Job Description

About the role

Are you passionate about outdoor learning and developing people? Do you want to work in a rewarding environment? Join our team to deliver inspiring outdoor learning experiences that enable people to thrive.


We have a variety of contracts available, full time seasonal, part time and relief (freelance).


Our seasonal contracts are from March 2025 until the end of September 2025. We often offer the opportunity for seasonal staff to extend through October, November and occasionally the whole winter dependent on bookings.


We also have a variety of shorter contracts and 0-hour contracts that can work around other commitments to suit you.


Our instructors are responsible for providing high quality outdoor learning experiences to our customers, whilst ensuring the safety of all participants. This will involve delivering a range of land and water-based activities, as well as ensuring all parts of the customer visit run smoothly. You may also be required to be on-call overnight on occasions.


Please see the attached for further info.

About Grafham Water Centre

Grafham Water Centre is a popular Outdoor Education Centre run by Cambridge County Council based on the shores of Grafham Water reservoir in Perry, Cambridgeshire. We are a lively and busy residential centre catering for a wide range of school and youth groups as well as offering courses for both adults and children. We also cater for corporate and conference bookings. At the heart of all our work is our vision to change people's lives.


As part of working for GWC you will enable us to support the CCC vision of creating a greener, fairer, and more caring Cambridgeshire.


As an employee you will focus on making our vision a reality. Your work will make a real difference to the lives of people in Cambridgeshire and beyond.

Other information

The closing date for this position is 31st December 2025

Please ensure that you add your National Governing Body qualifications to the education section of the application form.

Successful applicants will be subject to Enhanced DBS (CRB) Check and Medical clearance before employment commences.


For an informal discussion about the position, please contact Rob Kinsella or Will Dowling via email at rob.kinsella@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or William.dowling@cambridgeshire.gov.uk to set up a time to chat.


What will you be doing?

Job Purpose

To ensure the development and safe delivery of quality programmes of Outdoor Adventurous Education to groups and individuals that visit Grafham Water Centre.

Principle Accountabilities

1)

Programme (10%)

To ensure the safe delivery of quality programmes of Outdoor Adventurous Education in a friendly manner, suitable to the needs of the group. To ensure that the highest standards of quality in instruction are maintained. To assist in the preparation of sessions and help develop activity programmes. Supporting Managers and other members of the team in welcoming groups and individuals during their stay.

2)

Instruction (80%)

To deliver quality programmes of outdoor education as required.

3)

Maintenance (10%)

To assist in the maintenance of activity equipment and bases.

4)

On Call

To be on call as required within a rota and to assist with retailing.

5)

Health and Safety

To understand and implement the health and safety policies of Grafham Water Centre and Cambridgeshire County Council. To perform other tasks as requested by the Chief Instructor/Head of Centre.

About you

We are looking for dedicated and motivated individuals who are committed to developing themselves and others. They must be focussed on delivering the best service to our customers - a smile and a sense of humour are a must!


We will be looking for the following in our ideal candidate:

A passion for outdoor learning. At least one of the following Instructor qualifications: RYA Dinghy/Windsurf Instructor, PaddleUK Paddlesport Instructor or Paddlesport Leader, Single Pitch Award/Rock Climbing Instructor or Climbing Wall Award/Instructor, Archery GB, MIAS, ERCA Traditional instructor (or equivalent awards from previous schemes). Valid First Aid qualification. The ability to provide safe, purposeful and fun sessions that meet the needs of our clients. Able and confident to communicate well with both adults and children.

Please see the attached Person Specification for further information and explain how you meet the criteria in your application.




About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.


Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.


We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don't meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don't be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.


Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.


We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.


Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.


https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers


Our benefits

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage...

A comprehensive

wellbeing package

to cover

all aspects of wellbeing

, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family Buy up to

4 weeks additional annual leave

(pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme Take your bank holidays

flexibly

to better suit

your personal circumstances

Make

Additional Voluntary Contributions

(Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings Access to

development opportunities

, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support

your personal and professional growth

Paid volunteering hours

each year so you can make a

positive impact on our community

during your normal working day Access to

Peer Support Groups

through our IDEAL staff

equality, diversity and inclusion

network Opportunities to nominate and receive

Employee Recognition Awards

An

Our Cambs Rewards

account, giving you access to in-store and online

discounts

as well as our

Car Lease

and

Cycle to Work

schemes

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.


Benefits specifically for Grafham Water Centre staff:

37-hour annualised hours contract. Some evening and weekend work will be required. We also have a range of part time and sessional contracts available to suit your availability. Additional payments for on-call duties. Subsidised on-site food and accommodation available. 25 days paid annual leave pro rota. Regular staff training sessions during the season. Free access to Centre courses (subject to availability) We will provide the opportunities and experience to support your professional development, with individual personal progression plans, a specific mentor, along with funded training and assessment opportunities to gain further qualifications. Training/shadowing on activities to help reach NGB standards. Free use of Centre facilities and equipment in your own time. * Reduced price access to Centre activities and courses for your family.