Outdoor Pursuits Instructor in Portsmouth

The Portsmouth Grammar School is a leading co-educational school located in the historic heart of Portsmouth. We are seeking a qualified and experienced Outdoor Pursuits Instructor to lead our Outdoor Pursuits programme with passion and energy. The successful candidate will lead, deliver, and further enhance our well-established Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award scheme programme for pupils in Years 10 to 12, lead and oversee the School’s indoor climbing provision and develop appropriate introductory Outdoor Pursuit opportunities for the development of pupils in Years 7 to 9.

Reporting to our Assistant Head (Co-Curriculum), the successful candidate will be a strong outdoor instructor with excellent organisational skills and proven experience in planning and delivering DofE and adventurous training expeditions. The successful candidate will inspire and engage pupils and create meaningful and challenging experiences that build resilience, teamwork and encourage personal growth.

Working Pattern and Hours

The role of Outdoor Pursuits Instructor is a part-time, year-round position, working the equivalent of 15 hours per week (averaging 2 days per week) based on a total of 104 working days per annum. A standard working day is 08.30 to 16.30, inclusive of a 30-minute unpaid lunch break. The 104 annual working days include all duties associated with the role, including expeditions, administration, and Professional Development Days (PDDs) scheduled within the School calendar.

Working Arrangements

Working days will be allocated flexibly across the year, in consultation with the Assistant Head (Co-Curricular), to meet the operational requirements of the role. This will typically include:

• Approximately 30 days supporting and leading expeditions;
• Approximately 69 days allocated to planning, administration, and preparation;
• 5 Professional Development Days (PDDs).

The role will require:

• Planning, coordinating, and leading expeditions, often during weekends and school holiday periods;
• Flexible working patterns to support the seasonal nature of outdoor pursuits provision;
• Occasional evening working, including attendance at events such as the DofE Awards Evening.

Key Requirements

• Hold a Mountain Leader (ML) or Wild Country Open Moorland qualification;
• Previous experience of organising DofE and adventurous training expeditions;
• To be a DofE Award scheme assessor and expedition leader;
• Knowledge of the requirements of the DofE Award scheme across Bronze, Silver and Gold;
• Outdoor First Aid Qualification/s (or a commitment to obtain this within 4 months of appointment);
• Full, clean driving licence, ideally with experience of driving vehicles larger than a car;
• A D1 category licence (or a commitment to obtain this within 1 year of appointment);
• MiDAS training and pass a minibus driver medical (or a commitment undertake this upon appointment);
• Qualifications in climbing wall instruction (or a commitment to achieve this upon appointment).

The start date will be September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The School may carry out online searches on shortlisted applicants and applicants may be required to provide details of their online profile, including social media account names/handles, as part of their application. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The School is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions on a self-declaration form in advance of attending an interview (including those which are ‘spent’ unless they are ‘protected’ under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children.