Position:                     Discover Parks Ambassador (Goldstream)

Dates:                        March 4th to December 6th, 2024

Compensation:    $20 per hour

Schedule:                   Full-time, 35 hours/week. Schedule will be 5 consecutive days with 2 days off. Shift times will vary according to the season (spring/summer/fall). For example:

• Spring: Wed-Sun, 9am-4:30pm
• Summer: Will include 12:30pm-9pm shifts for evening public programs
• Fall: Hours will change to accommodate salmon run programs

Job location:              Working in Goldstream Provincial Park and Nature House - Victoria, BC (5 days/week)

Apply Here: https://bcparksfoundation.bamboohr.com/careers/59

Purpose:                    To excite, engage and educate park visitors

Position Description

Discover Parks Ambassadors create amazing experiences that inspire, educate, and empower people to appreciate, enjoy, and care for British Columbia's parks and protected places. We are seeking energetic, motivated individuals with a deep respect for the natural environment to deliver educational experiences in Goldstream Provincial Park, ensuring a welcoming and engaging experience at the Goldstream Nature House.  This 9-month position encompasses three unique programming seasons; spring, summer, and fall salmon run programs. The Goldstream Nature House has the reputation of being a welcoming and educational space with opportunities for park visitors to support conservation education through donations and purchases.  This position is instrumental in maintaining the Nature House’s positive role in the community.

What does a typical day look like?

Your days will vary throughout your work term and will include running educational programs in various park locations, alongside operating the Goldstream Nature House. Daily tasks include delivering programs, engaging with visitors, programs planning, operating the giftshop, daily cleaning of the nature house, and collecting and reporting program metrics.  Goldstream’s visitation varies across the term of this position thus the percentage of time spent on each of these tasks will vary season to season. You will always be interacting with visitors, sharing insight about the park’s biodiversity and inspiring environmental awareness.  On weekdays you may be running multiple programs for school groups, walking trails, and operating the giftshop and on weekends you may provide public programs for families alongside your time in the Nature House.  During the summer your schedule will change to include afternoon and evening shifts to facilitate the much-loved evening educational amphitheatre programs at the campground. 

Responsibilities

• Research, learn, create, promote, and deliver engaging school group programs focused on the natural history of the area that meet the objectives of the BC Curriculum and the education community.
• Meaningfully interact with park visitors in the following ways:
  • Educate on how to enjoy parks responsibly. 
  • Ensure you are knowledgeable on local flora, fauna, and natural processes to be able to answer questions and provide accurate information.
  • Facilitate activities and games for children and families.
  • Present daytime and evening family-friendly interpretive programs in parks.
  • Learn existing programs and research park-specific knowledge to enrich them.
• Operate and enhance the Goldstream Nature House and Giftshop.
  • Learn and operate the Storefront/Point of Sale system for retail sales, donations, and user-fee payments.
  • Conduct daily operational tasks including cleaning, tidying and inventory management.
• Promote and educate park visitors on collecting iNaturalist observations with a mobile device. 
• Monitor and report daily interaction statistics.
• Contribute to a safe work environment.  

All employees may carry out a range of functions beyond their core roles and are expected to help with advancing the organization as a whole.

Requirements

• A love of the environment and for being outdoors in all weather conditions.
• Comfortable making presentations, talking to visitors, and leading tours.
• Enjoy interacting with large crowds and having lots of conversations. Goldstream gets very busy, and your team might have 100+ conversations with visitors in a day.
• Experience working or volunteering with children.
• Comfortable handling and dissecting deceased salmon during salmon run season (Sept-Dec).
• Possess a valid Driver’s license and access to a reliable vehicle for accessing the park and campground.
• Have a personal computer with video conferencing capabilities.
• Have a personal mobile phone available during work hours.
• Willing to complete a Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Search (will be completed during the hiring process).

Skills and experience considered an asset:

• Fluency in additional languages.
• Standard first aid certification or higher.
• Post-secondary study in environmental sciences or outdoor education.

Perks of the job

• Industry standard interpretive training provided.
• Standard first aid training provided, if needed.
• Staff activities and competitions.
• Discounts on BCPF merchandise.
• You get to work in one of BC’s most beautiful parks having a positive impact on people’s visits!

Commitment to Equity

• The Foundation is committed to a diverse workforce. Preference may be given to qualified Indigenous candidates or those from or with experience of other diverse cultures (this includes learning and/or applying information and practices of your culture of that of another culture).
• Those identifying as being part of groups which are underrepresented or facing barriers to the labour market are encouraged to apply.

No. of Positions Available:  3

Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled

Apply Here: https://bcparksfoundation.bamboohr.com/careers/59