Overview
Lead Instructor – Essex Outdoors Danbury
Permanent, Full Time
£25,081 to £26,751 per annum
Location: Danbury
Closing Date: 15th August 2025
The Role
As a Lead Instructor based at Essex Outdoors Danbury, you will be part of a team delivering high quality outdoor learning opportunities to circa 40,000 visitors per year. Responsible for leading a team of instructors, you will help to provide an excellent service to our customers and contribute to staff development, training, and ensuring compliance with health & safety and other national governing body requirements.
The Opportunity
Essex Outdoors is a leading provider of outdoor experiences to schools in the East of England and is looking to grow its customer base both within this region and across the country. Our vision is to make the Essex brand recognised as the UK leader in schools’ outdoor residential provision through innovation and customer focus. Essex Outdoors operates within a commercially competitive environment.
The Lead Instructor will support the delivery and development of quality outdoor education programmes and NGB programs in liaison with the Essex Outdoors Manager. Taking the lead in health and safety coordination across the activity areas and maintenance of equipment and resources.
Possessing at least 2, preferably 3 national governing body qualifications and the ability to relate to, motivate and encourage young people and adults to participate in the programmes. The role will plan, develop, monitor and evaluate programmes to measure effectiveness.
Accountabilities
- Support the development and effective implementation of the outdoor programmes.
- Lead in the supervision and pastoral care of young people (and adults where necessary) in the centre, to act as a positive role model.
- Will assist the senior team with inspection and maintenance regimes, organising repairs, renewals and practical maintenance to activity equipment and apparatus to ensure a safe environment.
- Will support the senior team in ensuring compliance with the local and national Health and Safety requirements.
- Contribute to the on-going development of Essex Outdoors offer via the development of new courses, activities and training opportunities
- Develop and deliver training opportunities to meet the learning and development needs of both Essex Outdoors staff and young people such as apprentices and students on work placements.
- Support quality assurance processes, ensuring the standard and quality of delivery is maintained, recording and collating as appropriate.
- Accompany customers on visits and outings which may include outdoors activities.
- Assist the senior team in the delivery of local training and observations of practice.
- Liaise with customers and centre staff to gain new bookings, generating income for Essex Outdoors. Promoting Essex Outdoors on local and national forums and at conferences, trade fairs, recruitment events etc
- Deliver outdoor education programs to customers in remote areas of the UK and abroad.
- Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.
The Experience You Will Bring
- Possesses at least 2, preferably 3 National Governing Body Outdoor Education qualifications at coach level. A D1 & D1E driving licence category is desirable.
- Evidence of continuing professional development and good knowledge in relevant professional area
- Evidence of significant experience of delivering outdoor provision and/or environmental programs.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to motivate, encourage and relate well to young people and adults.
- Good leadership skills and behaviours with the ability to motivate a diverse team to deliver shared objectives.
- Ability to organise and plan ahead and develop relevant outdoor youth work programmes in response to assessed educational needs.
- Ability to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the youth work curriculum that has been delivered.
- Experience of establishing and maintaining a safe environment for the specific activity.
