We’re hiring! DC Trail Rangers

Do you love being outdoors and connecting with people? Want to be part of a collaborative trail team in DC, and be paid to engage with folks about trails and fix trails?

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) is looking for two passionate and energetic professional trail champions with a wide range of skills and experiences for our permanent Trail Ranger Team. We are looking to hire dependable and thoughtful people who can grow into their roles and join our existing field team. Beyond this, there is not a standard job history, experience of biking, years of experience or skills set that made previous Trail Rangers successful. This position (and program!) includes a lot of different knowledge areas — we are not expecting new staff to know it all at the beginning, and the skills and strengths of everyone on the team shape some particulars of how the program is run.

These positions are expected to begin in early August 2022. Pay will be $45,760 annually, plus benefits. These positions are permanent full-time opportunities, with five day, 8 hours per shift work weeks. A standard work week will be either Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday through Thursday for individual staff. Shifts will vary in start time to ensure varied trail presence, more details are included below. 

About the Trail Rangers Program

WABA’s Trail Ranger Program aims to make the District’s trails welcoming and inclusive to all residents, frequently used, and in a state of good repair. The program encourages trail use through daily trail presence, community engagement, trail maintenance, and trail user assistance.  Trail Rangers cover paved multi-use trails within the District, including the Oxon Run Trail, Metropolitan Branch Trail, Anacostia River Trail, Marvin Gaye Trail, and connecting street routes. Trail Rangers act as trail ambassadors, offering a consistent and friendly presence to make the trails more enjoyable, inclusive and dependable for transportation and recreation. 

Starting in January 2022, the Trail Ranger Program began full-time, year round staffing and operations (the program was seasonal for the previous nine years). Year round operation enables WABA to have a professional trail team with ongoing training and skill development.

WABA’s Trail Ranger Program contract with the District’s Urban Forestry Division goes through 2024, with possibilities of extension beyond 2024. This position is contingent upon annual funding renewal.

You can learn more about the Trail Ranger Program here.

The Team

The WABA Trail Ranger Team is a ten person team, including: Trail Ranger and Outreach Director, Outreach Manager, Operations Manager, and seven DC Trail Ranger field staff. Day-to-day management of the program is done by the Operations and Outreach Managers, with overall strategy and regional coordination by the Director. Team culture heavily values collaboration and mutual respect, with weekly all-staff team meetings and many decisions made or led by field staff. Individual Trail Rangers will report directly to either the Operations or Outreach Manager.

Job Responsibilities

  • Spend the majority of your work hours outside, biking on or between trails year-round (except during thunderstorms, very cold days, and other hazardous conditions).
  • Complete office tasks as assigned, and plan and implement individual office based projects. 
  • Work eight-hour shifts with a partner, riding electric-assist cargo bikes at a relaxed, conversational pace.
  • Collaborate with your team members to determine daily priorities and share program information. 
  • Support and encourage trail use with friendly and helpful trail presence, regular maintenance efforts and consistent outreach events.
  • Help lower barriers to bicycling, build community, and build a more robust trail network.
  • Run trail cleanups, and a variety of programming and community events with the Outreach and Operations Managers, including outside and inside programming. 
  • Perform trail condition inspections and trail corridor maintenance, including pruning branches, gathering trash, and removing obstructions.
  • Track outreach and maintenance work in Google Sheets and Salesforce.

This position is based from WABA’s Adams Morgan office in Washington, DC.

Qualifications

We would love to consider you as a candidate and don’t expect staff to know everything on day one! Give us your best pitch of how your professional and/or personal experience fits the job qualifications and the role in your cover letter.

Core Skills and Experience: 

  • A proven track record for being dependable, timely, and communicative.
  • The willingness to be positive and engaging in a public setting.
  • The willingness and enthusiasm to work in a collaborative team and as a proactive, self starter. 
  • The capacity to be available for 40 hours per week in 8 hour shifts with weekday and weekend availability. Shifts are generally:
    • 6:30 am – 2:30 pm, 8:00 am – 4:00pm, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm or 11:00 am – 7:00 pm on weekdays.
    • 8:00 am – 4:00 pm for Saturday or Sunday shifts.
    • Individual Trail Rangers either work Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday through Thursday each week.
  • An understanding of the demands of a public facing and outreach focused position, and with that, the willingness to have their photo used for program documentation and promotion.
  • A commitment to being a safe and exemplary bicyclist.
  • A commitment to respect, include, and be kind to all.
  • An understanding of how race, gender, and other factors shape conversations and experiences.  
  • The willingness to continually learn more about trails, neighborhood history and the many different cultural competencies necessary for working in the DC region.
  • The ability to ride a bike, with a willingness to ride in mixed city traffic and off-street trails.
  • Candidates must be located in the Washington, DC area.
  • Candidates must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Mayor’s Order 2021-099, Section II, and Mayor’s Order 2021-147, Section VI, or be eligible for an exemption as defined by the District of Columbia Mayor’s Order 2021-099, Section III.

Useful Skills & Experience:

  • Lived experience with our program trails, and the nearby neighbors and neighborhoods, especially near Marvin Gaye and Oxon Run trails.
  • A proven track record for working collaboratively within a team.
  • Excellent communication skills in informal settings and across lines of difference.
  • Creative problem-solving skills and capacity to innovate.
  • The ability to prioritize and a thoughtful attention to detail.
  • Street smarts. By which we mean knowledge to make nuanced decisions while doing a field-based job, including recognizing hate language in graffiti, what might be at play in perceived threats to trail users and/or which options are safest for engaging angry members of the public. 
  • Experience working in a multi-lingual, including mixed Deaf and hearing, work environment
  • Amateur or formal experience in mid-Atlantic plant identification and ecology, and native plant restoration. 
  • Working fluency in Spanish, ASL and/or Amharic.
  • Previous experience as a DC Trail Ranger. 
  • Working knowledge of bicycle maintenance, up to and including flat repair, shifting adjustments, hydraulic brake maintenance, and regular maintenance tasks needed for the Tern fleet bikes (complicated maintenance will be performed by a local bicycle shop).
  • Basic computer skills.
  • Experience with Google Suite (Gmail, Chat, Drive, Sheets, Docs) and Salesforce.
  • District residency is preferred.

Support

There’s a lot of work to do! Here’s some of what’s available to help get it done:

  • Orientation and team management that prioritizes your well-being, including training in preventing common bicycling injuries.
  • Doing our best to have a consistent schedule that respects your time and outside obligations. 
  • Providing all the tools, bikes and materials needed to perform the job, including Tern electric cargo bikes.
  • Nine years of institutional knowledge in running the DC Trail Ranger program. 
  • Teaching you the skills necessary for the job (urban bike riding, basic trail maintenance, basic bike maintenance, how to do field outreach, Salesforce).
  • An inclusive, collaborative professional team environment. 
  • We are set up as an intersectional outreach program that recognizes the multitudes of identities and promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity for employees and the public.
  • WABA’s other Outreach Program staff for knowledge sharing and collaboration. 
  • A lot of other events and resources by WABA and trail partners to chat with trail users about.

Compensation & Benefits

This is a full-time, salaried non-exempt position. The annual salary is $45,760. Other benefits include:

  • 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance premiums.
  • Vacation, sick and personal leave, including:
    • Accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation starting in your first year, with additional hours after two, five, and ten years of service.
    • Accrue up to 160 hours annually of paid sick time starting in your first year.
    • WABA supports and promotes the health of its staff. You may use accrued sick time for unscheduled leave when not feeling well (mind or body), as well as for scheduled medical appointments.
  • Paid time off for holidays following the federal holiday calendar. 
  • 8 weeks paid parental leave and up to 8 weeks of additional parental leave from the DC Paid Family Leave act (based on eligibility).
  • Immediate access to WABA’s 403(b) retirement program, with up to a 5% employer match after one-year of service.
  • Optional commuter transit benefit (pre tax deduction)
  • A fun and relaxed workplace environment.
  • Passionate, supportive colleagues who are dedicated to working together for our mission and seeing the impact of our work.

COVID-19 Operational Staff Safety Plan:

WABA understands that some COVID-19 precautions remain necessary for the 2022 season and potentially beyond. The health of staff and trail users is a top priority. 

  • Properly worn quality masks may be required on the job, except for distanced water and snack breaks. Masks will be provided when necessary. 
  • The majority of Trail Ranger work will be performed outdoors.

About the Washington Area Bicyclist Association

Mission & Vision

WABA empowers people to ride bikes, build connections, and transform places. We envision a just and sustainable transportation system where walking, biking, and transit are the best ways to get around.

Values
To make our vision a reality, we ground our work in five key values:

Joy: We celebrate people and share the joy of bicycling.
Boldness: We think big and transform passion into action.
Integrity: We earn trust through consistency, honesty, and transparency.
Justice: We put justice at the heart of our work.
Stewardship: We care for people and the environment, conserve resources, and evolve thoughtfully.

Visit our about page to read WABA’s theory of change and more on how we will continue impacting positive change in our region’s transportation system.

HOW TO APPLY

Email your cover letter and resume to jobs[at]waba[dot]org with “DC Trail Ranger” as the subject line. Please make sure your application illustrates how you meet the qualifications for the job and what additional skills you would bring to the team.

Applications that are not emailed directly to jobs[at]waba[dot]org and/or do not include a cover letter will be considered incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be moved forward for consideration.

The deadline to submit applications is July 6, 2022. We expect the position to start in early August 2022.

No phone calls please

WABA is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, arrest record or criminal convictions, political affiliation, sexual orientation or gender identity, disability, sex, or age.

Page last updated by WABA Staff on June 22, 2022.