SoCal Head routesetter

ABOUT VITAL

VITAL gyms are open to members 24/7. We’re open to the public from 9am to 11pm, but only members can unlock the door at night to use the facility without staff running the show. The sense of trust and ownership this inspires is part of what makes the VITAL Community so exceptional.

We are optimists at heart and this manifests itself across all aspects of VITAL—perhaps nowhere more clearly than in the way we treat people. We believe in our team, we believe in our customers, and we believe in our community.

WE BELIEVE IN OUR TEAM. We train, trust, help, support and invest in the people who work here. Our goal is to bring up great leaders prepared to take on challenges at work and beyond. Our goal is to be the best place to work in the industry. This supportive culture means that we are an innovative, challenging, and fun place to work.

WE BELIEVE IN OUR CUSTOMERS. We believe that by trusting our customers we make the world a better place. We build and operate our gyms to such a high standard because everyone deserves to be a part of something wonderful. The relationships people form at VITAL enrich life and lead to new adventures. By living out our belief in our customers they, in turn, believe in one another. This reciprocal goodwill makes VITAL so much more than just a physical place—it makes VITAL one of the things that makes life rich.

WE BELIEVE IN OUR COMMUNITY. We build our gyms in places we love. This makes it a joy to fulfill our responsibility to be an upstanding part of the local community. It is a privilege to have a business that people embrace and we work hard to ensure that VITAL facilities become an indispensable cornerstone of the community.

THE POSITION

The Head Routesetter of VITAL SoCal should have a strong passion for climbing, routesetting, and mentorship. You will be expected to know the ins and outs of what’s required to set a bouldering gym: setting a variety of boulder problems with a focus on safety, wall management, managing a setting team, processing hold orders, and maintaining an organized workspace.

The Head Routesetter is responsible for inspiring and leading a motivated, professional, and engaged team, all working together to create a vibrant and welcoming community of members.

This is a part-time, in-person position responsible for overseeing routesetting across all three VITAL SoCal locations: Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Murrieta, with an estimated average of 25 hours per week. Regular availability is required at Oceanside on Mondays and Fridays, Carlsbad on Tuesdays, and Murrieta on Wednesdays.

Your main role as the Head Routesetter is to:

  • Lead - First and foremost, your job is to lead. Inspire and motivate your team around a compelling vision and our core values.

  • Manage - Collaborate, schedule, plan, hire, fire, oversee, strategize, and execute.

  • Grow - Ensure that VITAL is more vibrant year after year.

  • Embody - Set the tone. Embody the culture.

  • Support - Invest in the people who work for you. Help them grow and thrive.

  • Connect - Engage with customers and with the community.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The position of Head Routesetter is broad and adaptive. Your responsibilities at all three SoCal gyms will include, but are not limited to:

  • Managing the routesetting team and providing ongoing training and feedback to ensure high-quality boulder problems

  • Setting, adjusting , and forerunning boulder problems up to and including v6

  • Overseeing routesetting operations across all locations,  including the wall manager/wall support team: hold strippers, hold washers, and  forerunners

  • Maintaining a safe and pleasant working environment while setting for the routesetters and for the community 

  • Maintain VITALs ‘Working at Height Standards” and common safety practices for all route setters at  all times 

  • Hiring and training new routesetters as necessary

  • Hosting annual performance reviews of routesetters to determine raises or improvement plans  

  • Maintaining the organization of routesetting equipment and workspaces 

  • Monitoring customer feedback and adjusting to best address the community’s needs

  • Ensuring a healthy distribution of boulders that best reflect the gyms current community at all times

  • Maintaining communication with the GM regarding employee issues, safety concerns, equipment needs, and other routesetting matters

  • Understanding and communicating all climbing wall or climbing mat related issues to GM 

  • Communicating with management to coordinate events, competitions, and development

  • Collaborating with coaches and instructors to ensure an environment that suits their programs needs, i.e. Youth Teams and Bouldering Clinics 

  • Understanding USAC competition climbing rules to ensure routesetting will accommodate competitions we host and the competitive youth team 

  • Providing growth opportunities for members of the routesetting team

  • Maintain the Bouldering 101 program

  • Required to wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment when working on applicable tasks

  • Maintain grading tags; ensure spinners are addressed in a timely manner 

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

  • This position requires regular physical activity, including climbing, balancing, bending, kneeling, reaching, gripping, walking on stairs and uneven surfaces, and working at height using climbing equipment, ladders, and occasional rigging and aerial lifts. Employees must regularly lift up to 5 lbs., frequently lift up to 25 lbs., and occasionally lift up to 50 lbs. The role also requires manual dexterity, computer use, effective communication, and adequate vision and hearing to safely perform job duties.

  • The work environment may include loud noise, power-tool vibration, airborne particles, dry conditions, work at height, falling objects, and trip hazards, with occasional exposure to moving equipment and other workplace hazards. Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is required when applicable.

  • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

BENEFITS

  • 26-30 per hour D.O.E.

  • Structured annual wage increases

  • 401(k) matching

  • Health insurance programs

  • Internal benefit programs

  • PTO

  • Mental health program

  • Employee membership with access to all programs and classes

  • Friends and family benefits

QUALIFICATIONS

  • 5+ years of climbing experience

  • 3+ years of routesetting experience

  • In-depth knowledge of how climbing gyms operate

  • In-depth experience working with routesetting  tools and equipment: 

    • Ladders, Drills, Angle Grinder, etc.  

  • Excel and Google Drive experience

  • Ability to regularly work across all three VITAL SoCal locations according to the routesetting schedule

We encourage applicants of all backgrounds to apply. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

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