Summer Camp Director at Call of the Wild Camps with Inspire Behavioral Learning

Do you love working with children and camp counselors? Do you love the outdoors, nature, and hiking? Do you have a passion for children's books, reading, and writing? Are you skilled at supervising and leading camp counselors or similar staff? Do you care about creating an inclusive and fun environment for children of all abilities? How about combining your passions into one fun summer job as an on-site Camp Director? Lead outdoor nature camps for summer 2023 in Oakland and Berkeley. Call of the Wild Camps are for kids in grades K-5 to hike, read, write, explore, learn, and play outdoors in nature. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Reliably attend and actively participate in camp director and counselor training the week of Jun 5
• Create K-5 level nature-themed science, language arts, art, and motor activities 
• Reliably attend Call of the Wild outdoor nature camps Jun 12-Aug 11, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM (5 days/wk per session, except 4 days the wk of Jul 4th)
• Supervise and train camp counselors on-site with modeling, prompt fading, positive feedback, and constructive feedback
• Greet parents at drop-off and pick-up times, checking children in and out
• Communicate with parents/guardians in a friendly and professional manner
• Communicate with parents/guardians a brief summary of their child's day at pick-up time
• Safely lead hikes in parks for K-5th graders and staff 
• Lead outdoor language arts activities with nature and wilderness themes, including but not limited to circle time with story time and singing, literary show-and-tell, skits, nature journaling, mapmaking, creative writing, and authoring and illustrating books
• Apply English Language Arts Common Core State Standards to science activities (biology, ecology, zoology, life science, environmental science, outdoor education, environmental stewardship, preservation, conservation, etc.), integrating naturalistic observation, exploration, group discussion, games, and relevant children's books and writing activities
• Engage children in outdoor activities that blend recreation and education, such as nature-themed hide and seek and chase games, forest "I Spy" games and scavenger hunts
• Engage children and staff with a fun teaching style and high energy, creativity, adaptability, spontaneity, dynamism, and positivity
• Supervise and facilitate children's rest breaks, snack and lunch breaks, and physical play breaks
• Provide naturalistic executive function teaching across diverse activities
• Implement teaching and behavior management based on principles of applied behavior analysis, including prompting, positive reinforcement, and group contingencies of reinforcement based on student preferences and choices
• Facilitate emergent curriculum and child-centered, student-centered, naturalistic, incidental, and play-based teaching and learning opportunities
• Create both structured and naturalistic learning opportunities
• Keep work materials neat, organized, and in good working condition
• Record accurate, objective incident reports
• Make sure campers and staff follow health and safety rules and leave no trace principles
• Follow directions and implement feedback from supervisor
• Proactively communicate camp updates, questions and concerns with the camp supervisor
• Represent Call of the Wild Camps in a positive and professional manner with campers, parents/guardians, staff, park visitors, and community partners
• Perform other duties as assigned

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Proof of Bachelor's degree
• Provide academic transcripts (unofficial transcripts are permitted); must be in good standing

Certification and Safety:

• Proof of unexpired CPR and First Aid certification
• Proof of full COVID-19 vaccination
• Pass a DOJ and FBI background check

Experience:

• Minimum 1 yr experience as director, supervisor, or manager supervising staff and children for outdoor education camps, outdoor recreational camps, nature camps, science camps, literacy camps or equivalent experience
• Minimum 1 yr experience working with K-5th graders
• Working with culturally, linguistically, and developmentally diverse children
• Working with students with widely diverse abilities, including disabilities (e.g., autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome, dyslexia, speech and language delays)
• Taking initiative leading staff and groups of children
• Leading extracurricular enrichment activities for children
• Implementing effective and appropriate behavior management for elementary school age children
• Selecting and implementing age-appropriate, grade-appropriate, developmentally appropriate activities

Skills:

• Hike trails of moderate difficulty on hilly and uneven terrain up to approx. 6 mi. a day five days/wk for multiple consecutive weeks
• Carry a loaded hiking backpack weighing up to 20% of your body weight for the duration of each camp day
• Stand, bend, squat, stoop, sit, climb, and lift (up to 50 lbs)
• Fun and engaging leadership style with high energy, creativity, adaptability, spontaneity, dynamism, and positivity
• Friendly, kind, caring, compassionate, and patient teaching style for learners of all skill levels
• Eagerness and openness to continually learn and develop your skill set
• Command of American English phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics
• Break concepts down into simple and easy steps
• Excellent time-management and organizational skills
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• Confidently take initiative with minimal direction
• Eco-conscious skills with a demonstrable love of nature and the outdoors, biology, environmental science, outdoor education, or environmental education
• Health-conscious skills with a demonstrable love of active and healthy living
• Enthusiasm for nature-themed language arts and literacy teaching
• Enthusiasm for making education relevant to children's lives
• Care for children and a desire to help the whole child learn and grow in enjoyable ways, in addition to subject-matter competence in language arts and relevant life sciences

Other Requirements:​

• Valid California driver license
• Your own reliable transportation to forests in Oakland and Berkeley
• At the time of applying, submit a cover letter specifying why you might be a great fit for the Camp Director for Call of the Wild Camps

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PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience hiking in Joaquin Miller Park, Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, Tilden Regional Park

PERKS AND BENEFITS:

• Have fun teaching kids in the outdoors!
• Paid training
• Paid rest breaks
• Off-duty lunch breaks
• Supportive and friendly environment with coaching and mentorship
• Successful hires may be invited to work in future seasonal camps
• Become part of a company that truly cares about both the employee’s and student’s happiness and success!

LOCATION: Oakland and Berkeley (Joaquin Miller Park, Redwood Regional Park, Tilden Regional Park). Must reside in East Bay to be considered.

SCHEDULE: 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. Sessions are 5 days Mon-Fri, except the wk of Jul 4th is 4 days.

CLASSIFICATION: Non-exempt employee, full-time. Temporary, seasonal work 6/5/23-8/11/23.