Join the Crew and Join the Adventure with Wollangarra!

Role Statement

As a staff member at Wollangarra you’re an essential part of a small community based around a truly unique outdoor and environmental education program and lifestyle. The Wollangarra philosophy is about doing rather than talking and fixing rather than complaining, so your days will be filled with hard work and a strong sense of purpose.

You will introduce young people to the Victorian mountains through a program of practical conservation through outdoor education, which will help them to see environmental issues as exciting and demanding challenges to the way we live, rather than endlessly depressing and negative threats to our future.
 
Each week a new group of young people will come across the flying fox and get to experience a way of life that has largely been forgotten. They’ll leave behind their mobile phones, watches and timetables. They’ll get to bake bread, split wood, tend the veggie garden, collect the eggs and light the fire. They’ll get the opportunity to contribute to something positive in a meaningful way and feel like a valued member of the community.

The position requires that you reside on the Wollangarra property. You will live and work with four to five other staff members, the two directors and their 3 kids (aged 11, 11 and 9). Wollangarra becomes your workplace, home and family for the year. This brings lots of laughter, fun and adventure. The role is highly physical. Your time at Wollangarra will offer a challenging, but immensely rewarding experience. For the right person, this is an experience of a lifetime.

Find out more about Wollangarra via our website: www.wollangarra.org

Who are we looking for?

The successful applicant will be a motivated, hard-working person who is looking to make a positive contribution to an organisation that aims to inspire young people to grow, learn and ultimately make a positive contribution to their own communities and the environment.

The successful applicant will be part of a close-knit team of leaders working alongside and under the guidance and support of the directors.

The role will enable a real “hands-on” approach to all aspects of contributing to and managing the Wollangarra program and property. You will be a good “people- person” and someone who is able to get your stuff done whilst helping to support the others on your staff team to be successful in what they are doing as well.

Duties

• Lead Wollangarra’s programs for young people aged 14-17
• Carrying out property tasks including gardening, wood chopping, animal care, maintenance, catering and cleaning
• Work independently and in a group to maintain your designated job areas on a daily basis and when on a ‘flat week’ working on the property (such as livestock, veggie garden, pumps, vehicles, fencing, food ordering etc.)
• Foster an awareness of self, community and sustainability in young people
• Encourage participation in conservation through outdoor education
• Ensure high standards of safety for young people and visitors

Mandatory Requirements

• Current driver’s license
• Current Victorian Working with Children Check (can be obtained once accepted for the position)
• Current Victorian Police Check Certificate

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

• Qualifications in outdoor education, the environmental sciences, education or other “hands on” trades or experience in farming/agriculture etc.
• Wilderness First Aid certificate
• Training in four-wheel drive or chainsaw use.
• Swimming Bronze Medallion
• Food Handling certificate
• Skills in a variety of property management tasks (gardening, catering, building, farming etc).
• Manual drivers license is required (can be obtained once accepted for the position)
• Any musical skills are a bonus and welcomed!

Your Attributes Will Include

• Love of the outdoors and simple living
• Flexible work approach – This is not a 9 to 5 job!
• Good initiative – There is no shortage of jobs at Wollangarra. If you’re good at recognising when a job needs to be done and doing it without being asked, you’ll fit in well.
• Ability to follow instructions – Whilst we do encourage a high-level of initiative in the role,
  we also appreciate the ability to carry out instructions as requested.
• Well organised – Because lots of young people under your charge aren’t! If they forget to pack the group fire lighting kit, you need to have some backup matches. Or a spare loo roll!
• Excellent Communication Skills – Living and working as part of a small team gives everyone the opportunity to really get to know each other. This goes both ways with the great bits, but also the challenging moments. Your communication skills will be put to the test.
• Willing to have a crack at anything – At Wollangarra, you’ll get the opportunity to do things you’ve never done before, whether it’s marking lambs, using a chainsaw, learning traditional bush timber skills or demonstrating the finer points of bush toiletry to a bunch of 14-year-old school students. We just ask that you give it a red-hot go.
• Ability to get along with different people – Wollangarra attracts all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons. You need to be able to engage with them, relate to them and make them feel like a valued member of the community and at home in your home.
• Commitment to the education of young people – Our main aim here is to get young people into the mountains and facilitate their experience. It makes the job easier and more enjoyable if you are passionate about spending time with young people.
• Energy and enthusiasm – It’s not hard to be upbeat when things are easy, but when you’re
  tired, which does happen, it can be a struggle to maintain the energy that is required to manage a group of young people. If you feel you can pull through those harder times with a smile on your face, then that’s a bonus.
• Ability to laugh at yourself – You’ll probably learn more about yourself in a year at Wollangarra than you thought possible. In these moments, humour and the ability not to take yourself too seriously can be a real attribute.

Key Selection Criteria

• Personal outdoor experience – Experience in the outdoors is important. Experience in hiking, camping and cooking etc. will be highly valuable. It’s important that you feel comfortable in the outdoors and can make level-headed decisions at difficult times.
• Demonstrated experience in working with a group of peers – A large part of your role will be working closely with the Wollangarra staff team, daily work tasks and ensuring that what needs to be done gets done. What experience have you had working with a small team of people?
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills, including verbal and written communication – Effective communication is vital at Wollangarra for all sorts of reasons. If you’ve had experience with public speaking, managing conflict, managing behavioral issues, or if you’re a good writer, these skills will stand you in good stead at Wollangarra.
• Demonstrate evidence of a strong work ethic, personal organisation and initiative – being able to complete a task on your own, without getting side-tracked or distracted, is an important skill. What’s just as important is being able to recognise when something needs doing and just doing it without being asked. You need to be able to have your stuff together so that you can support the other staff when needed.
• Demonstrate understanding of Wollangarra’s programs and philosophy – Having a basic understanding of how things work, the program structure and our underlying philosophy is important. If you’ve never been to Wollangarra we suggest you take the time to visit during a program and familiarise yourself with how we work.
• Ability to live and work in a small, remote community, without electricity or modern luxuries – You need to be able to live without things like your mobile phone, the internet and a hot shower every day. You’ll also be living in the pockets of six other people for a year and there will be times when people get your goat. You need to be able to deal with these situations with maturity and respect.
• Proved practical skills in property management – Skills or experience in any of the following areas would be beneficial: building, plumbing, mechanics, fencing, bush crafts, wood splitting, chainsaw use, veggie gardening, pruning, animal husbandry, tractor driving, cooking, cleaning and catering.
• Driving History and Australian driver’s license – You will be driving land cruiser troop carriers and a Toyota Hi-Ace mini bus with young people, along winding mountain roads. We want to know what sort of driver you are and if you can drive everyone there and back home again safely. Ideally you will also have defensive driving and 4WD certifications, however we are prepared to assist with qualifications, if required.

Other relevant information and renumeration.

A year at Wollangarra is considered a volunteer position with a small renumeration and number of formal and informal training is included.

The position includes accommodation, training, food, postage, phone calls, four weeks annual leave, most Saturdays off and one weekend off a month, a monthly honorarium allowance ($11,500 for the year paid in monthly installments), plus superannuation. You can borrow Wollangarra’s hiking gear for the duration of the year if required, and we have access to good discounts at some outdoor retailers and suppliers.

You will receive all accredited training, if required, in Wilderness First Aid, Bushwalking, Four Wheel Driving, Chainsaw Operation and Bronze Medallion. You will also have the opportunity to learn on the job a variety of skills like; managing the small farm at Wollangarra, bushfire prevention, conflict management, behaviour management, building and small machinery maintenance, tractor driving, and outdoor and environmental leadership skills. Having previous training in these areas is beneficial, but not essential.

It is highly recommended that prospective applicants experience Wollangarra firsthand. A visit can be arranged by contacting the Directors at [email protected] using the subject line: Outdoor Leader (Voluntary) - Licola enquiry via EthicalJobs.

If you are wondering whether this role is the right fit for you, you are encouraged to call or email Wollangarra and speak with the acting directors Smitho and Katie.

The book “‘Secondhand and Solid’ - How We Built Wollangarra” was written by the founder Ian Stapleton. It provides an excellent insight into the history and philosophies of Wollangarra. As such, it is recommended reading for prospective applicants.

Submission of Application

The position is open until filled. Interviews of suitable candidates will be conducted via Google Meet (or similar) at a mutually suitable time.

Applications should include a cover letter outlining why you want to work at Wollangarra and what you have to offer, a resume with three referees, and a statement addressing the above Key Selection Criteria.
 
Applications can be submitted by post or clicking Apply Now and filling out the form. Applications are to be directed to the directors for 2024, Smitho and Katie.
 
Get a glimpse of what life is like as a Wollangarra staff member in the short video below. 
 
For a downloadable PDF of this job description, visit: wollangarra.org/jobs-at-wollangarra