Crew Leaders lead an Assistant Field Crew Leader and five Crew Members on remote, trailwork projects. 

Assistant Field Crew Leaders work under supervision of the Field Crew Leader to lead crew members on remote, trailwork projects.

Program Description

In partnership with the US Naval Academy, SAWS fields a crew every year that provides wilderness and outdoor leadership field training to USNA students. Participants (referred to as Midshipmen) have the opportunity to join a Wilderness trail crew, run by SAWS staff and led by a pair of SAWS Crew Leads, to work on projects helping to steward public lands in the southeast. Over the course of the season, three “blocks” will rotate through assignment on the crew, with each block working two hitches. The goals of the program are to introduce participants to the field of conservation and public land stewardship, both in a general sense and as a potential post-service career, by executing projects in the field that meet SAWS’ standards of excellence.

Position Duration: April 7, 2024 to August 22, 2024 (Potential option to extend into the Fall depending on funding and capacity, please inquire if interested)

Status: Temporary/Seasonal

Compensation: $19.00/hr for Crew Lead and $18.00/hr for Assistant Crew Lead, paid every two weeks; time-in-grade increases may be possible for returning crew leaders

Training Schedule: Training schedule is variable and will switch from 8 days on, 6 days off to 5 days on, 2 days off as training requires. Anticipated start and end dates for training will be early April to late May in 2025.

Hitch Schedule: 8 days working, 6 days off (8 10-hour days). Exact schedules will be finalized in the spring. Field staff working into the late fall may switch to 10 days on, 4 days off due to shortened daylight hours.

Location: Crew will be based out of Roanoke, VA but will be camping and working within various National Forests across Virginia.

Supervisor: Northern Wilderness Program Manager

Crew Structure:One Crew Leader, one Assistant Crew Leader, 5 Naval Academy Crew Members

Hiring Timeline:

*Dates are ideal but positions will be filled on a rolling basis.*

December 30, 2024: Applications close.
January 5, 2025: All applicants contacted by this date.
January 19, 2025: Reference checks completed.
February 2, 2025: Positions hired by this date.

The Crew Leader, with help from the Assistant Crew Leader, will lead five Crew Members while camping and working on remote projects with limited to no cell service. Crews are expected to backpack and live in physically demanding, remote environments for at least 8 (and sometimes 10) days at a time. Conditions of this environment may vary significantly including freezing temperatures, high humidity, persistent rain, and high elevation. The remote nature of our work may mean delayed access to medical care. Leadership of the crew will require excellent communication skills and judgment, maturity, ability to train in the field, professionalism, initiative, emotional maturity and resilience, resourcefulness, patience, ability to delegate tasks, technical trailwork skills, and comfort in the outdoors with minimal contact with others while on hitch. Crew leaders are expected to make decisions in the field to keep their crew safe and provide a high quantity and quality of work for our partners. The Crew Leader is ultimately responsible for successes and shortcomings of the crew. The Assistant Crew Leader is expected to work under the leadership of the Crew Leader and help make decisions in the field to keep their crew safe and provide a high quantity and quality of work for our partners. If a Crew Leader must leave the field or cannot head into the field, the Assistant Crew Leader is expected to fulfill the Crew Leader responsibilities.

A typical work hitch includes meeting at the SAWS office, driving a SAWS vehicle several hours to a trailhead, backpacking into the project site, staying in the field for up to ten days at a time, hiking out, traveling back to the office, cleaning gear, tools, vehicles, completing reporting requirements, and preparing and prepping your crew for the next work hitch.