The JSA’s job bank for hiring at its member junior sailing programs is located on the JSA website. To make the most effective use of the JSA job bank, please use the below tips: there is a section for club employers and a section for sailing staff candidates.
Club Employers:
– The JSA advises each employer to be aware of the current labor laws in their locality, including those about disclosure of pay ranges for the jobs advertised by an employer. Some pay disclosure laws that JSA is aware of include New York State, New York City, and Connecticut. Because the JSA is a NY State corporation and a majority of JSA programs are located in NY State, all ads posted on the JSA website will need to conform with the NY State law by including a range of pay for each specific job opportunity. Or, if an ad includes multiple multiple opportunities at different levels of seniority, a separate range of pay must be posted for each opportunity.
– The JSA job bank is for instructor positions located only at JSA member sailing programs. Non-JSA member programs, and JSA member programs that wish to advertise outside of the Long Island Sound area, may consider posting jobs on national web sites, such as sail1design.com [select Sailing Career Center, then search by job type and location. Sail1Design is available to US Sailing members at a 15% discount by including your USS member ID in your S1D account], or windcheckmagazine.com/classifieds or Indeed.com. In addition, Google Jobs aggregates ads from other websites that may be considered for posting sailing instructor job ads.
Please email your ad to the JSA office at info@jsalis.org. If your initial draft is over 200 words, you may place the complete job description on your organization’s web site, or a shared drive like Google or Dropbox, and then write a shorter summary of the ad that includes the web link to the job description. Each ad may remain active for 60 days. A useful guide to writing an effective job ad may be read here.
– After 60 days, the ad may be removed by the JSA, or the JSA member program may request the ad be updated and reposted. List all your open positions at JSA member programs on the JSA Job Bank because when candidates ask the JSA office about employers that are hiring, the only answer we can give is “Please look at the current job listings.” Also, review the notes from the December 2023 Zoom discussion about staffing.
– Browse the list of local college coaches collegesailing.org > Conferences (NEISA for CT and MAISA for NY) > Racing > Teams. Or contact high school coaches for their referrals nessa.hssailing.org/schools for CT generally (and fairfieldcountysailingleague.blogspot.com for Fairfield County) and massa.hssailing.org/schools for NY high schools. While you are at those sites make note of coaches whom you might email to notify their team members of your openings.
– Sailing programs typically hire for summer staffing throughout the year (late summer, fall, winter and spring) to match staff needs based on expected junior program enrollment. In the past, some programs have focused on hiring during the Thanksgiving holiday period because candidates who are away at college or boarding school have then been at home. But COVID-19 accelerated the move to video conferencing that permits programs and candidates to conduct interviews and make offers at any time, before, during and after Thanksgiving (much like online shopping has reduced the need to visit physical stores on “black Friday”). So there is no longer any reason to delay or restrict hiring activity until Thanksgiving week.
– Instructor Training Certifications listed in the JSA Bylaws require that JSA member programs employ instructors who have passed the US Sailing Small Boat Level 1 Instructor course, with valid prerequisite certificates as described below. In addition, the US Powerboating Safe Powerboat Handling certificate is required for newly certified Level 1 instructors before their first year of employment as an instructor. The equivalent international certifications may be accepted for non-US resident instructors.
The Safe Powerboat Handling certificate may be earned through the 2-day Safe Powerboat Handing course (if do not yet have a state boating safety education certificate) or 1-day Accelerated Safe Powerboat Handling course (if already have a state boating safety education certificate) that are described at this link uspowerboating.com/courses. Powerboat handling is an essential skill for sailing instructors, yet US Sailing has reported that new instructors often do not have sufficient hands-on powerboat experience to pass the Level 1 course without a follow-up plan for improvement. So ask your new instructors to show their Level 1 course completion certificate, which will state if a plan for improvement is required. You may double check each instructor’s certifications using the look up tool on the US Sailing website. Evaluate the powerboat handling skills of each instructor you hire, whether new or experienced, before they start work in June by having your club’s professional staff check them out to assure they really can demonstrate capable and safe powerboat handling skills. Also recommended for sailing instructors is the Safety & Rescue Boat Handling course that a club may arrange onsite to provide practical techniques used in rescue situations.
– US Sailing’s instructor certification process was modified because of COVID-19. (see Small Boat Instruction section at Instructor certification path). Level 1 for beginning instructors now starts with self-guided online instruction that is followed by a three-day session for in-person skills evaluation. The Level 2 certificate focuses on developing additional knowledge and skill (teaching, management skills, spinnaker and trapeze use, and powerboat operation for emergency situations; the Level 2 Coach Workshop availability has been limited during COVID-19). The Level 3 courses have two tracks: Level 3 – Head Instructor is online training for head instructors, program directors or volunteers in best practices for sailing program management; and the Level 3 – Coach includes race management procedures, team management, logistics, drills and teaching the Racing Rules of Sailing.
– Prerequisites: most of the US Sailing instructor certifications also have additional requirements, like continuous valid certification for First Aid & CPR, state Safe Boating education (or Safe Powerboat Handling), US Olympic online SafeSport training, CDC Heads Up online concussion training, and US Sailing online Teaching and Coaching Fundamentals. The US Sailing website has the complete list of additional requirements.
– The US Sailing Knowledge Base has some articles on recruiting and junior program management.
– Having a detailed job description for each staff position will be a valuable aid to inform your new staff about your expectations and manage their performance on the job. And by referring to the job description in your employment contract with staff you can inform them of your expectations for sail training objectives and the ethical and behavioral traits you expect them to model for their student sailors. Please include all positions at your club in one ad.
– When you have completed negotiations with a candidate, it’s best to promptly summarize the agreed terms of employment in a job offer letter/employment contract that the candidate reviews, signs and returns. Each party retains a copy, which helps prevent future misunderstandings.
– When you have completed hiring for a position, please notify the JSA office so your job ad may be removed.
– If you have resumes of candidates that you did not hire, forward copies to JSA office for inclusion in the Candidate Resume File. Other clubs that are still hiring may find these resumes helpful. Please send the resumes as email attachments because we cannot handle paper resumes. If your club wants copies of resumes from the Candidate Resume File, please email your specific request to the JSA office; we do not send unsolicited resumes.
Sailing Staff Candidates:
– Send your resume and cover letter to all jobs for which you feel qualified that are posted on the JSA Job Bank, or the national web sites listed above.
– Employers may provide a job’s pay range by including the range in the job ad, and by advising about the pay range during the first contact with the candidate.
– Some of the job websites listed above accept candidate postings, so consider placing your resume there.
– You may also email a copy of your resume to the JSA Candidate Resume File, following the guidelines listed below.
– If you need to obtain or update your certifications, read the US Sailing website descriptions (use this link ussailing.org/education/instructor/ > Small Boat to find out what is required). Pay particular attention to prerequisites. For example, the Level 1 instructor course prerequisites include a safe-boating certificate, experience in operating a powerboat safely, current USCG approved CPR and first aid certification, and other prerequisites listed on the US Sailing website. It is best to handle these prerequisites during the fall, winter and spring. The schedule may be viewed at ussailing.org/education/resources/course-calendars/ > Small Boat Levels 1, 2 or 3. Keep a close watch weekly on the schedule as most locations can accommodate fewer than 20 people and the popular sites get booked quickly as soon as they are listed. US Coast Guard Auxiliary and US Power Squadron units, as well as continuing education classes at high schools and colleges in your local area are all good sources for off-season safe boating certification. The US Sailing Safe Powerboat Handling certificate is required by JSA for newly certified Level 1 instructors in their first year of employment as an instructor, and is encouraged for any instructor, especially those whose powerboat skills need enhancement. The certificate may be earned through a 1- or 2-day course, depending on the instructor’s experience. More information is available at this link: uspowerboating.com/courses > Safe Powerboat Handling (2 days if do not have a state boating safety education certificate) and Accelerated Safe Powerboat Handling (1 day if already have a state boating safety education certificate). The earliest certification courses in the western Long Island Sound area are expected to be in March and April. Additional courses expected to be scheduled during the spring and early summer may be viewed at jsalis.org/coaches/instructor-certification-and-training-resources. The Red Cross or American Heart Assn. courses for CPR and first aid are available throughout the year.
Sailing Staff Candidate Posting and Resume File Guidelines:
– For the Resume File, please email only because we cannot easily forward non-electronic formats to our clubs.
– Email to JSA office at info@jsalis.org. Send your cover letter and resume as an attachment in Word .DOCX, generic .RTF, or .PDF format. It’s best to include your cover letter as part of the same attached file, not in the body of your email to JSA, so when the attachment is printed your cover letter appears first, followed by your resume, all in the same printing.
– Name your letter + resume file something like “MyLastName_MyFirstName_SailingResume.docx” so that when it is forwarded to clubs, they can distinguish your letter/resume file from others. Your letter and resume will remain in the active file until a JSA club requests copies of current resumes. Then your letter/resume and all other active resumes will be sent to the requesting club.
– If you accept a job, or are no longer available for any reason, please email the JSA office requesting your resume be removed from the active Resume File. Your resume will expire and be removed 90 days after your submission to the JSA.
Other Sailing Staff Hiring Resources for Clubs
American Camping Association has tips on hiring and managing summer staff as well as access to their counselor job bank. A qualified camp counselor with a sailing background and US Sailing certification may be a good match for your non-racing students or sailing camp. Check out acacamps.org click on “Jobs.”
Foreign sources: If your junior program can provide housing, you may be interested in foreign instructors. Many JSA programs have had success with instructors from Ireland, England, Canada and Australia, to name a few. It is important to keep in mind that JSA rules require all instructors to have successfully completed US Sailing Level 1 or its international equivalent. If you are considering this source, see these sites for intermediary organizations known as Program Sponsors that can assist with identifying candidates or sponsor visas for candidates you already know. They operate under the US State Department J-1 Visa program that is described here j1visa.state.gov/programs/camp-counselor:
– InterExchange Camp USA interexchange.org/camp-usa/
– Camp Counselors USA ccusa.com/
– Camp America campamerica.com
– CIEE ciee.org/partner/employers/camp-exchange-usa
– British Universities North America Club (BUNAC) https://bunac.org/employers-hiring-seasonal-staff
– International Exchange of North America (IENA) https://www.iena.org/overview
– American Work Experience https://www.aweusa.com/
– Work & Sail USA https://workandsailusa.com (email to admin@workandsailusa.com and tell them about your needs )
– Others may be viewed in this list https://j1visa.state.gov/participants/how-to-apply/sponsor-search/
Updated September 2024