Assistant Director, Camp Nah-Jee-Wah
Location: Fairfield, NJ (Year-Round); Milford, PA (Summer).
About NJY Camps:
NJY Camps (NJY) is one of North America’s premier Jewish summer camp organizations. Comprised of five overnight summer camps, NJY serves children of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. NJY’s mission focuses on supporting the growth and development of every individual member of its community so that they can learn new skills, develop greater self-confidence, and foster a strong Jewish identity. Having recently celebrated its centennial anniversary, NJY is reimagining its next 100 years. NJY Camps serves more than 3300 campers, over 800 summer staff, across 2000 acres of land. For more information, please visit our website.
About the Position:
The Assistant Director of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah is the professional who works directly with the Camp Director and is instrumental in the successful day-to-day operation and management of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah. Nah-Jee-Wah serves on average 350-450 1st-6th grade campers with an infrastructure of 200+ seasonal staff members. Nah-Jee-Wah’s programmatic offerings also extend to campers that are part of the Round Lake Program (NJY’s inclusion program for children with high functioning special learning needs). The Assistant Director works closely with the Camp Director on areas of year-round camper recruitment and engagement, staff hiring, and the program design and implementation of camp. In collaboration with other agency-wide personnel, the Assistant Director of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah supports efforts in marketing, communications, logistical planning, facility management, and scheduling. During the summer, the Assistant Director lives on-site in Milford, PA and supervises a large infrastructure comprising of program areas and camper divisions, including the seasonal leadership that supervise these departments. The Assistant Director supports the Director in work around camp culture building, staff development, and camper care. This position will report to the Director of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah and work in partnership with the other Milford Camps’ directors and assistant directors.
Responsibilities:
Recruit and Retain Campers
- Support the Director in building a framework of innovative recruitment efforts, both virtual and in person to engage, recruit, and retain campers
- Take a lead role in areas of social media engagement and written communications, working in collaboration with NJY’s marketing and communications coordinator
- Represent camp at a variety of family engagement events, camp tours, and home visits, typically taking place on evenings and weekends, at least 15 during the year
Build a Summer Team of Rockstars
- Utilize various domestic and international recruitment avenues to advertise positions, search for applicants, and conduct both in person and video interviews
- Assist the director in reviewing prospective applicants and determining placements
- Attend organized overseas recruitment events through J1 visa sponsoring agencies
- Support the Director in building an intentional and robust staff orientation plan including staff communications, training sessions, and evaluation
- Supervise specific populations including pre-counselors (first year counselors), Cornerstone Fellows, as well as designated divisions and program areas.
Create a Transformational Summer Program
- Work collaboratively with the Director to define camp’s big picture programmatic vision and communicate it to all areas of camp
- Manage the creation and execution of all special program days and Saturday programs
- Infuse Jewish and Israel content into all elements of the camp experience
- Assist in creating schedules for various program areas and special operational days
- Maintain a physical daily presence in and around all areas of camp ranging from bunk clean up time, meals, program periods, and daily routines.
Other Nuts and Bolts
- Assume the role of Acting Director during periods of absence of the Director
- Serve as a prominent face and personality for camp, MC’ing events, hosting mealtimes, and representing camp to various other stakeholders
- Collaborate with other members of NJY Camps’ professional leadership, including Cedar Lake Camp, Teen Camp, Round Lake, and other central agency functions
- Oversee certain bespoke recruitment initiatives, including Club Enjoy, a program that welcomes day camp groups for short stays during the summer, and First Step, a trial camp program
- All other duties assigned by the Camp Director
Required Experience:
- 2-5 years of relevant professional experience
- Experience in a seasonal camp leadership capacity
- A proven track record of successfully managing a diverse range of relationships
- An aptitude for camp management, including areas of recruitment, marketing, staffing, program development, and facility management
- Experience working independently, with a great deal of autonomy, and in a flexible work environment
Skills and Qualities:
- Exemplary attention to detail and organization
- Commitment to the lifestyle associated with full-time resident camp employment: A flexible year-round work environment, coupled with an intense, full-on summer with limited downtime
- A self-starter and go-getter with excellent initiative
- Strong time-management capabilities and the ability to stay on top of multiple priorities
- Comfortable working in an adaptive and ever-changing work environment
- Ability to manage high stress situations and crises with a level head and sound judgment
- A collaborative team player who enjoys working with professionals from all generations
- Sense of humor and enthusiasm for blending work and play
- Exemplary leadership qualities
- A strong commitment to NJY Camps’ mission and a passion for Jewish summer camp
Salary and Benefits:
- Salary range of $45-60K based on a full-time 40-hour work week during the off season and living on site at camp during the summer
- Health and dental insurance plan
- Monthly car stipend
- Company cell phone plan
- 3% employer 401K match
- Flexible hours and hybrid office environment
- Discretionary Time Off policy (DTO)
- Significant investment in professional development
To Apply: Please submit a cover letter and resume to [email protected] with subject: Assistant Director, Camp Nah-Jee-Wah. Receipt of all submissions will be acknowledged within two business days.
NJY Camps provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. NJY Camps encourages individuals from underrepresented groups to apply. In order to increase equity in hiring, NJY Camps prefers not to receive informal referrals from individuals with personal connections to NJY Camps and cannot factor such referrals into the selection of candidates for interviews.
This job description is intended to convey information essential to understand the scope of the position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities associated with the position.