Expedition Leader

Description:

This role is a seasonal position, where you may work for 3 weeks of the year or you may work 6 months of the year, depending on our company's need to fill this role for our upcoming expeditions. This position will be reporting to the VP of Operations and will be managing up to 15 staff members at a time in the remote Arctic.

If you would like to be considered for future work, please submit your resume and cover letter.  In the cover letter, please describe how your previous experience is relevant to this role and the characteristics that make you a good leader. 

Location:

Remote work, reporting to the Mississauga office, and field work

Qualifications:

• Legally eligible to work in Canada 
• Expedition leadership experience in remote environments. The individual must have a strong background in expedition style trips and in challenging settings.
• Demonstrated experience working with equipment such as; snowmobiles, ATVs, boats and firearms.
• High problem solving skill abilities in a fast paced setting.
• A strong work ethic is required as days will not be 9-5. The sun can shine 24 hours a day, and in the Arctic, if something can go wrong, it probably will. You will need to look at the resources you have available to you and figure out a solution.
• Arctic/Antarctic experience and ideally in a tourism based setting
• Remote camp logistics experience; communications, water systems, power systems, etc.
• Valid Advanced Wilderness First Aid/CPR qualifications (e.g. WFA, WFR)
• Unrestricted PAL
• English fluency essential with excellent written and verbal communication skills

Field Responsibilities:

Leadership:

• Use your expertise to provide advice and guidance on scouting locations, animal behaviour and the arctic environment. Diplomatically meet with all expedition stakeholders; clients, suppliers, local guides, staff; and ensure needs are being met to their satisfaction and Arctic Kingdom's standards.
• Manage the advance planning and all pre-trip requirements in the community before camp operations.
• Manage all post-trip activity and wrap up of field operations.

Communication:

• Clear and timely communication for guests, staff, head office and supervisor.
• Facilitate all daily guest briefings, including but not limited to outlining the day's events,weather updates, wildlife expectation, activities, safety, and transportation.
• Facilitate daily field staff briefings in order to direct set-up/tear-down plans, provide status updates, run smooth and safe camp operations, identify and resolve issues, provide daily client feedback to staff, outline each staff members daily priorities and review timelines of the daily activities/departure and meal times.
• Keep a detailed daily log of all trip activities, issues, timelines, equipment status (i.e. maintenance issues), weather, client feedback/comments, staff observations, etc., and maintain all required AK trip documentation.
• Provide guests with interpretation, cultural and/or wildlife presentations, developed and dependant on your expertise.

Safety:

• Put safety of guests and staff under your responsibility first and foremost for every activity planning session and during activity execution. Ensure that all expedition activities such as wildlife viewing, qamutiq towing, kayaking, snorkeling, boating, etc. are facilitated with safety always top of mind.
• Plan for contingencies and be well prepared in the event of an emergency.
• Ensure all staff and clients have been briefed on the Standard Operating Procedures with regards to safety and evacuation. Practice emergency preparedness with staff and guests.
• Ensure all safety, medical and firearms equipment are properly stored, handled and maintained, and that proper use and location of equipment is known by staff and clients (if applicable).
• Ensure all health and/or medical issues are addressed promptly, according to recognized standards of care, and Incident Reports are completed (at time of incident) and filed (post trip).

Camp & Equipment:

• Ensure strong familiarization with all camp equipment in order to be able to facilitate or assist in setup and breakdown as well as in daily maintenance and/or repair activities.
• Lead or direct inventory control of all camp assets and parts.
• Be accountable for the proper handling, maintenance, repair and storage of equipment by overseeing the camp manager. In the absence of a camp manager, this is an expedition leader's direct responsibility.
• Ensure that camp facilities (washrooms, guest quarters, common areas, etc.) are adequately maintained, safe for use and clean following Arctic Kingdom's standard operating procedures.
• Be responsible for the ordering, purchasing and receipt of local goods. Ensure members of your expedition team are following standard operation procedures with regards to purchases and the authorization to purchase on Arctic Kingdom's behalf.

Human Resources:

• Hire, coach supervise, discipline and terminate guides and field staff.
• Assign hours of work and tasks for camp staff and guides to ensure camps are operational at Arctic Kingdom standards at all times.
• Provide training to the expedition team for their roles and responsibilities.

Finance:

• Maintain accurate accounts of all expenses paid during an expedition and track against existing budgets, cost estimates and tenders.
• Reconcile and submit all trip expenses directly to Finance within 2 weeks, post trip (with the exception of back-to-back trips).
• Authorize expenditures in the amount of up to $5,000 or seek proper authorization from a supervisor.
• Develop plans for cost savings and increased efficiency.