About Conservation Corps NC:

The mission of the Conservation Corps North Carolina (CCNC) is to empower young adults through meaningful outdoor work that benefits North Carolina’s land and water and creates healthy communities.

CCNC is a program of Conservation Legacy that partners with public land managers in North Carolina to engage motivated young adults, ages 15-30, to complete challenging and impactful conservation service projects throughout the state.

Position Summary:

This position is part of a partnership between CCNC and the Hayti Promise Community Development Corporation to deliver the Hayti Promise Youth Corps Summer Program in Durham, North Carolina. The Crew Leader I position is an opportunity to make a direct impact along the historic Fayetteville Street Corridor, while completing meaningful conservation and neighborhood improvement projects on public and community-serving lands. Leaders will serve as mentors, educators, and facilitators for youth participants, helping promote healthy communities and local environmental stewardship.

In this role, the Crew Leader will guide and support a team of up to six high school–aged youth (typically ages 15–18) through the Hayti Promise Youth Corps program. Leading a youth crew requires strong supervision, structure, and daily coaching. Crew Leaders will provide hands-on technical instruction while also helping participants build confidence, teamwork skills, leadership capacity, and workplace readiness.

Crews will complete trail, beautification, and land stewardship projects, working in urban parks, greenways, private property, and other public or community-focused properties. This role requires comfort supporting youth in active urban environments, maintaining strong situational awareness, and helping participants navigate site-specific hazards in a calm and proactive way. The goal is to create a safe, supportive, and growth-focused environment where young people can develop new skills and see the tangible impact of their work in their own neighborhood.

Standard schedule generally consists of Monday – Friday, 7-hour work days, plus occasional overtime. Crew Leaders may also be required to come into the office to complete administrative duties and check-ins with program staff.

The Crew Leader I position requires patience, a consistently positive attitude, mentorship, technical aptitude, focus on efficiency, and a high level of competence working outdoors in urban settings. It also involves administrative responsibilities, with weekly paperwork due in a timely manner to supervisors. Finally, Crew Leaders must demonstrate the ability to effectively work with diverse teams and within a historically significant and community-centered environment.

The Crew Leader will complete two weeks of paid training from June 1st – June 12th before leading two separate youth crew sessions, each serving up to six high school–aged participants.

Session I: June 15th – July 3rd
Break Week: July 6th – July 10th
Session II: July 13th – August 7th

Each session operates on a Monday through Friday schedule. There will be a one-week break between sessions for both Crew Leaders and participants.

Description of Duties

Leadership & Mentorship

• Mentor crew members by provide valuable feedback, give opportunities for growth, delegating responsibilities, and encouraging technical and leadership skill development.

• 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 safe, healthy, cohesive, other-centered and team-oriented community.

• Follow and enforce all policies, maintain professional boundaries, and appropriately represent the program. This includes creating a substance free work environment, refraining from the use of tobacco products, alcohol, and drugs while involved in the program.

Project Management & Implementation

• Train, motivate and supervise a crew of young adults to efficiently complete tasks and objectives outlined in conservation projects, while working long hours and managing high quality of work and crew morale.

• Think critically to resolve issues and solve problems, requesting assistance or help when needed.

• Communicate & coordinate logistics with project partners, crew, & staff.

Safety & Risk Management

• Monitor, manage, and promote the holistic health of the crew, including physical and emotional (intimidation free community environment) safety.

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

• Transport crew and equipment safely in organizational vans or large SUVs with trailers in accordance with CL Driver policy.

• Manage and document incidents in the field and activate incident response system, if needed, per Conservation Legacy policy.

Administration

• Thorough documentation of crew hours, accomplishments, disciplinary actions taken, and incident response according to Conservation Legacy policy and procedure.

• Manage credit card for purchases.

• Track and submit credit card receipts for all expenses every month.

Qualifications:

• Full commitment to the program and its mission.

• Understanding of and experience with the mission and field management considerations of conservation corps and public land agencies.

• Leadership, management, and supervisory experience with youth or young adults.

• MUST hold CPR/AED or higher or be willing to receive certification prior to start date.

• Ability to effectively manage all aspects of crew life and production within a 40-hour work week including managing projects and programmatic policies and integrity.

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

• Willingness to participate in community-building activities and solution-oriented problem solving with peer leaders.

• Able to work long days in adverse conditions.

• Must be able to speak, understand and write English.

• High School diploma or GED certificate.

• Must over the age of 21 or have possessed a driver’s license for 3 or years more without any restrictions (to pass minimum insurability requirements for crew transport driving duties).

Preferred Qualifications or a Strong Desire to Grow in the Following:

• 1-year experience with CCNC or another Conservation Corps.

• Experience with experiential and/or environmental education.

• Wilderness medical certifications such as Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness First Responder, or Outdoor Emergency Care.

• Facilitation and team-building experience with diverse groups of people.

• Time-management skills and ability to work independently as well as with others.

• Strong conflict resolution skills.

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

Time Requirements:

• Typically, this position is expected to serve Monday to Friday, but exact service schedules may vary. A half hour lunch break will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service

• This is a seasonal position; Crew Leaders are asked to fully commit to the experience, expectations, and timeline.

Orientation and Training:

• June 1st – June 12th (Monday through Friday) prior to crew’s start date.

Benefits:

• Wage $20-25 per hour, depending on prior experience and certifications, plus overtime

• Professional Development

Evaluation and Reporting:

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.

Supervisor Name and Contact Information:

Conservation Corps North Carolina Contact information:

Jackie Meyer

jmeyer@conservationlegacy.org