Outdoor pursuits manager : Employers and vacancy sources

You could be employed by:

• local authorities;
• independent activity centres;
• charitable organisations, such as the Youth Hostel Association (England & Wales)  and the Scottish Youth Hostels Association (SYHA) ;
• not-for-profit organisations that cater for people with special needs or support social services provision through residential outdoor experiences.

The market for courses includes:

• corporate clients who may use outdoor activities to develop leadership and teamwork skills in their staff;
• social and probation services who may want to provide positive, character-building experiences for disadvantaged and disaffected young people;
• groups of friends or work colleagues who use the activities mainly for fun, perhaps for stag or hen parties;
• schools in areas where there is no local authority provision of outdoor education.

The private sector, which includes small, independent centres and large organisations, may run expeditions and outdoor activities abroad as well as in the UK.

Management opportunities also exist in national sports centres and national governing bodies and in leisure services.

It is sometimes possible for experienced managers to set up their own centre or to undertake freelance work.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Institute for Outdoor Learning  
• Outdoor Staff  
• Leisure Opportunities  
• Leisurejobs.net  
• Local Government Jobs  and local authority websites.
• Times Educational Supplement (TES)  
• Local and national press.
• Activity centre websites.
• Journals relevant to your sport - these are often available at high street newsagents, although you may sometimes need to join the relevant national organisation to subscribe to members' journals.
• National governing body (NGB) for your sport.

Job titles may vary; warden, course director, chief instructor, head of centre and operations manager can all be used to describe this type of work.

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