Coeur d'Alene Activity Guides

Opportunity

ROW Adventures is the leader in one-day and half-day trips in the local Coeur d'Alene and Spokane areas. We offering the following trips:

Lake Kayaking on Lake Coeur d'Alene, Fernan Lake, and Lake Pend Oreille
Rafting and Float trips on the Spokane River
Hiking
Biking
Mountian Biking
All around fun!

Learn more about all these trips at ROW Adventure Center

We are looking for local guides who are excited to share their rich history and environment of Coeur d'Alene with ROW guests.

While ROW enjoys a high return rate among its staff, we usually have a few openings each year. Before you consider a job as a ROW guide be sure to read through all our information carefully to make sure that ROW is a good fit for you . To learn more about our trips and philosophy, go to our home page. You might also enjoy reading about other ROW staff at Meet the ROW Team.

How we do things: We run our trips conservatively with utmost concern for our guests' safety. Our motto in this arena is Safety before ego. While most of our trips are on class III water, we do run some class IV-V sections. We are proud that our equipment is the best available and that we have one of the newest fleets on the water.

ROW has certain ways of doing things and we like to standardize our procedures as much as possible so that when you're working with different combinations of guides you are concentrating on having fun instead of re-inventing the wheel on every trip. We also want our guides to enjoy a supportive atmosphere. To meet this goal, and knowing that working and living together round the clock can be very demanding, we want guides who are solid, supportive team players with good communication skills.

Interpretation at ROW: ROW guides pride themselves on their knowledge of the cultural and natural history of the rivers we run and have found that sharing this knowledge increases our guests' enjoyment. Because we expect our guides to be good interpreters of natural and cultural history, an educational background in wild land interpretation, earth sciences, biology, archaeology, etc., is highly desirable. We also require all new hires to participate in ROW's Certified Interpretive Guide course given by the National Association for Interpretation. This class is offered by ROW in the spring. The cost for this class is detailed in the cost section below. New ROW guides are also required to prepare a short interpretive presentation related to the rivers and canyons where ROW operates. Help completing this will be offered during the CIG class and it is due at the end of the course.

Family Trips: Because "Family Magic™" trips are a big part of our business, we also look for folks who are good with kids, can lead games or entertain around a campfire by leading songs, playing guitar or telling stories.

Benefits
As a company, ROW seeks to identify and employ professional, career guides. While we do have some seasonal turnover, our goal is to maintain a large percentage of our guides and other staff. Toward this end, we offer a number of benefits including:

Free guest activities, on a space-available basis such as rafting and canoeing.
Complimentary and/or discounted trips for family and friends
Free staff housing or tent space at our outpost locations
Training opportunities on other rivers
Training and skills development in the recreation industry
Leadership opportunities
Competitive Pay
Flexible Spending Account (FSA's allow employees to pay for medical expenses with pre-tax income providing a +20% savings)
401(k) plan
Pro-deal program to help you purchase outdoor gear at deeply discounted rates
Free staff clothing

POLICIES

Drug/Alcohol Free Workplace
ROW Inc. is committed to a safe environment for its Adventure Staff and Guests. We have a zero tolerance policy for drugs on our property or impairment at work. If you can't do without drugs or heavy consumption of alcohol, don't apply. Random drug testing is required for all ROW employees. Pre-employment and random drug/alcohol testing is required for CDL drivers. Post-accident drug/alcohol testing is required of all employees filing a workman's compensation claim. Any employee allowing drugs or alcohol to effect their work may be terminated.

Tobacco-Free Policy
ROW Inc. is a tobacco-free company. Smoking and chewing tobacco is not permitted on ROW property or in any ROW vehicle. Guides are not permitted to smoke or chew tobacco on any ROW trip. This includes all overnight trips. Any employee found in violation of this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

Personal Appearance
A professional and well-groomed appearance is an essential ingredient in ROW's success. Facial piercing such as nose rings, eye rings, and chin studs are not acceptable. We rely on your good judgment and commitment to ROW Inc. to accept this basic condition of employment.

Pet Policy
In consideration of and for the safety of our guests, employees and your pets; please leave your pets at home.

EMPLOYEE AVAILABILITY

We are looking for full-season guides to start in late May with our training and ending Labor Day. Students must be available for work until at least seven days before classes start. Guides not returning to school, or to teach, must be available through Labor Day unless another agreement is reached at the time of signing your job agreement. Your job agreement will specify agreed upon starting and ending dates. You will not be hired if start and end dates do not meet ROW's needs. Important! By signing an agreement when hired, 1st year guides acknowledge that they are making a two-season commitment to ROW.

Requirements:

Advanced First Aid, First Responder or higher certification (an 18-hour minimum is required; WEC, WAFA, WFR, WEMT, or EMT preferred). If you do not currently have this level of training, you will still be considered if you can show enrollment in a class that finishes prior to your start date

Work during the entire season is unpredictable, based on bookings, and is assigned based on a variety of factors including seniority, skill level, water levels, etc. New guides in the past received 2-6 days of guide work during the last two weeks of June increasing to 5-6 day/week in July and August. ROW makes no guarantees on the amount of work a guide will receive.

Click here for the Guide Job Description

COSTS

Idaho Guides: There are several costs for guides who will be working in Idaho for ROW. An Idaho Guide license costs $155 for the first year and $115 in subsequent years. From the fourth year of employment on, ROW pays a partial to full reimbursement for this annual guide licensing fee. New ROW guides are also required to purchase books for their personal library about the natural and cultural history of the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area book costs are TBD

Equipment Required: Guides are expected to provide all their own personal whitewater gear including PFD, wet or dry suit, helmet (Lochsa and Northern Rivers only), two carabineers, one prussic and/or flip line, and water bottle(s

ROW Policies Related to Hiring and Licensing

- Note that these are all more stringent than the Idaho requirements

All guides must have CPR
All guides must have or obtain a minimum of a 18-hour advanced first aid class (FR, WEC, WAFA, WFR, WEMT or EMT preferred)
All guides must have Swiftwater Rescue Training, Technician 1 or equivalent or plan on taking it within two years of offer of employment.
Guides are NOT paid for training trips. The number of training trips required by each guide varies from one to three per river and is dependent on the following:
1. Proficiency/experience with oar boats (guides without prior rowing experience can expect at least two trips)
2. Professionalism in working with guests
3. How quickly the trainee is able to assume a full share of the workload, especially in terms of learning the menu, cooking, rigging, and camp set-up and tear down
4. Idaho licensing status

Becoming trained to ROW's level of excellence, is a lengthy process and may require a new guide to spend 3-6 weeks in training before becoming a paid guide. Outfitter Peter Grubb, the Director of Operations or the river manager will make the final decision regarding when you are qualified to guide on a section of river. Please see the Guide Job Description for additional information.

Applying For A Position

Study everything carefully at our website, including Guide Job Description for any positions you are applying for.
Make sure your goals and ours match.
Fill out our application or call us a (208) 765-0841 to request a guide application packet.
Mail all First Aid cards, Swiftwater rescue cards, river logs, etc. to our office at PO Box 579, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816.
Get Letter of Reference completed and submitted as requested.
Depending on the position, various starting and ending dates may be accommodated.
Pets are not allowed.
Most positions are physically demanding and require lifting, bending, standing and kneeling.
We usually try to wrap up our hiring by early March, but feel free to check with us if you discover ROW after that date. Also, please use the Letters of Recommendation forms and have these returned by this deadline.
Once your application has been received, you will be notified if you have been selected for a telephone interview. Generally interviews are conducted from January through March.