B'Naiture Mentor

Mentor for Middle School Age Youth

Start Date:

August 2026 Part‑time Role. This Wilderness Torah program weaves Jewish spirituality, tradition, and teachings with personal challenges, outdoor skills, mentorship from adults outside of family, peer group community building, and nature awareness activities to provide an embodied way for youth to explore coming‑of‑age. B’naiture meets from October—May on six Sundays from 10:30‑4:30pm in Joaquin Miller Park, six Wednesday nights around the Berkeley marina, and three weekend camping trips.

We seek educators with 3+ years experience in youth mentoring, nature connection, wilderness skills, and/or Jewish learning to serve as mentors for our B’naiture program for the 2026‑2028 cohort. As a B’naiture mentor, your role is to provide nature‑based games, challenges, crafts, stories, Jewish and nature‑based learning, and help guide youth into their teen years.

• Attend staff training weekend August
  21‑23, additional trainings throughout the year, and end of season staff debrief.
• Participate in 3‑6 hours of collaborative planning meetings per month.
• Mentor and guide youth, maintain safety and health of all participants.
• Communicate with families as needed; coordinate and participate in yearly calls with each family, divided with your co‑mentor, for approximately 6‑8 hours over the course of February and March.
• Arrive promptly for each meeting—Sundays generally 9:30‑5:00 and Wednesdays 4:00‑8:30—and for set‑up, clean‑up, and duration of camping trips.
• Respond promptly to e‑mail correspondence from program manager and team.
• Maintain CPR/first aid certification (Wilderness Torah will reimburse for training if you don’t already have it).

• Willingness to learn new things.
• Timeliness and foresight: able to arrive promptly and prepared with materials and teaching you have agreed to for each program day.
• Knowledge of and/or commitment to learning Jewish stories, songs, and teachings.
• Knowledge of the Eight Shields model desired.
• Knowledge of and experience with Rite‑of‑Passage desired.
• Heart: personal spiritual practice, and/or yearning to be more spiritually connected.
• Love of and deep connection to the natural world.
• Ability to be a team player, as much of what we create is a collaboration of our ideas and experience.
• Excitement to cultivate community and cohesion amongst staff and participants.
• Experience and love of teaching, mentoring, and working with youth ages
  11‑13.
• Hands: nature‑based and wilderness skills you are excited to teach (building and tending fire, basic whittling, music skills a plus).
• Ability to lift at least
  25pounds; able to be outside in various weather conditions, from very hot to extremely rainy and wet with a bright attitude that inspires the kids.

• 3+ years experience providing either wilderness, nature‑based, Jewish, and/or rites‑of‑passage programming.
• Naturalist and wilderness skills knowledge; experience teaching wilderness skills is a bonus.
• Knowledge of the Jewish calendar and holiday cycles, stories, and values; experience teaching in Jewish education is a bonus.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic team of youth mentors and can think on their feet.
• Committed to completing the 2‑year program.
• We are ideally looking for people who are interested in continuing on with us as mentors in the future.

• Pay is commensurate with experience ($25‑$30/hr); this is a part‑time temporary role.
• Paid earned sick leave.
• 25% off Wilderness Torah youth programs for any children.
• Free attendance to any virtual Wilderness Torah classes and courses, and discounts on all in‑person events.
• Wilderness Torah will subsidize your Wilderness First Aid course.
• Receive training in our award‑winning curriculum.

Start Date:

August
2026. Local candidates only, or be willing to relocate. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis until positions are filled.