- Applicants must be 18-25 years of age on the first day of their service term¹.
- Applicants must be eligible for AmeriCorps:
- AmeriCorps limits members to serving a maximum of four terms in any AmeriCorps program.
- AmeriCorps legislation requires applicants to be one of the following: U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, or Lawful Permanent U.S. Resident Alien. If selected, applicants must submit citizenship documentation prior to service.
- Eligible candidates will undergo a National Service criminal history check prior to service (includes state repositories, National Sex Offender Registry, and FBI).
- Washington legislation limits service in the WCC program to a maximum of two years.
- Applicants must commit to a 40-hour service week and a designated term of service of 11-months, 6-months, or 3-months.
- Per legislative mandate, priority is given to Washington state residents².
- If selected, WCC members must provide for their own living arrangements and transportation to designated meet-up locations:
- Crews have a designated meet-up location, and travel to project sites together in a WCC truck. Note: To support the state's response to COVID-19, we are currently supporting member travel to project sites or meet-up locations in single occupancy vehicles. We will continue to update our travel guidance as we follow the Governor's Safe Start Washington Plan, and will be able to travel together with safety precautions when statewide guidance allows.
- We provide food, lodging facilities, and transportation for crews (or reimbursement) when overnight travel is required to complete project assignments.
- Individual Placements will generally report to their designated host site location each day. Host site organizations are responsible for food, lodging facilities, and transportation when overnight travel is required to complete project assignments.
¹Age restrictions are based on legislative mandate, limited exceptions may be made for those who have served or are serving in the military and active duty dependents. In addition, leadership (non-member) positions, and participants with a sensory or mental disability are not subject to this age restriction.
²Out-of-state candidates are considered after in-state candidate pools have been exhausted.
Member recruitment schedule
The WCC operates on an AmeriCorps calendar, meaning each service year runs October through September. When positions open, interviews are conducted on a continuous basis until vacancies are filled. To ensure consideration, we recommend submitting your application early. All 300 of our AmeriCorps member positions open annually in July as part of the 11-month member recruitment cycle, while 9-month and 3-month positions are limited in quantity (based on vacancies as they occur).
- 11-month positions — Applications accepted beginning in July for a start date in October.
- 9-month positions — Applications accepted beginning in November for a start date in January.
- 3-month positions — Applications accepted beginning in April for a start date in June.
Member positions - now recruiting!
We are recruiting 11-month AmeriCorps members for Individual Placement positions and field crews. View our web map to learn more about these positions before applying online.
Supervisor positions - now recruiting!
We are recruiting Supervisors in all regions. Learn more about how to become a crew supervisor and apply to the continuous applicant pool online for current and future opportunities.
AmeriCorps member positions:
WCC crew supervisor positions
While there are five designated disaster response crews, any crew has the potential to deploy. Disaster response crews are included in the crew descriptions when reviewing our application map.
National or local disaster response deployment may include flood and landslide control, tornado and hurricane assistance, wildland fire operations, or volunteer and shelter management. Learn more about WCC disaster response services in Washington and across the country.
WCC members attend orientation and two formal week-long training courses as an introduction to a variety of environmental or disaster services topics. Members select from a list of 13 professionally-taught courses including forestry, hazardous waste operator (Hazwoper), ethnobotany, wildland firefighting, and more. Many of these courses offer members the opportunity to earn valuable, career-transferable certifications. Our members also receive informal training on field topics on a daily basis, such as native plant identification, tool use, safety techniques and more.