In Camp Staff/Rock Climbing Instructor
Posted by Baltimore Yearly Meeting Camping Program on 05/17/2022
Job Basics
Industry Sector: Outdoor
Job Categories: Camp Staff & Counselors
Company Type: Recreation, Service, Retail
State: VA
City: Winchester
Country: United States
Required Experience: 0 - 1 year
Contact Name: Maria Adamson
Contact Phone: 2404756019
Job Type: Seasonal Full Time
Salary: 3000
Required to Relocate: Yes
Required to Travel: No
Employee May Telecommute: No
Job Seeker Must Live Within:
Job Description & Requirements
The Opportunity:
Opequon Quaker Camp, a residential outdoor arts camp, is seeking In-Camp Staff. The ideal candidate will be passionate about youth development and community building. They will be creative, adaptable, and committed to growing their own leadership skills as well as fostering youth leadership. This position involves living at camp from mid-June through mid-August and being immersed in the daily logistics of camp and participating in the joys and challenges of living in community. In-Camp Staff handle many of the “behind the scenes” details of camp, supporting counselors in planning and implementing fun and safe programming for campers. In-camp staff work together with directors and counselors to create a radically inclusive environment for all members of the BYM Camps community.
If you have certifications in rock climbing: one of the in-camp staff roles is being in charge of our rock climbing program. This person sets up and runs outdoor climbs for campers and counselors during our overnight backpacking trips (these happen 1-2 times over a two week session). This person also trains counselors to belay, and teaches safety practices to campers and counselors. While the rock-climbing role is a significant part of the job, this is not a full time rock-climbing instructor position and you will have other responsibilities during the other parts of the session.
Again, if you are not certified in rock climbing, there are "regular" in-camp staff roles available as well.
Who We Are:
BYM Camps is a family of four summer camp programs spread along the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and Maryland, serving approximately 600 young people between the ages of 9 and 17. Operated and stewarded by the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), these four programs are unique and distinctive but tied together by a belief in the importance and value of every person. From hiking to canoeing to rock climbing, from organic farming to creative arts, from group games to group work, our campers develop the kind of self-knowledge and self-esteem that leads to personal, emotional, and spiritual growth. These four programs provide a meaningful and unforgettable summer experience, but more than that, they produce in campers a lifetime of lessons, confidence, and connection.
What You’ll Do:
In-Camp Staff, who report to the Camp Director(s), are responsible for the following:
Daily logistics and timekeeping.
Communication with and support of work grant volunteers.
Planning and running staff meetings and training activities.
Tracking and shopping for activity supplies and trip meals.
Camper care.
Planning and leading all-camp activities.
Making transportation schedules for overnight trips, and driving camp vehicles.
Coordinating maintenance and safe use of facilities, equipment, and vehicles, in cooperation with the Camp Properties Manager, and work grant volunteers.
Acting as a liaison to a unit group of four or five counselors, helping them communicate with each other and facilitating feedback sessions. Being available for individual check-ins with members of their liaison group, assistance in trip planning, and helping with camper care as needed.
Who You Are & Keys to Success (the must-haves):
To be successful in this job, you will excel in four areas:
Relationship building and interpersonal communication: You communicate clearly, empathetically, and directly with a wide range of community members, including campers, camper families, directors, counselors, volunteers, neighbors, and vendors. You give and receive feedback aimed at building youth leadership skills and nurturing the camp community.
Holding multiple perspectives: You hold a deep understanding of the larger program goals and values while taking responsibility for a variety of details and logistics. You support the directors in tending to the spiritual well-being of the camp as well as in the nitty gritty work of ensuring camp’s daily functions run smoothly. You assist campers and counselors in working through conflict transformation while holding space for differing needs, opinions and feelings. You strive to see the unique and inherent worthiness of each community member.
Creativity and adaptability: You wear many hats in this role, and may need to switch rapidly between different responsibilities. You adjust and attend to needs as they pop up. Plans may need to be reworked at the last minute due to weather, transportation delays, or other circumstances, and you are often called to communicate between several parties while reworking logistics in the moment.
Commitment to equity and justice: You believe that a truly diverse camp community makes us stronger, wiser, and more resilient. You recognize that the Quaker value of honoring the divine in every person compels us to not just build an environment that is welcoming, but to build one together, incorporating the voices and lived experiences of all campers and staff, centering those that have been historically marginalized. You build age-appropriate social and emotional curricula for campers that includes structured opportunities to build meaningful relationships and transform conflict across difference.
If you were here right now, you would be:
Clerking a staff meeting- holding space for counselors, directors, and other in-camp staff to plan trips and activities, share information and feedback, and discuss camper needs and issues.
Calling the waste management company to make sure dumpster service is set up for the season. (Pre-Camp)
Working with counselors to plan and lead an overnight hiking and rockclimbing trip
Driving a passenger van, safely transporting a group of counselors and campers out to the trail for their trip.
Leading the whole camp in a round of songs and games to close out the day as the sun is setting and owls are swooping through the trees.
What Else You Should Know:
BYM Camps is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage and seek applications from people of color, including bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as women, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.
The position is seasonal and on-site in the summer, from mid-June to mid-August. Specific dates will be shared by your Director. The salary starts at $2800 for the summer.
To apply, go to the BYM Camps Staff Portal, and submit an application there.
Questions? Reach out to Brian Massey, Program Manager, BYM Camps, at brian@bymcamps.org.About Baltimore Yearly Meeting Camping Program
A network of four unique, transformative, nature-based, spirit-led summer camps in the mountains of Virginia and Maryland: Catoctin, Shiloh, Opequon, and Teen Adventure. Run by Baltimore Yearly Meeting, open to all children between the ages of 9 and 17.
Opequon Quaker Camp is a residential camp designed to unleash your camper’s creative spirit. By exposing campers to many different art forms in a fun and physical way, Opequon strives to highlight the connections between creation, nature, self-expression, and spirituality.
Situated on the creek of the same name, Opequon’s campus is just north of Winchester, VA, on a beautiful tract of land where campers bunk together in screened-in cabins. And each day is designed to give your camper the freedom to find themselves and be themselves
