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HIOBS runs one-, two- and three-week wilderness expeditions in sailing, backpacking and canoeing (and some courses are a combination of two). Most expeditions will include a day or two of rock climbing on the seacliffs or crags of Maine and New Hampshire, and some canoeing courses will run Class I, II, and III whitewater. During the fall and spring, we offer multi-element semester courses ranging in length from 50 to 85 days.

Highlights of HIOBS

• We are a student-focused educational organization, with a fifty-year tradition of blending the proven efficacy of experiential outdoor learning with the modern sciences of learning, and applying them to the challenges of today’s world.
• Staff receive extensive training and an intense and productive apprenticeship with experienced lead instructors. We support the learning and development of staff through coaching, feedback and mentorship. HIOBS staff are professionals who are attentive to details, creative, flexible and resilient, whether on expedition with students, or within the communities at the basecamps.

Our primary summer course areas are the Maine Coast and offshore islands, the Northern Appalachian Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine, the Rangeley Lakes of western Maine, and the vast Moosehead Region of northern Maine. During the winter, we run sailing courses in the Florida Keys and Everglades. Our semesters run in one or more of these areas, and may include a segment with another Outward Bound school in Central America or South America. Sailing is also offered year round in the Bahamas.

Administrative jobs are posted when available. Instructor and basecamp logistics positions are hired on a rolling basis beginning in October (usually concluding in February) to begin work in May each year. Newly hired instructors are required to attend staff trainings in May and June.

While you are working and for a day or two before and after each course you teach, HIOBS feeds and houses you. At basecamps, housing is in rustic cabins, with communal kitchens and bathrooms. Food is included and wifi is available.

Other benefits include eligibility for Accident Insurance and Pro-Purchase Programs.

• The Maine basecamps and surrounding areas provide a wealth of recreational opportunities for staff between courses: climbing, paddling, sailing, fishing, hiking, trail running and swimming are all popular activities.

There isn’t a singular path to becoming an Outward Bound instructor. To work in the field right away as an instructor, you need several qualities:

• Required technical skills for your desired program area
• Excellent physical and mental endurance
• Excellent communication and teaching skills
• WFR (Wilderness First Responder) and CPR certification
• Ability to pass a background screening and drug test
• Sound judgment, and the ability to think situationally
• Flexibility, good sense of humor, humility, etc.
• Experience working in a leadership role in the wilderness is a bonus!
• Above all, you need the desire to work with students (teens in particular) and to help provide them with life changing experiences

Some Outward Bound schools host courses in Wilderness Medicine prior to the season at a discounted rate.  Nationally recognized certification providers include:

• Wilderness Medical Associates (www.wildmed.com)
• Wilderness Medical Institute (www.nols.edu)
• SOLO (www.soloschools.com)
• Landmark Learning (www.landmarklearning.org)

Hurricane Island Outward Bound school will be hosting a WFR Recertification in the second week of May, before the new staff training. Check out https://www.hiobs.org/programs/wildmed/ for more information.

No. If you are already skilled in wilderness travel, it isn’t necessary. However, if you would like to enhance your skill set and experience before applying, these courses are ideal. These courses are wonderful for folks looking to break into the industry but who don’t have the required expedition experience. Also, HIOBS strongly encourages all prospective staff to take at least a one-week adult course to see the curriculum from the students’ point of view. After your interview, you may be invited to sign up for an adult course at a considerable discount.

Because the majority of our programs run during the summer months, we offer school year work primarily to staff who work our summer season. It is possible to work year round for HIOBS as a field instructor or logistician, but rare for a first- or second-season employee to be offered that schedule.

There isn’t a singular path to becoming an Outward Bound instructor. To work in the field right away as an instructor, you need several qualities:

• Required technical skills for your desired program area
• WFR (Wilderness First Responder)
• Good judgment
• Flexibility, good sense of humor, humility, etc.
• Experience working in a leadership role in the wilderness is a bonus!
• Above all, you need the desire to work with students (youth in particular) and to help provide them with life changing experiences

If you don’t have the experience listed above, you have several options:

• Consider an internship
• Consider a logistics position
• Take a course to improve your technical skills
• Seek employment elsewhere in order to build your skill set and then reapply 

Not exactly. It takes quite a bit of time and energy on HIOBS’ part to train Assistant Instructors to become Lead Instructors (the staff who are ultimately responsible for the student experience and for training/mentoring the newer staff).  We ask that all staff stay in one place until they reach this level and have “paid it forward” by training new instructors for at least a couple of seasons. This is usually a 3-4 summer commitment. We offer a variety of incentives for development such as Staff Expeditions, Advanced Trainings, etc., so that field staff can get some of their developmental needs met prior to changing locations.

During our busy summer months, staff will spend most of their time in the field with students. While not on course, staff go off to play or rest and relax before the next course.  If housing is available at the base, staff are asked to do nominal service in exchange for room and board.

Most Outward Bound schools require all staff to be 21 years or older.  Please refer to specific job postings for any requirements.

Download and fill out the HIOBS Field Staff & Logistics Positions Application. Completed Application forms may be emailed to [email protected], faxed to 888-812-4046, or collected in sealed, signed envelopes, and sent to:

New Hire Application

Hurricane Island Outward Bound School

PO Box 800

Camden ME 04843