Activity Instructor / Group Leader jobs

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If working in the outdoors is the adventure you’ve been dreaming of, welcome to PGL! Our Activity Instructor / Group Leaders are the all-action superheroes to our young guests, the pillars of trust for our party leaders and parents, and the face of PGL. You’ll be leading activities, organising entertainment, and making sure your group has a great stay with us. Being an Activity Instructor / Group Leader is a fantastic chance to share your love of sports and the outdoors, to discover new things to love, to make new friends, to learn new skills, and to enjoy a lifestyle and an experience which will enrich your life forever.

What sets apart our Activity Instructor / Group Leaders is their enthusiasm, their willingness to learn and their energy. You might be helping kids overcome their fears in the morning, guiding them to solve initiative puzzles in the afternoon, and then singing to them around the camp fire in the evening. It is a million miles away from the suited and booted 9 to 5. It’s exciting. It’s life changing. It’s fun. However, it’s also challenging, it’s a position of responsibility, it’s sometimes tiring, and it can be hectic. But the reason that the Activity Instructor / Group Leader role is the most popular with PGL – it’s worth it!

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Skills

No qualifications are required for the Activity Instructor / Group Leader role as we offer a comprehensive training course to give you the skills, expertise and confidence to do your job. However, we look for applications from people who can demonstrate the following:

Energy, enthusiasm and the ability to relate to young people.
Experience that you have gained working with young people, whether it's volunteering with a local youth group or paid employment.
Good organisation and effective communication skills.
A commitment to delivering exceptional customer service.

Key Responsibilities

Our Activity Instructor introduce guests to a variety of outdoor activities, from quad biking and fencing to climbing and initiative exercises. You will deliver these sessions safely and ensure our guests have an enjoyable experience. As a Group Leader you will take care of the pastoral care side of a groups visit, find yourself organising evening entertainment and liaising with visiting teachers and party leaders

The Activity Instructor/Group Leader role combines these two roles enabling you to broaden your own experience and develop numerous transferable skills. You will find yourself delivering both roles but will be able to spend more time in one role depending on where your skills lie. Activity Instructor/Group Leaders based in northern France will learn some basic French phrases, as part of your initial training, to use in conversation with our guests.

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Learning and Development

In the Activity Instructor / Group Leader dual role you will gain invaluable knowledge, skills and experience whilst working towards nationally recognised qualifications, all free of charge. Previous experience will help your application but is not vital. If you are new to PGL and have limited experience within the sector you start your employment by attending a one week training course. You will then transfer to the centre you will be working at. You will also be registered onto our Apprenticeship Programme, which includes the intermediate apprenticeship in activity leadership.

This programme is delivered and assessed in the work place and is supported by a comprehensive centre induction, job specific training, workbooks, one-to-one observations with verbal and written feedback, and regular performance reviews. All of this will count as evidence towards your intermediate apprenticeship. If you have experience of working in a similar role within the sector you will go straight to centre where you will be able to access a range of informal and formal development opportunities, including qualifications, relevant to your job role and career aspirations.

Progression Opportunities

There are a number of opportunities for you to extend your experience, knowledge and skills at PGL. We encourage all our employees to create and maintain a Personal Development Plan (PDP) that can be used to identify and work towards their career goals, supported by our extensive range of formal and informal development opportunities. Some in-house and National Governing Body (NGB) coaching qualifications are also available.

Career progression routes for Activity Instructors / Group Leaders include activity specific roles that require specialist qualifications e.g. Canoe Instructor and more generic roles such as Team Leader, Chief Instructor or Guest Care Manager.

Who does this job?

Anthony Buck or Bucky, Winmarleigh Hall

In my job I try and make everyday fun for our guests. I run various activity sessions which at times is challenging but overall good fun!

Working with children, meeting new people every day and working outdoors is what make this job so enjoyable. The role is definitely a change from the normal 9-5.

Living on centre is a good experience. There is a great social life and its interesting living with so many different people from all over the world.

People should come and work with PGL because it’s a great experience, a rewarding job, you meet lots of people and see different place. It is a job that’s fun.