Veterans Fire Crew Leader

Title: Crew Leader II – Veterans Fire Crew

Locations: New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, WV

Status: Seasonal, Full-time, Veterans Fire Program

Dates: September 7th to December 17th, 2026

Wages: $1,125/week

Benefits: Health benefits available after a probationary period

Purpose

Appalachian Conservation Corps works to connect young people to critical conservation service work across Appalachia and neighboring communities in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, DC, and Pennsylvania. As a corps program, we partner with public land managers to identify, plan, and complete projects that improve public access, habitat quality, and economic development.

Appalachian Conservation Corps is a program of Conservation Legacy, a nationwide network of conservation service organizations envisioning a world with healthy lands, air, and water, thriving people, and resilient communities. We aim to engage future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our public lands through community-based service. We welcome national applicants but also emphasize the engagement of local individuals who represent the communities in which they serve.

Position Summary

The Veterans Fire Corps (VFC) program provides training, certifications, and on-the-job experience for veterans aged 18-35 who are interested in entering careers and gaining experience in wildland firefighting and natural resource management. The program engages veterans in a cohort environment to train and complete projects related primarily to fuels management, which may include prescribed burning and wildland firefighting. The crew should also be prepared to assist on a variety of projects including trail maintenance, invasive species removal, and habitat management.

The Crew Leader II position is an opportunity to make a difference in young peoples’ lives while completing conservation projects on public and private lands. Leaders will be mentors, educators, and facilitators for young adults, working to promote the health and resiliency of our land, air, and water.

This crew will typically be stationed at New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia but can also be deployed to other National Park Service sites within the Northeast region. The schedule for this crew is heavily dependent on weather, partner schedules, and varying workload at any given time in the season. We ask members to be flexible and open to changing needs throughout the season. The typical hitch schedule is Monday through Thursday each week. While in the field, crew members work outdoors in all types of weather conditions for 10 hours a day.

Lodging is provided for the duration of this position. This lodging may vary throughout the season and could be a house or a campsite. Crews are required to use the provided lodging during work periods (hitches). During hitch, the crew will live, prepare meals, and work together as a group to complete all projects and chores. Lodging will remain available for participants who would like to stay on site during their days off, however this is not required.

The Crew Leader II position requires patience, a consistently positive mental attitude, mentorship, technical aptitude, focus on efficiency, and a high level of competence in the outdoors. It also involves an administration role, where weekly paperwork is due in a timely manner to supervisors. Finally, crew leaders must exhibit the ability to effectively work on dynamic teams and those from a variety of communities.

Participants are responsible for their own food and transportation when they are not on hitch. In addition to providing food while on hitch, we will provide group camp equipment, tools, protective gear, and transportation between camping/lodging sites and project sites.

Responsibilities:

Leadership & Mentorship

• Mentor Assistant Crew Leader: provide valuable feedback, give opportunities for growth, delegate responsibilities, and encourage 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, requesting assistance when needed.
• Communicate & coordinate logistics with project partners, Assistant Crew Leader, & program 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 our 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 food budget and credit card purchases.
• Track and submit credit card receipts for all expenses every month.

Camp Management

• Oversee, manage, and assign camp chores and tasks.
• Monitor and manage crew community needs in camp.
• Instruct crew in how to create a safe, hygienic, and tidy camp environment while mitigating crew-caused impacts to campsites, practicing minimum impact camping techniques.
• Maintain all program policies and procedures in camp environment.
• Leading a camping crew is an intensive commitment requiring a continuous physical presence. Leaders must remain physically present, and cognitively and emotionally available to support community and individual crew member needs.

Benefits

• $1125 per week

• On-the-job training and certification opportunities including Wildland Fire Red Card, S212 Chainsaw Certification, and Wilderness First Aid.

• Member Assistance Program – 3 free sessions of support with a counseling or work-life balance specialist.

• Professional development opportunities (mentorship, resume support, etc.) and exposure to natural resource career paths.

• Health benefits available after a probationary period

Minimum Qualifications:

• Be a military veteran able to provide a DD-214 or NGB-22.
• Able to pass the USFS arduous level pack test (3-mile hike with 45-pound pack within 45 minutes).
• 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.
• Ability to effectively manage all aspects of crew life and production within a 40-50+-hour work week including managing projects, camping, 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.
• Have a high school diploma or GED certificate.
• Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a criminal history check.
Must be 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:

• Experience with experiential and/or environmental education.
• Experience with backpacking, wilderness living and travel.
• Experience with team-building facilitation and conflict resolution.
• Time-management skills and ability to work independently as well as with others.
• Current advanced medical certification: Wilderness First Responder with CPR/AED or higher
• Technical wildland fire, trails, herbicide, or chainsaw experience.

Our Commitment

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Any questions can be addressed to:

Eleanor Trott

Crew Program Manager

etrott@conservationlegacy.org

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.