YOUTH CLIMBING INSTRUCTOR - ARLINGTON HEIGHTS

First Ascent LLC; Arlington Heights (IL); On-site; USD 21,000 - 30,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Free gym membership

Pro-deals

Leadership development

Pay premium for private lessons

Job summary

First Ascent Climbing & Fitness in Arlington Heights seeks a Youth Climbing Instructor to create a safe, welcoming environment where kids aged 3–17 build confidence and skills across 8-week classes, drop-ins, camps, and youth programs. You will lead or co‑teach 60–90 minute sessions, following a structured curriculum while staying adaptable to each student.

Ideal candidates are energetic, safety‑minded, and able to communicate with children and parents.

Qualifications

• Availability between 4pm–8pm on weekdays or 9am–2pm on weekends
• Previous experience teaching rock climbing to children
• Minimum 1 year working with grade school children
• Minimum 1 year of personal rope climbing experience
• Strong energy, safety focus, and effective communication with kids and parents
• Belay certification or willingness to pass certification on hire

Responsibilities

• Lead 60–90 minute classes independently with 4–6 students or co-instruct with 6–12 students
• Deliver a structured curriculum while staying flexible for engagement
• Communicate with parents about progress
• Coordinate with Youth Leadership Team regularly
• Suggest new teaching exercises or games

Skills

Belay certification

Top rope climbing experience

Child instruction

Job description

YOUTH CLIMBING INSTRUCTOR - ARLINGTON HEIGHTS

Part Time Professional Arlington Heights, IL, US

First Ascent Climbing & Fitness is on a mission to share our love of climbing with everyone, connect people through movement, and create welcoming, uplifting spaces that strengthen minds, bodies, and communities. We are looking to grow our Youth Instruction team with proactive, friendly, and psyched individuals who will help us continually get better at what we do as we discover how to best serve our members and guests.

ROLE SUMMARY

As a Youth Climbing Instructor at First Ascent Climbing & Fitness, you play an essential role in creating a safe, welcoming, and fun environment where young climbers can build confidence, develop skills, and foster a lifelong love of climbing. You are a positive and caring presence within our ever-expanding youth program, supporting climbers ages 3–17 across 8-week rec classes, drop-in programs, camps, group events, and our competitive youth team.

We look to you to deliver engaging, age-appropriate instruction that balances skill development, safety, and fun. You’ll help uphold program standards, adapt to the diverse needs of our growing community, and contribute to a consistent, high-quality experience for climbers and their families. Working collaboratively with fellow instructors and program leadership, you’ll help cultivate a supportive team culture and ensure every young athlete feels encouraged, challenged, and excited to return—while having a great time along the way.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Independently run 60-90 minute classes with 4-6 students or co-instruct with 6-12 students.

Implement a structured curriculum, but also be creative and flexible when necessary to maintain maximum student engagement at all times, and adapt to individual student needs.

Communicate with parents regarding their child’s progress

Coordinate and communicate with the Youth Leadership Team on a regular basis.

Contribute ideas for new teaching exercises or games.

REQUIREMENTS AND EXPERIENCE

Applicants must have availability between 4pm-8pm time-slot on weekdays, and/or 9am-2pm timeslot on weekends. Preference will be given to applicants with additional weekday availability.

The ideal applicant will have previous experience teaching rock climbing to children.

1 year or more of experience working with grade school children is required

1 year or more of personal rope climbing experience is required. Applicants without prior top rope experience will not be considered at this time.

High level of energy and affect.

Belay certified at FA or ability to pass belay certification upon hire.

Be safety focused and vigilant.

Possess excellent communication skills with children and adults.

Be dependable and timely.

Upstanding reputation in the climbing community.

PERKS & BENEFITS

Part time, hourly role starting at $18.50

Opportunity to work private lessons and group events that pay a premium rate

Leadership development and growth opportunities within the company

Free membership to all First Ascent Locations

Access to pro-deals

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Predominantly climate controlled indoor environment, mixture of outdoors in the summer

Noise level ranges from moderate to loud

Employee must be able to concentrate through distraction and communicate effectively

EEO STATEMENT

FA Climbing and Fitness is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to providing

equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. FA does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, marital status, protective order status, military status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, genetic information, ancestry, pregnancy, or any

other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. FA prohibits harassment of any

individual on any of the protected characteristics listed above.

ABOUT FIRST ASCENT CLIMBING & FITNESS

Since 2015, First Ascent Climbing & Fitness has been sharing our love of climbing, yoga and fitness with everyone that walks through our doors. With 8 gyms in the First Ascent family, we’re excited to keep serving and growing the climbing community, one climber at a time.