EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Dear Prospective Employee:
Thank you for your interest River Runners. We hope the following information will help you understand more about our company, what we are looking for in a prospective staff member and how to take the next step in applying for employment.

RIVER RUNNERS JOB DESCRIPTIONS

RAFT GUIDES
Our guides travel from around the country and the world, coming from a wide variety of backgrounds. Our guides have a strong desire to be outdoors and on the river sharing what they love with their guests. We staff over 60 guides between our two Colorado locations, some have recently trained in our Guide School and some have over thirty years experience.

All of our guides are kept busy working on half day to five-day trips on our Colorado Raft Trips and/or on our Utah Raft Trips. Depending on experience, our guides will work on a wide variety of stretches and rivers ranging in difficulty from class one to class five. During the off-season, our full-time guides hold various occupations, such as business owners, students, schoolteachers and ski patrollers.  The diverse backgrounds of our staff and management allow them to interact easily with our clients.

Our season is the busiest on weekends when tourists take their weekend getaways, and during the months of July and August when families enjoy their summer vacations.  While we sometimes have trips as early as late-April, the season usually gets going in late May around Memorial Day and continues until Labor Day in early September. The majority of our business takes place between mid June and mid August. Most full-time guides will work from late May through Mid to late August, and earn most of their income in late June, July and August.  Some of our guides will arrive early, for the spring setup and Guide School, and some may stay longer in the fall, helping run the final trips and participate in the post-season breakdown and cleanup.

Through our companies’ efforts and in large part the efforts of our guides; River Runners has acquired many river permits and now offers a variety of Colorado Raft Trips and Utah Raft Trips. River Runners guides are entrusted with our guests’ valuable time and safety and for this reason must maintain a high degree of integrity and professionalism.    

We receive many of inquiries from people interested in guiding for River Runners.  Many are experienced guides who have worked on rivers all over the country and are looking to spend a season in Colorado or are moving to Colorado, or some applicants have little or no experience and want to get their foot in the door. River Runners is an excellent company – we are known throughout Colorado as The Whitewater Professionals because of our excellent level of service from our phone reservations right through to guides and drivers.
New Guides: Complete the Guide School Application
Experienced Guides: Please complete the Guide Employment Application; please make sure to include a resume and copies of certifications
We appreciate your interest in River Runners and we hope to see you on the river!

Please fill out an Application

MAIN OFFICE PERSONNEL – BUENA VISTA
Our Main Headquarters is located in Buena Vista at our gorgeous and unique Riverside Rafting Resort. All of our Toll Free numbers ring to this location, therefore we require several reservations staff during our summer business hours of 7:30am-9:00pm. Length of shifts and days can vary from week to week, but Full Time availability is preferred. Requirements in the office are promptly answering telephones, data entry, mailings and following up with inquiries. The nice thing about the Buena Vista location is during breaks you can dip your toes in the river or grab a bite to eat at our Riverside Grill.

We also have shifts in our Rafting Shop, where you will be required to efficiently check-in rafters, direct rafters to various locations, sell and restock retail items, display and sell digital photography and cash handling. We tend to rotate shifts between the Shop and Office, but scheduling reflects where staff excels.

Our office staff is a very close-knit family, as people return year after year. We seek motivated, team-orientated people in our office with some scheduling flexibility and high levels of customer service. We are known throughout Colorado as The Whitewater Professionals because of our excellent level of service from our phone reservations right through to guides and drivers.

Full and Part time positions are available. Hiring begins in April/May each year; interviews will be conducted throughout the winter months. If you feel you have the qualities suited for this job, please fill out an application.

OFFICE PERSONNEL – CANON CITY
Our Royal Gorge Rafting Center is at the hub of what’s going on in Canon City. Our location is at the entrance to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, the main attraction in the Canon City area, so our office staff are quite proficient in all aspects of Canon City tourism. As an office team member, you will be required to efficiently check-in rafters, direct rafters to various locations, sell and restock retail items, data entry and cash handling. We are known throughout Colorado as The Whitewater Professionals because of our excellent level of service from our phone reservations right through to guides and drivers.

Full and Part time positions are available. Hiring begins in May each year, interviews are conducted throughout the winter months. If you feel you have the qualities suited for this job, please fill out an application.

CASHIER/BARTENDER - RIVERSIDE GRILL – BUENA VISTA
Our new and unique Riverside Grill is located at our Riverside Rafting Resort. The Grill is open for service to our River Runners rafting guests, campground guests, those floating down the river as well as the entire community. We offer a small dining menu, beverages, draft beer and margaritas. Duties of the Cashier/Bartender are cash handling, relaying food orders to kitchen staff, food handling, delivering food to guests, serving drinks and maintaining a clean working environment. As with all restaurant work, you must be able to handle pressure well and have great customer service skills. Previous restaurant work is preferred.

Full and Part time positions are available. Hiring begins in May each year, interviews are conducted throughout the winter months. If you feel you have the qualities suited for this job, please fill out an application.

GRILL/LINE COOK - RIVERSIDE GRILL – BUENA VISTA
Our new and unique Riverside Grill is located at our Riverside Rafting Resort. The Grill is open for service to our River Runners rafting guests, campground guests, those floating down the river as well as the entire community. We offer a small dining menu, beverages, draft beer and margaritas. Duties of the Grill / Line Cook are food preparation, working with hot grills and propane, cash handling, delivering food to guests, serving drinks and maintaining a clean working environment. As with all restaurant work, you must be able to handle pressure well and have great customer service skills. Previous food handling experience preferred.

Full time positions are available; hours vary. Hiring begins in May each year, interviews are conducted throughout the winter months. If you feel you have the qualities suited for this job, please fill out an application.

PREP COOK - RIVERSIDE GRILL – BUENA VISTA
Our new and unique Riverside Grill is located at our Riverside Rafting Resort. The Grill is open for service to our River Runners rafting guests, campground guests, those floating down the river as well as the entire community. We offer a small dining menu, beverages, draft beer and margaritas. Duties of the Prep Cook are to assemble lunches in the mornings for Full Day trips, prepare fresh foods for the Grill line, assist in Grilling foods, cash handling, food handling, delivering food to guests, serving drinks and maintaining a clean working environment. As with all restaurant work, you must be able to handle pressure well and have great customer service skills.  Previous food handling experience preferred.

Full time positions are available, position starts at 7:00am daily. Hiring begins in May each year, interviews are conducted throughout the winter months. If you feel you have the qualities suited for this job, please fill out an application.

Our office staff is the Backbone of our Operation. This is why we must maintain stringent hiring standards.  The characteristics that we look for in our staff are these:

• Professional demeanor
• A strong work ethic & attention to detail
• A positive attitude
• An understanding of Teamwork and Customer Service
• Respect for fellow office staff and guests

About the company
River Runners is a family-oriented and operated company. We have been conducting commercial river trips for over Thirty-Five years. Since 1972 we have grown to hold operating permits on many rivers in Colorado and Utah, as well as become one of the largest outfitters in the state of Colorado. Our guides are the Backbone of our Operation and we strive to maintain a professional working environment with concern for our guides and guests. We want our guides to enjoy their work while providing professional, well-run trips for our clients. Our professional and friendly atmosphere is what keeps our guests and guides returning to River Runners year after year.

About our staff
Our guides have traveled from around the country and the world to work with us here at River Runners. They come with a strong desire to be outdoors and on the river sharing what they love with their guests. We staff over 60 guides, some have recently trained in our Guide School and some have over thirty years experience. All of our guides stay busy working on half day to five-day trips on our Colorado Raft Trips and/or on our Utah Raft Trips. Depending on experience, our guides will work on a wide variety of stretches and rivers ranging in difficulty from class II to class V. During the off-season, our full-time guides hold various occupations, such as business owners and students, schoolteachers, and ski patrollers. The diverse backgrounds of our staff and management allow them to interact easily with our clients.

The season
Our season is the busiest on weekends and during the months of July and August when families enjoy their summer vacations. While we occasionally have trips as early as April, the season usually gets going in late May around Memorial Day and continues until Labor Day in early September. The majority of our business takes place between mid June and mid August. Most full-time guides will work from late May through Mid to late August, and earn most of their income in late June, July and August. Some of our guides will arrive early for the spring setup and Guide School, and some stay longer in the fall to run the final trips and participate in the post-season breakdown and cleanup.

Hiring Standards
Our guides are the Backbone of our Operation. This is why we must maintain stringent hiring standards. The characteristics that we look for in our staff are these:

• Professional demeanor
• A strong work ethic
• A positive attitude
• An understanding of Teamwork
• Respect for fellow guides and guests

Through our companies’ efforts and in large part the efforts of our guides; River Runners has acquired many river permits and now offers a variety of Colorado Raft Trips and Utah Raft Trips. River Runners guides are entrusted with our guests’ valuable time and safety, and for this reason must maintain a high degree of integrity and professionalism.

Application and Hiring Process
We receive many of inquiries from people interested in guiding for River Runners. Many are experienced guides who have worked on rivers all over the country and are looking to spend a season in Colorado or are moving to Colorado. Some applicants have little or no experience and should apply for a position in our Guide School. We encourage all qualified applicants to contact us and to fill out a Guide Employment Application. Please make sure to include a resume and copies of your certifications.
We appreciate your interest in River Runners and we hope to see you on the river!

Download Employment Application or click here to upload resume.

Click here to upload your photo