Program Supervisors ensure high-quality educational experiences for students and supervise field instructors in curriculum, route planning, and risk management. Evaluate performance and recommend appropriate work levels for field faculty.

Key Logistical Points:

• Applicants need to hold the legal right to work in New Zealand (or be working holiday visa eligible) to be considered for this position

• Class 1 driver's licence with excellent driving record required. Must undertake and meet NOLS driver training requirements. Passenger endorsement and/or New Zealand Class 2 licence viewed favourably.

• Over the duration of the contract, weekly hours will vary but will average 38-40 hours per week, exclusive of 3 weeks unpaid time off over the Christmas/New Year period. 

• Start Date: 2 September 2024

• Benefits: This position is eligible for NOLS’ Medical Insurance reimbursement scheme. Basic housing with communal facilities may be available on-site at subsidised rates. 

• Questions: Please contact christian_martin@nols.edu or peopleteam@nols.edu.

What does a Program Supervisor do?

This role is at our New Zealand campus and will be involved in the following activities:

• Facilitate growth-oriented briefings and debriefings for instructors and students.

• Ensure faculty understand NOLS Accepted Field Practices.

• Apply NOLS Field Instructor Skills in evaluating faculty performance.

• Write timely and appropriately thorough faculty evaluations.

• Organise and review all course related paperwork.

• Contribute to an environment that encourages field staff and students to feel relaxed, supported, and focused going into the field. 

• Work to create exceptional student and staff experiences. 

• Actively guide and mentor field staff in their professional development at NOLS.

• Assist in the management of field evacuations and in-town incidents as needed.

• Assume or assist with other projects supervised by the assistant director or director.

• May be required to act as a fill-in field instructor. Must be willing to gain and/or maintain active NOLS instructor status.

• Help maintain NOLS New Zealand’s local social media communications in conjunction with NOLS HQ.  

• Be an active member of NOLS New Zealand’s emergency and evacuation support team, including sharing the monitoring of our emergency phone.

• Facilitate challenging situations including student behavioural issues, injuries/illnesses, and staff performance concerns.

• Must be willing to work in both program and operations roles to ensure a high level of student service. Regularly assist with course transportation, general cleaning, outfitting, and vehicle preparation; occasionally assist with course rationing, meal preparation, and maintenance as necessary to maintain facilities and high calibre student/instructor service. 

• Actively contribute to a positive and healthy community living environment while striving to maintain balance between work and life. Must role model excellent in-town expedition behaviour. 

• Help NOLS foster a strong local presence in New Zealand.

Please note this list is not inclusive of all duties and responsibilities, but rather covers the more frequent tasks of the role.

What makes a great Program Supervisor at NOLS? 

We are looking for people who share our values and are keen to learn and develop their expertise. We are looking for candidates with the skills listed below. We expect to provide training and development support in some of the areas.

• Familiarity with and ability to support the NOLS mission and operations, and a commitment to serve our students. 

• A positive attitude, calm demeanour, and high degree of motivation, initiative, and organisational skills are required. 

• Interest and ability to become, or current active status as, a NOLS field instructor. 

• Must be able to work flexible and at times irregular hours, including some weekends and public holidays.

• A background in outdoor education, guiding, or instructing is essential, with particular competence in at least one of the following skill areas: hiking, sea kayaking, whitewater canoeing, mountaineering, keelboat sailing. NZOIA qualifications (or similar) highly regarded. 

Who are we and what can we offer you?

NOLS is a nonprofit global wilderness school that seeks to help people step forward boldly as a leader. We believe that anyone can be a leader; it is our role to provide the environment and training to help people discover their full potential. We do that in classrooms close to home and in remote wilderness areas around the world. We are an organisation with heart, expertise, and wildness, and these qualities help us support powerful, authentic experiences.

NOLS really is a great place to work:

• We have locations in seven U.S. states, and six countries; and courses in all 50 U.S. states and over 10 countries.

• All employees can benefit of free outdoor equipment "Rental" at our various locations

• We have fantastic employee discounts on top outdoor gear brands

• We offer discounts on NOLS courses for you and your family

• Wellness Time for all employees

• Employee Assistance Program: Access to counsellors that are available 24/7 to assist employees with work-life balance concerns.

Next steps

At NOLS we use the Applied platform for our recruitment. Applied aims to overcome unconscious bias in recruiting. Instead of using your resume alone, we'll be asking you to answer questions to test skills needed for the role. The responses are then anonymized, and reviewed in a random order by members of our team. 

The Applied platform also asks some demographic questions before you start your application. We at NOLS never see the responses to these demographic questions with your application. We only see summary statistics to help us check if our candidate pool is balanced and if everyone has an equal chance to get hired irrespective of their background. If you prefer, you can easily opt out of answering these questions.

All you need to do is start the process by clicking on the button at the top right. 

Additional Information

• A criminal background check is required from all NOLS employees.

• Current NOLS employees please note it is NOLS policy to conduct an internal reference check with human resources and/or your current supervisor as part of the reference check process. If you have any questions or concerns about this process please contact peopleteam@nols.edu.

NOLS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetics information, disability unrelated to job or admission requirements, or status as a protected veteran. The school’s nondiscrimination policy applies to all phases of its employment process, its admission and financial aid programs, and to all other aspects of its educational programs and activities. Retaliation directed to any person who pursues a discrimination complaint or grievance, participates in a discrimination investigation, or otherwise opposes unlawful discrimination is prohibited.

NOLS values community and fosters a sense of belonging for our employees and applicants. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations in the workplace because they embody these values, as well as our operating principle of promoting a positive, safe, and learning environment. Reasonable accommodations may be requested for disability; limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; religion; and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or harassment. Reasonable accommodations may be requested at any point of the employment process, including during recruitment. Please email peopleteam@nols.edu with your request.