Camp Counselor/Activity Instructor
Job Summary:
Counselors and Activity Leaders are the backbone of camp, responsible for ensuring the physical, emotional & spiritual health, safety and well-being of each individual in their group of 4-10 participants (ages 7-17). In addition to living in and participating as an active leader of the cabin community with their participant group, they also work individually and with other staff to plan and lead programs & activities, either generally throughout camp (Program Counselor) or in a specialized activity area (____ Specialist), along the way helping our participants build life skills, confidence, friendships, and memories! This is a full-time, live-on-site, summer seasonal position with a pay rate of $275/week with room and board provided. All majors welcome, provided required qualifications are met. This position can be modified into an internship by request.
Principal Responsibilities
- Attend and participate in all pre-camp staff training
- Live in and participate as an active leader of assigned cabin community, working as a team to ensure camper health and safety as well as positive, fun, safe, inclusive, and equitable camper outcomes and experiences
- Supervise and ensure the safety of the cabin/camper group at all times
- Ensure the appropriate, accurate, and timely documentation and communication of any camper-related concerns, including timely referral of concerns to healthcare or leadership staff
- Coordinate the daily schedule of the cabin, including ensuring campers get to the correct activities prepared and on time, and that participant’s daily needs such as medications, sleep, nutrition, and hygiene are met
- Plan and facilitate cabin activities, including nightly reflections, daily “cabin time” programming, other cabin community-building activities, and leading songs, games, or other activities to fill downtime.
- Plan and facilitate assigned daily program activities, ensuring all activities are safe, fun, engaging, intentional, high-quality, and appropriate to the ability and age level of all participants.
- Mediate and address conflicts or behavior concerns within the cabin group
- Follow and enforce all relevant One Heartland policies and procedures as well as all relevant health and industry regulations such as state of Minnesota and ACA (American Camp Association) standards
- Conduct themself in a professional and friendly manner to ensure positive relations with participants, families, community, volunteers, visitors and staff
- Stewardship & conservation: Always takes care to use program, facility, and natural resources wisely, including promptly communicating observed repair/maintenance needs, ensuring activity areas and supplies are left organized and cleaned up after use, requesting needed supplies or replacements in advance, and using materials in a sustainable manner to reduce waste, along with modeling & promoting care for the facility, supplies, and natural environment to participants
- Other duties as assigned/Support other team members and projects as needed. (For example, helping with dishes after dinner or helping get the facility clean and ready for the next group).
Required Qualifications and Traits:
- Experience with youth between the ages of 7 and 17 (formal or informal), and excited about the idea of spending the summer with young people in this age range!
- Connection to or knowledgeable about one or more of the populations we serve (LGBTQ+, HIV/AIDS, currently or formerly unhoused) and most importantly a commitment to respectfully work with, and honor the identities or experiences of, our participants from all of these populations.
- Strengths in: communication, collaboration, flexibility, adaptability, empowering and encouraging others, creativity, organization, resiliency, compassion, safety-conscious, energetic, initiative
- Open to new learning and new experiences
- Commitment to active inclusion and making sure everyone feels welcome, included, and celebrated
- Works well as part of a team
- Participant-focused
- Able to problem-solve quickly and in the moment
- Able to adapt strategies, routines, and activities quickly and effectively in response to changing or varied needs of participants; able to teach/explain so that all can learn.
- Current First Aid/CPR/AED certification (available during staff training)
- Current Lifeguard certification (available during staff training for candidates who meet the skill pre-requisites) OR successful completion of camp-provided high ropes, climbing wall, and archery facilitation training
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience using a strengths-based and/or collaborative approach to behavior management in a classroom, camp, or other youth services setting
- Prior experience with the communities served
- Experience with one or more camp activity areas: canoeing, archery, bicycling, climbing wall, low ropes/teambuilding facilitation, high ropes course, arts & crafts, cooking, dance, drama, sports/games, nature, swimming, fishing, teen leadership/life skills development
- Teaching or activity facilitation skills or experience
Physical Requirements:
· Must be able to tolerate prolonged work hours (including sleeping in a cabin with campers and being responsible for campers during the night)
· Frequently exposed to crowds and high noise levels
· Must be able to move about camp indoors and out and work in outdoor weather conditions
· Able to maintain constant supervision of assigned participants
· Able to demonstrate and participate in assigned camp activities, including carrying out emergency procedures related to the activities
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Lifeguard/Aquatics Specialist Additional Duties
- Participate in pre-season and weekly skills verification and in-service trainings with lifeguard team
- Ensure the safety of participants in all aquatic activities, including communicating and enforcing directions and rules, providing active supervision of activities and being rescue-ready at all times, and responding to emergencies in both the pool and lake
Lifeguard/Aquatics Specialist Additional Qualifications and Physical Requirements
· Must be able to demonstrate meeting lifeguard certification requirements, including but not limited to: swimming 300 yards continuously, treading water at least 2 minutes continuously, diving to a depth of 10 feet to retrieve an object, and swimming while towing another person and consistently supporting their head above the water.
· Able to carry out emergency response in lake and pool
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Ropes Course/Climbing Specialist Additional Duties
· Responsible for set-up/break down and proper equipment use while on the course
· Conducts safety ground school with campers before beginning any ropes/climbing activity
· Actively belay and spot during all scheduled ropes/climbing activities
· Maintain logs documenting gear usage
Ropes Course/Climbing Wall Specialist Additional Qualifications and Physical Requirements
· Must be able to demonstrate meeting ropes course training certification requirements, including, but not limited to: ability to put on & remove harness, set up climbing gear on the course via the use of ladders and other equipment, ability to carry gear (e.g. carabiners, pulleys, belay devices, ropes, etc.) that may range from 5-15 pounds, ability to use supportive and guiding language to help campers with anxiety through course elements, and ability to perform rescue if necessary (if suspended in air, must be strong enough to help support the weight of another camper/participant; if on ground, must be able to belay camper/participant in need of rescue).
· Able to use effective methods/strategies to help campers overcome fears/anxieties related to the Challenge Course (e.g. heights)
· (Preferred/helpful) Prior belaying experience, preferably in conjunction with the facilitation of team building through low and/or high ropes elements.
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Art Specialist Additional Duties
· Plan and lead art activities with participants that are safe, fun, provide an appropriate level of challenge for campers’ ability level(s), and meet program quality standards, including utilizing a variety of mediums to spark inspiration, creativity, and self-expression with our participants.
Art Specialist Additional Qualifications
· Prior experience with a variety of visual art mediums
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Program Specialist Additional Duties
· Plan and lead activities with participants in the specialized area(s) that are safe, fun, provide an appropriate level of challenge for campers’ ability level(s), help participants reach desired outcome(s), and meet program quality standards
Program Specialist Additional Qualifications
Applicants should have a passion for one or more of the below specialty areas, along with some experience leading/facilitating activities or lessons with youth. Areas: Challenge course (low/high ropes course), archery, mountain biking, outdoor recreation, nature/environmental exploration, performing arts (drama/theater/dance), and sports.
Current Lifeguard, Archery, and/or Challenge Course certifications are a plus, but not required, as training will be available during staff training. ____________________________________________________________________________
Apply online (via the Apply Externally button) or contact Katie Bartels at camp@oneheartland.org or 612-824-6464 with questions or if an alternative application method is needed.