AZCC VFC Crew Leader Tucson- Fall 2024 - Conservation Legacy

Start Date: August 19th, 2024

End Date: December 2024 (actual end date TBD)

Salary: $1050 per week

Location: Tucson, AZ

Benefits:

· S-212 Chainsaw Certification

· Certifications: S-130 & S-190

· Firefighter Training and Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior.

· IS100b, Intro to Incident Command System.

· IS700, National Incident Management System (NIMS);

· AmeriCorps Education Award

· Paid training

· Food budget while on camping hitch

· Employee Assistance Program

Program Summary

Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC):

Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC) seeks qualified candidates for Veteran Fire Corps (VFC) Crew Leader (CL) positions based out of Tucson, AZ for the 2024 Fall season. AZCC offers opportunities for individuals to work in a crew environment on national lands throughout the southwestern United States and elsewhere. Successful assistant crew leaders are self-motivated, energetic, and tenacious they understand the value of hard work in the outdoors and are driven to excellence in conservation. Veteran status is preferred for this position. The VFC aims to retrain recent era military veterans for careers in conservation, fuels management, and wildland firefighting. VFC programs accomplish this goal by immersing participants in a conservation crew experience.

Training

Most AmeriCorps terms will begin with an orientation: crewmembers who attend the full orientation will receive training on First Aid (typically Wilderness First Aid), Leave No Trace, outdoor living, crew culture and diversity, leadership development, and goal setting. There is also potential need to pass a USFS Arduous Pack Test depending on proximity to fire related project work. Informal hands-on training will continue throughout the term with on- the- ground skills training. Depending on the project needs, crews may receive specialized training in herbicide handling, crosscut saw, chainsaw, dry stone masonry or rigging. Additionally, CLs and Assistant Crew Leaders (ACLs) will participate in an intensive leadership training to include things like conflict resolution, project partner interactions, leadership theory and more.

Schedule:

Generally, crews work an 8-day, 10-hours/day ‘hitch’ schedule, while camping in front and backcountry settings. Typically, members will have 6 days off in the town of the home base office. Drive time to and from the work site from the home base office is typically included in the hitch schedule. Applicants should expect the project schedule and type of work to vary. Workdays will start with a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) safety meeting followed by a 15-minute warm-up exercise and a 15-minute stretch. Days will include two 15-minute breaks and one 30-minute lunch.

What We Provide:

· Tools and Personal Protective Equipment

· Transportation from office to projects

· Budget for meals is provided while in the field

· Field uniform shirts & First aid kits

You Provide:

· Transportation from home to the office

· Personal camping gear, such as a tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad

· Work pants and leather boots (6 inch upper, Vibram soles)

· Day pack and multiday pack

· Rain gear

Housing:

Housing on days off is not provided. AZCC is an independent, non-residential program. All members and staff are responsible for finding housing while not on project.

Crew Leader Position Description:

Responsibilities: 

Leadership & Mentorship 

· Manage, supervise, and lead the day-to-day details of project work. 

· Implement skills training on worksite and facilitate intentional discussions via informal lessons to contribute to the crew’s personal growth and group dynamics.

· Promote individual corps member development and a healthy community.

· Mentor and delegate project responsibilities, crew life, and member development to ACL.

· Must be willing to follow and enforce all AZCC policies, maintain professional boundaries, and appropriately represent Arizona Conservation Corps. This includes creating a substance free work environment and refraining from alcohol and drugs while on hitch.

Project Management, Safety & Implementation 

· Train and motivate a crew of four to six veterans to efficiently complete conservation projects on public lands.

· Manage the on-the-ground quality and quantity of project work.

· Think critically to resolve issues and solve problems.

· Communicate effectively & coordinate logistics with project partners, co-leader, & AZCC staff. 

· Monitor, manage, and promote the crew’s physical and emotional safety on and off the work site.

· Exhibit strong situational awareness & promote a culture of safety.

Administration 

· Complete professional documentation of time sheets, daily and weekly reports, corps member and peer evaluations, disciplinary action forms, incident reports, etc. in a timely manner.

· Responsible for all project related outcomes and deliverables

· Manage food budget and credit card for purchases.

Essential Functions: 

· Frequently required to walk, hike, sit and talk or listen.

· Required to use hands to operate objects, tools, or controls, and to reach with hands and arms.

· Regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

· Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision and the ability to focus.

· Required to drive an AZCC vehicle - and therefore have a very clean driving record.

· Must be able to speak, understand, read, and write English. 

· Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required Qualifications: 

· Previous leadership experience

· Strong time-management skills and ability to work independently as well as with others. 

· Ability to manage all aspects of crew life and production effectively and efficiently within the work week.

· Flexibility, adaptability, and capacity to work in a fluid, changing work environment.

· Willingness to learn and be a part of a dynamic community of peer leaders. 

· Desire to learn from and work with recent era military veterans.

· Willingness to commit fully to the program and its mission.

· Significant chainsaw operations and maintenance experience.

· Physically fit and able to work long days in adverse conditions. 

· Experience with backpacking, wilderness living and travel, LNT principles.

· High School diploma or GED certificate.

· Minimum of Wilderness First Aid and CPR/AED current.

· Must be 21 or older, have a clean driving record (insurable by AZCC) and a current driver’s license.

Preferred Qualifications: 

· Veteran status and/or previous work experience with veterans.

· Experience with AZCC or other conservation corps or youth corps, leading Veterans

· Teaching, facilitation, and team-building experience with diverse groups of people 

· Faller B Chainsaw certification (Or ready to evaluate as one) 

· Wildland Fire experience (Hot shot, hand crew, engine crew, etc.)  

· Current 80 hour + medical certification (WFR, WEMT, or OEC) with CPR/AED 

· Familiarity with basic conservation skills (hand tool use and maintenance, etc.) 

· Strong conflict resolution skills 

· Sense of humor, spirit of adventure, and desire to make a positive difference and promote leadership in others

Expectations:

AZCC is an independent, non-residential program, so housing is not provided. The CL must supply his/her own personal outdoor gear and equipment such as a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, day pack, multi-day pack, work pants, 6-inch leather work boots, personal cook set, personal food etc. AZCC will provide the tools, protective gear, and transportation to projects.

Participation and Expedition Behavior:

· Work effectively as a member of a team despite potentially stressful and difficult conditions. This may require problem solving on an interpersonal or group level as well as a willingness to accept differences.

· Willingness and ability to complete all aspects of the program including conservation projects, education, training, and national service. Members must commit to participating in all crew/team activities, including service days in local communities where applicable.

· Effectively communicate ideas and concerns as they arise directly to supervisors, colleagues, and organization staff.

· Have the cognitive ability to learn necessary skills and apply them to effectively carry out the service work requirements.

· Appropriately represent the Program and AmeriCorps to the public and project partners at all times.

· Contribute to a safe learning environment, no harassment of others for any reason.

Safety and Judgment:

· Effectively communicate danger to others in the form of either a warning of danger others may be encountering or a notification of personal distress, injury or need for assistance. You must be able to do so at a distance of up to 50 meters and in conditions with limited visibility or loud background noise such as darkness or high winds.

· Effectively perceive, understand, and follow direction by others so that you will be able to successfully execute appropriate and perhaps unfamiliar techniques to manage hazards. These directions may be given before the hazard is encountered or may need to be given during exposure to the hazard.

· Stay alert and focused for several hours at a time while traveling and working in varied weather conditions.

· Perceive and comprehend significant and apparent hazards, including those hazards previously identified by others.

· Respond appropriately to stress or crises.

· If taking prescription medications, participants must be able to maintain proper dosage by self-medicating without assistance from others.

Environmental Ethics:

· Learn and practice ‘Leave no Trace’ techniques.

· Learn and safely perform fundamental outdoor living/travel and work skills as appropriate to the project. Additionally, remain adequately hydrated, fed, and properly dressed so as to remain generally healthy and safe, avoiding environmental injuries.

· Live in a physically demanding, possibly remote environment for an uninterrupted period of up to several weeks. Conditions of this environment may vary significantly and may include severe and/or trying weather. The remoteness is such that it may require at a minimum one hour, but perhaps in excess of 12 hours, to reach the nearest advanced medical care.

· Outdoor Skills and Fitness (where appropriate)

Substance Free:

· In Accordance with a drug free workplace, alcohol and drugs are prohibited while participating in AmeriCorps and program activities and while on organization property.

Equal Employment Opportunity

This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.