Employment & Other Opportunities

The Natural Areas Division based at Jefferson Memorial Forest periodically has openings for full-time positions within its three functional team areas: Programming, Guest Services, and Land Management. The link for any open positions can be found above and applicants are encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter with their application. Benefits offered to Louisville Metro full-time employees can be found here.

The Natural Areas Division has a limited number of front-line permanent part-time positions including within its Programming and Guest Services functional teams. These Metro Government positions are limited to a maximum of 24 hours per week and offer limited pro-rated benefits such as vacation and sick time. The link for any open positions can be found above and applicants are encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter with their application.

The Natural Areas Division continuously accepts applications for various front-line seasonal positions. These include staff to support customer service at the Welcome Center, assist with maintenance and land management activities, and facilitate youth programs in the spring, summer, and fall. Some of these positions require applicants to be 21 years of age with a clean 5-year driving record. To apply, please click here. Metro Parks is a large agency, so to ensure we receive your application at our office, after submitting your application we suggest you notify the Forest that you’ve done so by e-mailing [email protected].

The mission of AmeriCorps is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteers. Periodically, the Natural Areas Division is able to offer two AmeriCorps VISTA positions at Jefferson Memorial Forest: a Digital Communications Outreach VISTA and a Volunteer Program VISTA. The VISTA program is focused on fighting against poverty and offers individuals one-year opportunities to gain experience and leadership skills through capacity-building activities such as fundraising, grant writing, research, and volunteer recruitment. Currently these positions are on temporary hold.  Once we have a new recruitment phase, we will post to our page and to social media.

The Natural Areas Division/Louisville ECHO hire two full time EEL Corps positions to serve a one year term. The service period runs from September to August. Member will provide ideas for, plan, and lead programs for diverse audiences – which may include guided nature explorations, presentations using education animals, canoeing, climbing, archery, fishing, team-building, service-learning projects, and summer camps. Member will also assist senior staff in the development of new programs that fulfill community needs and the Jefferson Memorial Forest mission statement. A list of benefits can be found at the top right of this page. Apply online with KEEC here.

The Natural Areas Division works with Louisville’s SummerWorks program each year to support our Louisville ECHO program’s youth job training component.  Each spring, we seek to hire a job coach and 10-12 youth from priority neighborhoods to gain skills as they assist with ecological restoration, construction-oriented projects, and youth outdoor programming in partnership with local community centers. These positions are geared toward first-time employees and youth ages 16-21. Some projects that have been completed by SummerWorks youth include a bicycle pump track in Shawnee Park, the installation of green infrastructure in Chickasaw Park to help with storm water runoff, soft trail planning, and invasive plant removal. Apply directly online with SummerWorks here and list Jefferson Memorial Forest/Natural Areas Division as your location of choice.