Camps Director

Mentoring students in the outdoors to foster confidence, resilience, and kinship with nature. Whole Earth Nature School is looking for a Camps Director who thrives in a dynamic, collaborative work environment to support our mission of youth development through mentored outdoor experiences. All staff work as valued members of our community in service of local youth and their families.   Whole Earth is a 501c3 nonprofit, equal opportunity employer. We welcome the unique contributions that you bring to Whole Earth including your culture, ethnicity, race, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages, veteran status, religion, ability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment for all students, volunteers, and employees. Visit our about and employment pages to learn more. Some ways we commit to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion include:

• normalizing pronoun use during meetings and programs
• providing needs-based scholarships to students
• offering affinity camps for girls, boys, and gender-diverse campers
• providing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion training to all staff
• paying staff to participate in a monthly justice-focused community
• decolonizing curriculum and incorporating land acknowledgments in programs 
• amplifying Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) voices and perspectives
• using trauma-informed, culturally responsive student support strategies
• providing accommodations for students to participate in our programs and for staff to lead programs

Job Overview

All candidates MUST complete our application: https://forms.gle/Co2jhVZgDhy2EWMH8 to be considered for this position.

ABOUT WHOLE EARTH NATURE SCHOOL CAMPS 

Camps is a program of Whole Earth that provides day and overnight camps to students ages 5 thru 17 during school breaks.  We currently run 10-11 weeks of day camps during the summer and 3 weeks of overnight camps in June/July.  In 2024, we will be looking to expand our camps program to include winter/spring break camps and other auxiliary no-school day camps.  Our Camps curriculum draws heavily from the Coyote Mentoring model.  We strive for every student to develop curiosity; inquiry and observation skills; ecological understanding; gratitude; and an enhanced connection to self, community, and nature. 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Camps Director is responsible for all administrative, operational and staffing aspects of Whole Earth Camps while working in collaboration with other staff, community partners, students and families.  This is a year round position, salaried at .75 FTE.  The hours required to complete position functions will fluctuate throughout the season, with busy times of year being April – September and slower times being Oct – March

CAMPS DIRECTOR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan, modify, implement and evaluate all Whole Earth day and overnight camps
• Main point of contact for communication with families and site partners 
• Oversee program budget, purchase supplies and transport materials to site as needed
• Hire, train, schedule and support all program staff; approve timecards, facilitate regular staff meetings and appreciations, manage staff call-outs 
• Oversee program electronic file organization and appropriate email lists
• Implement and improve student-centered curriculum and programming based on Coyote Mentoring model
• Fulfill all regulatory requirements, including but not limited to Oregon Office of Child Care regulations and site permits 
• Conduct and oversee camp schedule, student registration, roster distribution and waitlist management through Activeworks camps and class manager software 
• Ensure program adheres to Whole Earth policies and procedures
• Create and maintain systems to ensure needs accommodations of youth, staff, and volunteers.
• Monitor incident reports and respond to incidents as needed
• Implement program changes using equity-focused assessments, community feedback, and research.
• Collaborate with Whole Earth administrative staff on grants, marketing, electronic updates, equity initiatives, and partnerships
• Participate in regular meetings with direct supervisor and administrative team
• Other relevant duties as assigned by Executive Director

Special Benefits

POSITION DETAILS

To apply: Complete our application: https://forms.gle/Co2jhVZgDhy2EWMH8 to be considered for this position. 

Reports to: Executive Director

Salary: $39,000 annual salary .75 FTE 

Benefits: 

• Health insurance: Whole Earth pays 90% of employee premium and 50% of dependent premium for medical and dental.  Whole Earth pays 100% of life insurance employee premium. 
• Paid leave: 72 annual hours of paid personal time, 51 annual hours paid sick time, 10 paid holidays a year (prorated at 6 hrs/day), 12 weeks annual paid parental leave (prorated at .75 FTE), 3 days paid bereavement leave. Other unpaid leaves are available.
• Stipends and discounts: Monthly stipend for mobile phone and home internet use during remote work.

Minimum Requirements

REQUIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Interest in or experience creating equitable and inclusive environments, working with youth, leading overnight outdoor programs, and developing engaging curriculum and activities
• Demonstrated ability to hire, train, and supervise staff to lead outdoor learning and community-building experiences that are sensitive to students’ needs, interests, life experiences, identities, and abilities.
• Compassionate and responsive interpersonal skills to build trust and a shared sense of purpose among diverse groups of people.
• Highly effective project management, organizational, stress management skills with the ability to manage multiple collaborative projects, set and meet deadlines, and adapt to changing priorities.
• Experience or transferable skills in professional administrative work, including writing thorough emails and documents, planning programs, leading meetings, creating procedures, managing budgets, ,providing clear documentation of all processes and procedures, operating customer management or registration management software. 
• Strong skills in self-awareness and self-motivation to achieve work goals while meeting personal needs; ability to practice active listening in receiving critical feedback and engage in self-reflection to make personal and program improvements. 
• Conflict resolution skills; ability to proactively mediate staff dynamics and give constructive feedback
• Ability to work outdoors in all non-hazardous weather conditions for up to 8 hours a day.
• Access to reliable transportation for transport of supplies to program sites and personal transportation to programs during emergency scenarios.

OTHER DESIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS (NOT REQUIRED)

• Proficiency or fluency in Spanish
• Education or experience in justice and equity in education, applied science learning, educational theory, wilderness skills, outdoor education, Coyote Mentoring 
• Communication skills: graphic design, websites, social media, public speaking, writing, or recruitment