Individual Placement - Cave Guides at Oregon Caves NM & Preserves

Position Summary

Cave guides play a key role in providing high-quality interpretive services at Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. The guide will lead up to three 90-minute guided cave tours per day, ensuring visitor safety, protecting sensitive cave resources, and delivering engaging educational content about the

park’s natural and cultural features. The guide supports daily visitor services in the visitor center. Duties include offering informal interpretation,

• assisting with trip planning and orientation, answering questions about park

resources, and helping children complete and be sworn in for the Junior Ranger program. Additionally, the guide will complete one or more interpretive projects during the service term, with specific assignments determined in collaboration with park staff.

Location

Cave Junction, OR

• Schedule

March 8, 2026 - May 15, 2026 (10 weeks)

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• The Cave Guide will lead up to three 90-minute guided cave tours per day,

ensuring visitor safety, protecting sensitive cave resources, and delivering engaging educational content about the park’s natural and cultural features.

• The guide will provide informal interpretation - assisting with trip planning

and orientation, answering questions about park resources, and helping children complete and be sworn in for the Junior Ranger program.

• The guide will complete one or more interpretive projects during the service

term, with specific assignments determined in collaboration with park staff.

Marginal Duties

• The guide will perform light janitorial duties.
• The guide will collect and quantify statistical information.
• The guide will stock brochures on racks.

Required Qualifications:

The guide must be able to provide three, 1-mile long cave tours daily in steep terrain, and in a dark cave environment on a route that requires bending and stooping, including under ceilings as low as 45-inches.

This SCA Position is authorized under the Public Land Corps Authority. All participants must be between the ages of 16 and 30, inclusive, or veterans age 35 or younger. Participants must also be a citizen or national of the United States or lawful permanent resident alien of the United States. Hours served can

be applied toward the Public Land Corps (PLC) hiring authority.

Preferred Qualifications:

This position is ideally suited for a recent college graduate in earth sciences. Other levels of education will be considered.

Hours

40 per week

Living Accommodations

Dormitory housing is provided at no cost to guides within a historic three-story

• building constructed in 1942. The ground floor serves as a visitor center, while

staff dormitories, workspace, and a library are located on the second and third floors. Most dormitory rooms are double-occupancy. Communal bathrooms are located on each floor. A shared kitchen and a common lounge are also available for resident use.

Compensation:

• $1,100 RT Travel Allowance (Paid Once)
• $500 Weekly Living Allowance (Paid Bi-Weekly)
• Housing on Site Provided
• SCA Visitor Services Uniform Package

All allowances are subject to applicable federal, state, and local taxes.

Personal Vehicle Information

Required

Additional Benefits

Interpretive Skills

AmeriCorps: Not Eligible

Equal Opportunity Statement

The Student Conservation Association, Inc., is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The SCA strives to cultivate a work environment that encourages fairness, teamwork, and respect among all staff members and is committed to maintaining a work atmosphere where lifestyles may grow personally and professionally.