Crew Lead - Saguaro National Park Diversity Conservation Corps

Start Date: January 6th, 2025 - April 25th, 2025

Compensation: $860 per week, a one time $250 stipend for field gear

Application Due: November 10th, 2024

Saguaro Diversity Conservation Corp seeks to engage ethnically and racially diverse young professionals in natural resource careers.
You must be

• Age 21-30 (35 for veterans)

• U.S. Citizen or legal resident 

• A personal vehicle is required for this position.

Read about previous Saguaro Diversity Corp Member’s Experience

Position Description: 

Our diversity conservation corps is seeking young adults from underrepresented communities to work alongside Resource Management staff at Saguaro National Park to protect the iconic saguaro cactus and other natural resources at Saguaro National Park. As Corps lead, you’ll drive hands-on projects, under the direction of Park staff, preserving the park’s resources for future generations.  

Saguaro National Park, a gem of the National Park Service, is under threat from increasingly frequent droughts and rising temperatures. The saguaro, one of the park’s most iconic features, is particularly vulnerable to the impacts associated with climate change. The park works to mitigate those impacts through projects emphasizing invasive plant management, wildlife friendly fence conversion, wildlife surveys, water surveys, tortoise monitoring, saguaro monitoring, abandoned mine restoration work, surveying human impacts on natural landscapes, seed collection, plant ID, and volunteer engagement. Crew members will receive protocol and safety trainings in all assigned work as well as Wilderness First Aid. 

The Crew Lead manages a diverse team of five (5) Crew Members and monitors Saguaro National Park’s natural resources. Applicants should be aware of the demanding nature of the work, involving daily hikes with temperatures exceeding 90-degrees toward the end of the term. Being physically fit and ready for strenuous fieldwork under these conditions is essential.

Responsibilities:

• Organizing professional growth
• Guide team-building
• Maintaining a safe and healthy crew environment.
• Understand the ecological impact of these invasive species
• Learn proper removal techniques
• Safely remove invasive plants using appropriate tools and techniques
• Follow safety protocols for working in desert environments
• Use appropriate personal protective equipment
• Understand how to take accurate measurements of Saguaro cacti
• Understand the importance of the data for climate change research
• Be able to explain the project to park visitors if encountered during work

Qualifications:

• Past outdoor leadership with young adults/youth. 
• Proven hiking, camping expertise, and passion for physical challenges. 
• Strong time management, detail-focus, and communication. 
• Must be +21 years old with a clean driving record and valid license. 
• Outdoor experience in varied climates, steep terrain, and carrying a backpack up to 30 lbs. 
• Wilderness First Aid/CPR Certification preferred.

Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Authority (PLC)

The Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Authority is a special hiring authority available to qualifying interns. The intern must be between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, inclusive, or a veteran up to age 35 and complete 640 hours of work on an appropriate conservation project to be eligible for this hiring authority. Upon successful completion of the PLC project(s), the intern is eligible for two years to be hired non-competitively into a federal seasonal, term, or permanent position. The applicant must apply to a PLC-eligible position advertised on USAJobs.gov and selected off a non-competitive certificate of eligibility. For more information, see DOI Personnel Bulletins 11-02 , 12-13, and 17-03.

EEO Statement

Environment for the Americas provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.