Junior Ranger Program

We spend every day outside on trails in Boulder

Junior Ranger pay starts at $15.25 per hour

Junior Rangers build work skills like teamwork, leadership, patience, punctuality, and more

Our crews learn about topics like climate change, ecosystems, history of Boulder, and more every week

Each Junior Ranger works with 9 other team members and 2 leaders - developing close connections that keep us coming back to the program year after year

We work on projects that take care of the land and create opportunities for people in our community

Applications will open March 1st and CLOSE March 29, 2026.

Here are some important reminders for your application:

Once you Submit your application and arrive at the "confirmation page", check your email every day for information on next steps:

1. Completing the required questionnaire to tell us your crew and session preferences (complete as soon as you receive it)
2. Scheduling your interview. To be considered for the job, you must interview for the position.
3. Attending a hiring paperwork session, to start the onboarding process.

Tips:

• Add bouldercolorado @ myworkday .com and juniorrangers @ bouldercolorado .gov to your contact list, to prevent the email going to your spam folder.
• Please reach out to juniorrangers @ bouldercolorado .gov if you need help.

Once you've scheduled your interview, take some time to practice! You can use the interview questions below to prepare.

If you want to add to the answers you gave in your interview, you can submit written answers to the interview questions by email to juniorrangers@bouldercolorado.gov.

1. Why do you want to be a Junior Ranger?
2. In your experience, what are the key components of a strong team? How can you help a team be successful?
3. Tell me about a time when you worked with people who are different from you. What did you do to understand their perspective?
4. We believe mistakes are important for growth and we love to celebrate them to move forward. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake or a teacher/coach/parent gave you constructive criticism. How did you feel and what did you do
5. Describe your experience being responsible or accountable for something or someone.
6. What things have you done at school or at home that would prepare you for an outdoor job?
7. What do you think you'll need to bring to work each day to be prepared for working outside for 7 hours?
8. How would you respond to a coworker who is complaining about the job? What would you do or say?

• Showing up to your interview is very important!
• Be at least 5 minutes early for your interview - this shows us motivation and interest for the job.
• If necessary, reschedule your interview in advance.

• We will send offers out by email.
• Let us know WITHIN 5 DAYS if you would like to accept or decline. After the 5th day, if we haven't heard from you, we'll assume you are declining and will offer to someone else.
• You can always follow up with more questions if you are unsure.
• All applicants will have received an email by late April if they have been offered a position or are on the waitlist.

• If you accept your Junior Ranger job offer, you’ll need to complete hiring paperwork for the City of Boulder.
• You will need to attend a paid session in early May to complete your onboarding.

Congrats! You made it through your first government job application process!

Now the REAL fun begins... get more information about what you'll need to know for your first day.

Job Description

Each year the program seeks crew leaders to build functional teams, complete trail maintenance and other natural resource projects, and support youth stewardship and job skills development. Crew Leads come from a variety of backgrounds in leadership, education, and conservation. They supervise Trail Crews, integrate learning opportunities into their project timelines, facilitate environmental education lessons, support program and department goals, and receive career and leadership development themselves as they work beside project sponsors and attend organized talks and trainings from OSMP department staff.

Assistant Crew Leads

Junior Ranger Assistant Crew Leads (ACLs) work with Crew Leads to teach and help mentor teams of youth ages 14-17 on OSMP lands each summer. They build functional teams, complete trail maintenance and land restoration projects, and support youth stewardship and job skill development.

ACLs will participate in a full 3 weeks of Crew Lead training in May, then further develop their skills by supporting co-leader teams on work projects. ACLs may support one Junior Ranger crew for several weeks, or move between different crews to support emergent work project and crew member needs. This is a dynamic job that requires a lot of physical and emotional energy, but the rewards are incredible.

2026 Position Dates

Position runs May 11 - August 21, 2026

Unpaid holiday break: July 6 - July 8

Applications for all Crew Lead positions are closed. Check back in mid-December.

Senior Program Coordinators work as part of a leadership team that oversees field and project management, program operations, leadership, administrative and logistical support.

Details

There are three full-time temporary Sr Program Coordinator positions available, each with a different focus. All positions provide support and leadership in all aspects of running the Junior Ranger program and associated events.

• Sr Coordinator (2 Positions)

These positions primarily focus on team safety, visiting crews in the field, supporting technical trail work projects, substituting as a Crew Lead when someone is absent, and providing education to crews. They will oversee field and project management, skills development, and program operations; as well as provide public communications, administrative and logistical support to Program Manager. They will also manage media & photos, schedule work projects with project sponsors, and help to coordinate formal educational opportunities with the Education & Outreach team. This role assists with hiring, training, and supervising staff. Occasional weekend work may be asked of them.

These positions are 40 hrs/wk (with occasional opportunity for overtime), approximately 6 month roles that can reapply and return annually. Unpaid holiday break: July 6 - July 8

Applications for Sr Coordinator positions are closed. Check back mid-December for updates.

• Bilingual Sr Coordinator (9 months)

The Bilingual Sr Coordinator role is for someone who is organized, team-oriented, passionate about teaching young people, proactive with communication, and fluent in English and Spanish. In this position, you will learn valuable career skills such as leadership, communication, self-confidence, teaching others, hands-on skills to care for our public lands including trail maintenance, and how to manage a large summer program like the Junior Rangers. This is a dynamic job that requires a lot of physical and emotional energy, but the rewards are incredible. This job requires the ability to work and hike on and off trail for up to 7 hours in the field in all weather conditions, as well as complete office and computer tasks, including up to a full 10 hour day in the office.

This is a 40 hr/wk (with occasional opportunity for overtime), approximately 9 month role with an opportunity to return annually/reapply (approximately late February-October). Occasional weekend work may be asked of you. Unpaid holiday break: July 6 - July 8.

Applications for the Bilingual Sr Coordinator position is closed. Check back mid-December for updates.