Employment opportunities

FWOC Orienteering Head Coach

A pdf of the job posting is available here.

Foothills Wanderers Orienteering Club (FWOC) is seeking a dynamic and experienced head Coach for its older junior and adult groups. FWOC is one the most energetic orienteering clubs in Canada with many involved, competitive adults and a very large junior program (SOGO Adventure Running). The club makes full use of the many parks maps within Calgary and forest maps in the surrounding area for training and racing. The club is actively engaged in maintaining its strong core of masters orienteers, developing junior elite athletes, attracting and developing new orienteers, creating new maps and, generally, promoting and enhancing orienteering in the Calgary area and beyond.

Application and closing date

  • To apply for this position please forward a current resume, cover letter, and copies of any relevant documents by email to Eduard Spelier at [email protected]. This position will remain open until a suitable candidate has been found.
  • Enquiries for further information on this position should be directed to the same address.
  • Interested international candidates under 35 years of age from certain countries may be eligible for a work visa through International Experience Canada.

The ideal candidate for FWOC Head Coach would

  1. Be an experienced orienteer who has competed in international events.
  2. Have orienteering coaching training and experience.
  3. Have a sports related degree from an accredited post-secondary institution or have completed one or more sports coaching courses from an accredited organisation.
  4. Be self-motivated, self-directed, and dynamic.
  5. Have very good communication skills, both verbal and written.
  6. Motivate, inspire, and communicate well with both youth (>11 yrs) and adults.
  7. Be able to effectively manage and collaborate with volunteers.
  8. Potentially have experience with orienteering mapping. This would be an asset; it is not a mandatory requirement.
  9. Have affinity with long term athlete development principles and is willing to learn about the Orienteering Canada’s Long Term Athlete Development model.
  10. Have been trained as an orienteering official for local events and/or be willing to take the Canadian Officials training.
  11. Have experience working with a volunteer Board of Directors.
  12. Have Standard First Aid or be willing to take a Standard First Aid course.
  13. Be familiar with and comfortable using orienteering software (e.g. Condes, OCAD, OpenOrienteering Mapper, AttackPoint), Microsoft Office, and cloud document systems including Office 365.

The FWOC Head Coach position

  1. Is full-time but seasonal.
  2. Runs from March 2020 - November 2020.
  3. Is renewable.
  4. Is based out of Calgary, an hour’s drive from the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
  5. Involves coaching primarily in evenings and on weekends.
  6. Will work in conjunction with and reports to the FWOC’s Junior and Adult Development Committees.

Compensation is commensurate with skills and experience.

The overarching objectives of the FWOC Head Coach role are to

  • Provide quality training opportunities for FWOC members.
  • Develop young orienteers (SOGO Level III) athletes - both as athletes and leaders within the sport.

At the practical level, the duties of the FWOC Head Coach would include:

  1. Developing orienteering activities for training camps:
    1. Coach a Spring Training Camp for FWOC orienteers for a range of age and ability groups.
    2. Contribute as a FWOC coach to the Alberta Orienteering Association’s (AOA) annual Retreat.
  2. Working with SOGO Adventure Running:
    1. Coach Level III, our oldest juniors - two sessions April to June and September to November. During those seasons, two nights per week plus one weekend day.
    2. Lead planning of training sessions.
    3. Communicate coaching plans/goals to athletes and their parents on a weekly basis.
  3. Providing FWOC club training including:
    1. Adult training group – a weekly training session (e.g.orienteering, arm-chair orienteering and physical training so it could continue in winter).
    2. Training for existing club members at all levels, including developing young athletes for Canada’s High Performance Program (HPP).
  4. Coaching support for SOGO athletes and FWOC members at major orienteering races. In particular the 2020 Western Canadian Championships that FWOC is organizing and the Canadian Championships in Kimberly B.C., as well as potentially the North American Orienteering Championships in California, all to be held in July 2020. Travel costs for these events will be paid for by the club.
  5. Supporting Coach development:
    1. Help develop more local coaches, including SOGO parents at SOGO volunteer coach training evenings.
    2. Coordinate with Orienteering Canada’s High Performance Committee to develop coaches for the HPP.
  6. Other Duties:
    1. Assist with local and regional event organization such as Club Champs and weekend forest meets, as needed.
    2. Mentor & support event organizers of our local Wednesday night events.
    3. If skilled in mapping, help create new and/or update existing maps in the Calgary area.
  7. Possibly providing (fee-based) personal training programs - with personal feedback, periodization etc. for FWOC members.