Camp Counselor

Company Description Camp Phoenix is summer school, reimagined. We empower low-income youth to overcome the summer opportunity gap by blending the essence of sleep-away camp, with the rigors of discovery-based learning. Through joyful academics, enrichment, and community building, our unique, overnight summer immersion program propels middle-school students to reach their fullest potentials as leaders, achievers, and community change agents. Founded in 2012, Camp Phoenix brings low-income youth to its campsite in San Gregorio each summer, where mornings are spent in common core-aligned, exploratory math and literacy groups. Throughout the day campers engage in outdoor and social-emotional learning: sleeping under the stars, cooking breakfast as a team, picking berries from local farms, and peering into tide pools at the nearby beaches. Through the powerful combination of academics and overnight camp, we uniquely position our campers to make growth in academics, while also growing their identities as individuals and young leaders.

Job Description

Counselors are the primary supervisors and mentors for their campers - playing a significant role in meeting important community and identity outcomes for campers. Counselors live in cabins with campers or with other counselors and support individual campers’ growth as well as the group dynamics by participating in all-camp programming together, eating meals with campers, and creating bunk programming. Counselors will also play a support role in academic instruction as teaching assistants. Counselors will report to Head Counselors and work in collaboration with many other staff members.

Qualifications

• Must be a hard worker – the team is a hardworking group and has a ton of fun together.
• Must be a strong, positive team player and enjoy working in a kid-centered environment.
• Interest in fostering social change through the empowerment of youth growing up in low-income communities.
• Able to make sound, camper-centered decisions on your feet
• Emotional intelligence and maturity a must
• Love for personal growth and learning (you thrive in an environment where you are taught new skills, receive ongoing feedback, and stretch your leadership)
• Experience working with middle school-aged students preferred but not required
• High School diploma required; currently enrolled in college preferred
• Sophomore in college or higher strongly preferred

Additional Information

• Be a role model for campers at all times, demonstrating Camp Phoenix core values
• Provide camper mentorship and guidance as campers experience Camp Phoenix’s socio-emotional and leadership development programming
• Ensure (and be hyper-vigilant) of camper safety
• Support academic instruction time by serving as small group facilitators. Work in collaboration with Academic Instructors (Brain Feeders) in creating a positive, focused academic environment.
• Build positive, community-focused bunk culture
• Mediate camper differences
• Facilitate small group excursions and experiences by collaborating with the Program Team
• In partnership with Head Counselors, problem-solve camper-related challenges to ensure a safe and joyful camp culture