Because we begin our seasons with ~2 weeks of paid training, we are fairly firm with our start date and expect that applicants will be available. For the summer season, we can usually exercise some flexibility with end dates provided they are discussed as early as possible. Our spring season (April-May) is short and very busy, so it is important that applicants are able to commit to the whole season.

Headquarters

The HQ apartment is located on the second floor of our office in “downtown” Homer, and is within walking distance to shops, restaurants, groceries, and other amenities. There are three bedrooms, which typically house two staff members each. Each room has two beds, desks, and various shelves and dressers to store belongings. The apartment also has one shared bathroom, storage space, laundry room, and a combined kitchen and living room.

All bedding and towels are provided. Kitchen appliances include fridges, freezer, electric stove, oven, microwave, toaster, dishwasher, coffee pot, and hot water kettle. It’s fully stocked with a variety of silverware, utensils, plates, bowls, pots, pans, baking sheets, and other supplies for cooking. 

Sometimes staff respectfully come up to storage space in the apartment to get program supplies during work hours. Because of the way noise travels in the building, you may hear kids outside and are asked to be mindful of upstairs noise above the office.

North Wynn

The North Wynn is a historic home located across the street from the Wynn Visitor Center, and is about a 15 minute drive from town. On the bottom floor, there is a laundry room, garage, and apartment space that has two beds, closet space, a bathroom and a small kitchen. The main floor has a shared kitchen, large living room and dining table, a bathroom, closet and a bedroom for two staff to share. The top floor has two bedrooms, both of which have their own bathroom and closet space. One of these rooms houses two staff, and the other houses two or three.

All bedding and towels are provided. Kitchen appliances include a fridge, freezer, electric stove, oven, microwave, toaster, dishwasher, coffee pot, and hot water kettle. It’s fully stocked with a variety of silverware, utensils, plates, bowls, pots, pans, baking sheets, and other supplies for cooking. This housing is adjacent to the Wynn Nature Center protected land and hiking trails and is in a rural environment.

A-Frame

The A-Frame is a cozy one-room rustic home—called a Dry Cabin in Alaska because there is no running water. There is electricity and hence a space heater, fridge, stove, and other simple appliances. All bedding and towels are provided as well as a variety of silverware, utensils, plates, bowls, pots, pans, baking sheets, and other supplies for cooking. Water must be hauled in gallon jugs from town. There are no showers or toilets but there is an outhouse. The downstairs is an open space with kitchen/living/dining space and the upstairs sleeping loft is accessed via a ladder. This housing is a 10-15 minute drive from town. It is adjacent to the North Wynn property and the Wynn Nature Center protected land and hiking trails.

Due to space constraints, we are unable to house anyone not directly hired to work with our organization. This includes partners, spouses, and children. We cannot currently offer pet friendly housing.

Unless otherwise noted, our seasonal positions are full time. We do our best to have staff average 80 hours per two week pay period. Due to the nature of our programming, some positions may have more irregular hours than others, and so some weeks may be over 40 hours. When this happens, we try to build in more off-time the following week to balance the hours and ensure that staff can take a break. Positions with more irregular schedules will have that noted in the job description. 

If you are planning to fly in from out of state, the easiest thing to do is to book a flight to Anchorage. From there, you have a few options. Upon hiring, information will be sent out about start dates. We usually encourage staff to arrive in Anchorage within roughly the same 24-hour window, and we will have a van to bring people down to Homer. (For this reason, it is important not to overpack!) 

Alaska has a few regional airlines that run daily flights from Anchorage to Homer. You can check Ravn and Aleutian Airways to find their flight times. The city of Kenai is about 1.5 hours away from Homer and is another airport option if you can arrange a ride to Homer. Finally, the Alaska Bus Company also runs a daily route between Anchorage and Homer between Memorial Day and Labor Day. 

CACS does have a few organization vehicles that may be used for getting to and from housing and work sites. Their primary use is for work related needs, and organizing schedules around their use takes some collaboration among staff. We do not expect staff to bring their own vehicles, however if you are comfortable doing so, it does help to ease the strain on vehicle sharing and can allow you more freedom to explore in your off-time.

We are unable to provide travel stipends. However, if the cost of travel is a significant barrier, please let us know so that we can help find solutions. 

Our organization wants to support all staff in learning about the environment; we invest heavily in wide-ranging staff training and invest in personal and professional development of interest to you, and appreciate people who share their ideas. We strive to be a trauma informed organization that meets the unique needs of our participants and each other. Your unique approach to building a positive relationship for all ages is valued.

Coastal Studies focuses as much on our staff experience as we do participants’. We foster a tight knit staff with a training retreat, intentionally established staff living dynamics, staff gatherings, occasional meals, and a precedent for direct and transparent communication. During the height of Alaskan summer business and unpredictability, we strive to support staff by compensating them with paid sick, mental health, and emotional labor time off, as well as opportunities within the job for fun and restorative activities. While we are unable to provide paid holidays for seasonal staff, we support staff by scheduling around holidays that are important to them.

We are working towards more equitable compensation that goes beyond the industry norms of education non-profits; at the moment we are doing this through transparency and working towards compensating staff at the area’s living wage and reflecting the high cost of local housing. 

• $19/hour for naturalists and educators with shared housing ($22/hour without housing) 

• $20/hour for lead environmental educators with shared housing ($23/hour without housing)

• $21/hour for coordinators with shared housing ($24/hour without housing)