12 Apr Join the Team at Snow Country Instructors – Winter 2018/19

We are on the search again for a few awesome instructors to join our team for Winter 2018/19 in Japan. Snow Country Instructors are a boutique international ski school based in Yuzawa, which is a ski town about 80 minutes from Tokyo by bullet train. Yuzawa is a bit different from some of the more well-known ski towns in Japan, and working with us is not your average ski school gig.

We work in over 10 resorts. The majority of our lessons are in 3 or 4 resorts but we can find ourselves driving around to meet the customer at their desired location. Variety is the spice of life, but can lead to some long days. There is no supervisor close at hand to help you, so we need instructors who are mature, organised, and able to think on their feet. You’ll have all the information for the lesson in advance and will reconfirm final details with the customer personally. If you like to turn up to a nice, warm staff room and teach the same lesson on the same slope each day, this probably isn’t for you. Also, if you can’t get a valid international driving license for Japan it can be a bit tough to get around – possible, but challenging at times.

We are all about customer service. Due to our proximity to Tokyo many of our customers are coming to the snow for the first time and need additional guidance to get their bearings with the unfamiliar sport and environment. We take on a large part of the responsibility of making sure they have a good time. Our ideal instructors are amazing at dealing with people, and quickly turn clients into friends. We can guarantee that you will meet some fantastic people from all over the world in the course of a season!

We love people who are flexible. The nature of our job can mean changing resorts in a day, switching gear to teach your second discipline, and/or speaking different languages (if you can, though our main language is English.) Business levels vary during the season so we work hard when the lessons are there, and enjoy our downtime when things get quieter. If you value your routine and need the same days off every week, again we might not be the best choice for you.

Independent and organised. Our season starts to get busy mid-December. We ask new instructors be out here a bit before that to find their way around, and then busy period hits. Next time you look up it is early January. We are looking for fast-learners who can adapt well to a new environment and a challenging job. You’ll be happy asking for help from your support crew if needed, but equally comfortable organising your own time and making your own arrangements.

The ideal candidate for us is an experienced, dual-cert instructor who is multi-lingual. Mature, able to get on easily with others, and a great communicator. We are able to work with a few changes to this but the closer you get to the ideal, the better.

All instructors need to have permission to work in Japan. Currently that means either being eligible for the Japanese Working Holiday Visa Programme, or having 36 months of documented instructing experience in order to be able to be sponsored for a Skilled Labor Visa.

In return for satisfying this rather long list of requirements we offer you the chance to be part of a small, fun team where you will be treated as an individual and given responsibility for your clients. Plenty of riding time. 4,000JPY per hour of instruction. Assistance with accommodation. Ski passes to local resorts. On mountain insurance, both in and out of work. A season in a great part of Japan that is known for its heavy snows – think powder, great food, weird festivals… You can be sure that his will be a memorable winter!

If you are interested, or need further information on anything, please send us an email.

FYI

The season is early December to the Easter Holidays. Finish dates can be flexible.

Peak periods are Christmas/New Year, Chinese New Year, and school holidays.

Uniform jacket is provided.

The number of hours worked varies massively between instructors. An average instructor could expect around 50 hours in December and January, 70 in February, and 40 in March. Those that are good at building a rapport with clients greatly exceed these figures.

We find accommodation for our team in houses, lodges, and apartments in the area. Rent tends to be about 15,000-20,000JPY a month based on instructors sharing but everyone having their own room. Bills tend to be about the same.

The company has several cars in a pool that can be used for lessons and personal trips.

Most of the information on our recruitment post from last year is still relevant.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!