Instructor of Outdoor Education

Salary & Benefits

37.5 hours per week
Permanent Role
£25,116.00 per annum

15/12/2025

YMCA National Centre
Lakeside
Newby Bridge
Ulverston
Cumbria
LA12 8BD

For further information and to complete an application form for the above role, please visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)./

Monday 5th January 2026 by 9:00am. Applications submitted and/or received after this time will not be considered.

We are looking for an experienced outdoor educator with a range of National Governing Body (NGB) assessed awards. If you have at least 3 years’ experience with a minimum of two NGB qualifications held for 2 years or longer, with the potential to progress further, we welcome hearing from you. We would particularly welcome qualified dinghy sailors. In support of the management team, we require an outdoor practitioner who has the qualities to assist with coaching and assessing across a range of activities at Lakeside, which require training and evaluation via internal signing-off processes.

We will provide the opportunities and experience to continue your professional development, with individual personal progression plans, a specific experienced mentor, along with funded training and assessment opportunities to further enhance your qualifications and professional capability.

You will join a like-minded and adventurous team who play an important role in changing young people’s lives and be a part of creating inspirational pathways and opportunities, welcoming all to get involved and make a positive difference. Working for us means helping children and young people of all levels of ability and backgrounds to fulfil their potential through enjoyable and safe outdoor education programmes.

• Paddle Sport Leader
• Rock Climbing Instructor
• RYA Dinghy Instructor with Safety Boat
• A UKCA canyon award
• Summer Mountain Leader
• Level 1 Cave Leader
• Outdoors based Diploma, Certificate or Degree, PGCE, accredited with the IOL

• Providing inspirational, safe, high-quality instruction and outdoor learning
• Course directing schools’ programmes
• Take responsibility for specific aspects of programme delivery
• Joining the Duty Team to ensure safe and secure residential stays
• Take an increasing lead on assisting with training and assessing of instructor colleagues
• Doing all the many other small jobs which make our outdoor education courses so successful

• You are passionate about creating great experiences for children and young people in the outdoors
• You are friendly and hardworking
• You are a resilient and confident team worker who can also work unsupervised using your own initiative
• You can show a commitment to gaining further awards as listed above
• You have at least 3 years’ experience of working in the Outdoor Education sector
• You are able to work flexibly including some evenings and occasional weekends (by arrangement)
• You are able to start in late Feb / early March 2026.

Successful applicants will be required to complete an Enhanced DBS Disclosure, which is paid for by the Centre.

Completed applicant forms should be returned to recruitment
.

For an informal chat about the role, please call the centre and ask to speak to Senior Operations Manager, Dr Martin Barry. Please note that due to the high volume of applications we are currently receiving, we are only able to contact candidates who are successful in progressing to the next stage. If you have not been contacted within 5 working days of the closing date, then please presume that you have not been successful on this occasion.