavailable between June 15 and August 28, 2026? Please include any known training, travel, school, or schedule conflicts.
- Briefly describe your climbing experience, including belaying, harnesses, ropes, climbing gyms, youth climbing teams, ropes courses, outdoor climbing, route setting, or climbing-wall programs.
- Briefly describe your experience working with kids or youth. Include ages, group sizes, and any coaching, teaching, camp, recreation, childcare, or outdoor education settings.
- List any current or planned certifications, such as CPR/First Aid, WFA, WFR, lifeguard, belay, climbing-wall, AMGA, CWI, or similar credentials. Also note whether you have a valid driver's license and clean driving record.
Experience:
- climbing, belay, ropes course, or climbing-wall: 1 year (Required)
- working with children or youth programs: 1 year (Required)
Work Location: In person
